4 Essentials For A Great Website

Online marketing has evolved drastically over the last 2-3 years. Staying on top of new trends in functionality can be challenging for a small business owner. Even trying to understand all the new terminology, such as “mobile optimization” and “dynamic content,” can get overwhelming. Don’t fret, we’ve got you covered! Tap House Media has broken down The 4 Essentials For A Great Website to help guide you on your journey to website greatness.

1. AESTHETICALLY BEAUTIFUL:

According to market research, our brains process visuals 60,000 times faster than text. Website aesthetic – not the written content on the screen – is your first chance to reach out and grab your audience. Without quality design, your visitors likely won’t take the time to read the content you’ve invested in.

The designer’s job is to create a compelling experience for the reader at the other end of the screen. We do this by using aesthetics and design to expose your brand. Your website should convey the spirit and culture of your company. Are you open and fun, serious and conservative, or friendly and informative? Each of these emotions would require a different imagery, layout and typeface for your website. Even the colors you use will impact visitors’ emotional experience on your site.

Website design elements are exponentially more powerful than content, in terms of mistrust. For example, if you land on a website that is outdated, not functional, and poorly designed with a busy interface and small fonts, you’re more likely to choose to bring your business elsewhere – more than likely to a company that showcases a website with a more professional, thoughtfully planned look.

Websites should be updated/redesigned every 3-5 years to stay up-to-date with new trends in design and functionality.

BOTTOM LINE:

Hire a professional to design the look and feel of your website. A great company will:

1. Meet face to face – get to know each other on a business/personal level
2. Take the time to get to know your brand and company culture
3. Be attentive to your deadlines and need for updates
4. Steer you in the right direction

2. OPTIMIZED FOR THE USER:

Your website is a tool that should ultimately serve your audience. From the visual aesthetics to the functionality, all design techniques should work together to improve your site’s ability to serve.

74% of businesses believe correcting your site’s user experience is key for improving sales, conversions, and loyalty. Really terrible sites fail because they were designed for a company, not for the reader.

If your visitor doesn’t know where to look and what to do on your page, they will leave. Look at every page element through your readers’ eyes and correct anything that is confusing or out of place. Not only does this serve your visitors, it will also improve your bounce rates.

BOTTOM LINE:

In 3 – 5 seconds, can someone look at your page and know: Who your company is, what you do, and what you want the visitor to do on the page? If not, revisit both your value prop and design with a professional team to highlight those important messages.

3. OPTIMIZED FOR MOBILE VIEWING (With Responsive Design)

People access your content from multiple devices – iphones, ipads, etc. The evidence of this mobile migration is compelling. Here are a few of the many statistics pointing to audience’s transition to mobile viewing:

1. 65% of U.S. adults sleep with their phones on or near their beds
2. Over 20% of Google searches are performed on a mobile device.
3. In the United States, 25% of internet users only access the internet on a mobile
device.
4. 61% of people have a better opinion of brands when they offer a good mobile
experience.
5. 25.85% of all emails are opened on mobile phones, and 10.16% are opened on
tablets.
6. In mobile SEO, Google penalizes sites that aren’t optimized for responsive
design.

BOTTOM LINE:

Having a mobile website is no longer simply a nice feature. It is now a necessity and literally impacts the growth of your business.

4.CONTENT MARKETING

“Content marketing is a strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly defined audience — and, ultimately, to drive profitable customer action.” – Content Marketing Institute

If you’re consistently creating content that’s helpful for your target customer, it will help establish you as an authority in their eyes. This is a great method for Sales and Service professionals, but obviously can be used for ALL business owners.

Instead of pitching your products or services, you are providing truly relevant and useful content to your prospects and customers to help them solve their issues via your blog.

BOTTOM LINE:

Begin a plan for content marketing and be consistent!

Content marketing drives traffic to your website. Every time you write a blog post, it’s one more indexed page on your website, which means it’s one more opportunity for you to show up in search engines and drive traffic to your website in organic search.

Content marketing helps convert traffic into leads. Just like every blog post you write is another indexed page, each post is a new opportunity to generate new leads. The way this works is really simple – just add a lead-generating call-to-action to every blog post that directs to your landing page.

Blogging also helps you get discovered via social media. Every time you write a blog post,  you’re creating content that people can share on social networks — Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Pinterest — which helps expose your business to a new audience that may not know you yet.