Best Features To Include On Your Business Website

You don’t want your business website to have a cookie-cutter design that visitors will forget about when they click away. You don’t want a clunky system nobody can find their way around, and you don’t want to spend hours fruitlessly experimenting with a multitude of different plugins, either. 

Whether you are running a dental clinic, freelance photography business, independent corner shop, or consultancy company, you want your business website to integrate seamlessly with your work — and you want it to tell your story. 

How do you make that happen? Here are the top elements and features every business should include in their website.

The Perfect Home Page

Most people who visit your business website will likely find their way to you through search engines — and whilst, indeed, your home page won’t always be the first page they see, most people will at least glance at your home page.

What story do you want it to tell?

Your customers should be able to get a feel for your mission within 30 seconds of navigating to your home page. 

Take Blue Whale Media’s home page as an example. Our home page doesn’t just tell you precisely what we do, but it also lets you know what makes us different. Do you want to know if partnering with Blue Whale Media is the right choice for you as you plan your new business website? You’ll instantly be able to take a look at our most recent projects.

Intuitive Navigation

Every aspect of your business website should be designed to inspire trust and build brand loyalty. To accomplish that, your website needs to be straightforward to navigate — because nothing erodes confidence faster than a website where you can’t find what you’re looking for. Making your website supremely user-friendly should be a top priority.

Make sure that you keep your mobile users in mind, as well. In 2022, it is highly likely that most of your customers will visit your website on their smartphones. Not all aspects of web design that work well for desktop users are as user-friendly for mobile users, and testing this out should be a critical aspect of your web strategy.

Social Proof

No matter what kind of business you are running, your client base will value proof that you’re as good as you claim to be — and your existing customer base can help you with that! Whether in the form of a portfolio that showcases your previous work, customer testimonials, or reviews from happy customers, you can build trust by showing that your previous clients were as thrilled with your business as you are.

A No-Nonsense About Page 

As an internet user yourself, you know that you immediately look for the About page when you simply want to get a closer look at the nature of a business. While there is plenty of room for creativity on a business website, the About page should be concise and transparent. 

Who are you? What do you do? Where do you do it? How can customers who want to get in touch with you do that easily?

Beautifully Optimized Content

The old saying that “content is king” still holds true, but attracting visitors will be unnecessarily challenging unless search engines can see your message as clearly as your customers might. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is an essential part of the success of your business website. 

Because it can be rather difficult for businesses to master the art of SEO, calling in professional help is frequently the best way to ensure that your website is clearly visible to search engines. That, in turn, ensures that you can attract the right kinds of clicks — clicks from people who would love to become your customers.

Excellent Analytics

Website analytics are crucial for any business, as they enable you to monitor how your business website is performing over time. The benefits are manifold — analytics allow you to get to know your visitors, thereby improving their user experience, to reach a better conversion rate, and to understand what aspects of your websites you need to focus on. Analytics can also warn you when your business website is underperforming. A high bounce rate, for instance, shows you that your marketing strategy is not working.

Quality Web Design

The best business websites:

• Convey the company’s branding, mission, and values in all its pages. Thus, they remain consistent in their design.
• Stand out from the crowd.
• Have a clean and smooth design that is a pleasure to look at. 
• Integrate images and videos that showcase the company’s work and build trust by allowing visitors to meet the team.

If your business has a customer-facing office or retail space, you likely hired professionals to help you design it. By doing so, you were able to create a welcoming environment that constantly works to support the growth of your business. 

Southampton website design is really no different.

It’s easy, today, to get the impression that anyone can whip up a business website in under 10 minutes — but if you want a website that doesn’t just look stunning but also performs well, hiring a professional web design company is the best best step you can take for your business.