What are the Essential Features your website needs? There are some features that are more important than others for an online business.
These aren’t in any particular order as every item on this list has value and importance to the success of your online business.
1. Domain Name
It all starts with your domain name. You want something easy to remember, easy to spell and that is reflective of your business and brand. For some people the domain name is the business name however you need to consider if that name is memorable, already in use, or too long and cumbersome.
2. Logo
A great logo is memorable and can showcase your brand. It should be prominently displayed on your website. The best brands have a logo that has spanned decades with minor adjustments as the years go past. If you don’t already have a great logo you can easily update yours to something that if more effective and resonates with customers.
3. Tagline
A tagline represents what your business does and should be prominently displayed at the top of your website. Is your tagline displayed front and center? Does it resonate with visitors? Is it memorable?
4. Clear Navigation
Navigation is a critical component of any website and easily one of the most essential features to your success. It starts with your navigation aspects at the top of your website that allows quick and easy movement with commonly used menu location and buttons.
Including breadcrumb navigation for larger sites is highly recommended as that is a more common practice users have become accustom to. You should also have clear links to other pages and features within the body of pages so people can get where they want to go without unnecessary scrolling or movement. If people can’t easily figure out how to get where they want to be they tend to get frustrated and leave.
5. Contact Information
People need to know how to get a hold of you. Often a phone number and perhaps address and office hours should be displayed near the top of your website, depending on the type of business. All of your contact information should be included below the fold (at the bottom) as well because that is a common place people know to look. This should include address, email, phone numbers and available business hours.
6. CTAs
Calls to action should be prominent both at the top of the page and then within the page as needed to help funnel users towards the actions your site is built around whether that is for a newsletter signup, buying an item, or scheduling an appointment.
7. Primary Features
This covers the products and services that your business provides. The primary features need to be featured with design elements used to highlight them in an engaging manner. After all, typically the reason someone ends up at your site is because they are interested in your primary function.
8. Great Content
There is no room for bad content on a site. You need engaging, interesting copy on every page that describes your products or services, answers questions, and provides useful information.
9. Testimonials
Testimonials or reviews are another essential component to website success. Social proof is a powerful thing and when potential customers see feedback from current or previous customers it can help them make a decision about moving forward. You can use text or video reviews to help convey messages, just make sure the reviews are real.
10. Social Media Buttons
You should always include links to the company’s social media pages to encourage multi-platform interaction with your customers.
