Most business owners put their focus on usability and a good design when getting their website started. They put emphasis on generating web traffic, marketing their site through various means like social network campaigning and cold emails. While these are important there are a few other things to consider.
For one, you want to convert. That means you want visitors to your site to take some sort of action. This is for more reasons than one. All your efforts are useless if the persons visiting your site don’t make a purchase, sign up or subscribe to your mailing list. Not only that but they increase your website’s bounce rate which lowers your SEO ranking causing search engines to think that it is not relevant to the keywords that itis indexed for.
When you are doing a website for your start-up you can’t spread yourself thin applying every piece of advice that you get. There are some things that you can’t afford to overlook. Here are 5 of such. You can always research and at to the list.
1. Ensure your value proposition is communicated conciselyand clearly
At the top of your priority list of things to communicate is the list of productsand/or services that youoffer or will be offering. This information should be communicated upon visitors entering your site. You may choose to use a short title that isa simple statement with a subtitle to give more details.You may favor usingvideosorpictures,just keep them to the point and your message clear. A value proposition is by no means a slogan.It basically sums up the problem you offer a solution to, the way you are able to achieve it and why they should choose you.
Youalso need to draw attention to your value proposition.From time to time you may want to change the presentation style, although the statement may remain the same.
2. Have a clear call to action
The Call To Action is theimage,button, or link that you want your visitors to click to be well on their way to becoming a customer. For eCommerce sites, the checkout or add to cart button would be the call to action. For marketing or service sites,the subscribe or sign-up button or linkwould be the most likely choice.In the early stages of your startup and for your blog the Call to Action would also be for them to subscribe to your mailing list. The call to action needs tostand out, be easily identifiable and located in different sections of your website.
Your choice of images,text, and videos used on the website should be in support of your value proposition and move your visitors totake your desired action.
3. Have good web design and give users a great experience
It should be a pleasure for users to interact with your site, not only because of the beautiful things you have filled it with but, also because of the way your site works. The aesthetics should be on point but your site structure should be easy to follow and navigation should be easy as well. You need your visitors to understand and believe the value proposition that you have sold them. Youalsoneed to build credibility and get users to trust you and if everything works and feels good, you will speak to at least 75% of your website’s visitors.
4. Complete contact information
We tend to overlook the value of this until we are in a bind, need to get in touch with a business and we can’t seem to find their number or email address listed anywhere. Nearly all visitors may need to see your contact information at some point in time and even if they don’t need it, some will notice that it is not there. When your contact information is on your site, this helps your customers to see that you are interested in them and helping them solve any problems they may have.
You may want to consider having a separate contact page or includingaddresses,email,links to social media profilesandphone numbers in the footer throughout the site.
5. Clear, convincing and well-written texts
A good choice of words,correct grammarandaccurate spelling are vital. The textual content on your site that you use to sell your service or product is termed copy. They should put the meat on the bones of your value proposition. In the end, you really are trying to influence the visitor to decide to purchase from you. You may want to engage the services of a professional,experienced copywriterto tailor your content to suit your target audienceand businesstype.
As you grow, you can focus on more things. These are pretty much the bare essentials; what you need to start with. Anexcellent SEO strategy is important, but it is most effective, when you get the resulting traffic on your website, engage the visitors and use the means at your disposal to convince them to become a customer or at least consider it.