Today, your website is arguably one of your most valuable digital assets. It serves as a digital window into your business, and consumers have come to expect a certain level of seamlessness when they browse through websites. It’s up to you to deliver and meet those expectations, or your website efforts will be wasted.
Here are the things your customers are expecting from your website, no matter what industry you’re in.
Easy Navigation at the Top of the Website
We’re a digital marketing agency and always appreciate creativity and unique thinking. However, some things don’t need to be reinvented, and one of them is having the navigation at the top of the website. It’s the norm for a good reason; it’s easy to find, which reduces the time for someone to learn how to explore your site. Also, it has become the standard to have your logo at the top of your website link back to the homepage, which is something you should still keep. When in doubt, keep your navigation simple!
Straightforward Contact Information
Whether your website visitors are potential leads or seasoned clients, a typical main call to action is to have people contact you, so it’s important that this contact information is in their face. Placement of this contact information should either be above the navigation (like this site) or at the footer so that this information is displayed on every web page.
It’s Clear What Your Business Does
A lesson from Donald Miller’s Storybrand is asking if your website passes “the grunt test.” One part of this test makes you ask yourself if a caveman could clearly understand what you offer. This needs to be conveyed not just on your homepage, but your entire website. This is because people may enter your site through any web page, so it needs to be clear what you can do for the world. If this isn’t clear, people will click the back button on their browser.
A Secure Browsing Experience
Protecting your visitors from vulnerabilities is essential for not just consumers, but search engines too. If you haven’t already, add Secure Socket Layer (SSL) to your website to keep visitor information secure. Adding SSL is relatively simple, and you can learn more about its benefits here.
Distinct Motive of What Visitors Need to Do
Your website visitors need direction on what you want them to do one your website (this is also a part of the grunt text mentioned earlier). Through strong, bold calls-to-action (CTA), you will tell them what’s the next step they need to take with your business. Here are the best practices for strong calls-to-action.
When in doubt, think of how you search the web and what you expect from other websites. Take these thoughts into consideration for a modern, seamless site.
To learn more about website best practices, contact us today!
