If your business doesn’t have an online presence today, you are definitely missing a lot!  A business website is more like your business card, brochure and advertising rolled into one.  In this digital age where competition is as fast as the speed of type, knowing the principles of a good web design is only a piece of the marketing pie for your biz.  It is crucial for you to know the elements that make a good website great by knowing what you should have on it in the first place.

Ten Things Your Business Website Should Have

Your website is like a blueprint of your business and you need time and resources to build it.  If you’re clueless about it, you may outsource and hire experts to help you.  Still, it is vital for you to know what elements must be included to make you look less of a startup.  Your website must have:

1.  A Clean and Simple Site Navigation

You don’t want visitors to your site get totally confused.  Having a clean navigation is not only easy for your audience, but it is also friendly to search engines as well.  Make sure that you have clear links and a site map.  Google gives importance to site upload time so steer clear of flash, scripts and frames on your site.

2.  A No-Nonsense Homepage

You must have a clear description of who you are, what your offer and what you do right on the homepage of your website.  It is what people see first.  Don’t make them try to figure out who you are.  You may also write an overview about your business and leave your mission statement and company history on your ‘About’ page.

3.  An Easy-to-Remember Web Address

‘Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious’ may be cute for a song, but making your domain name this long is a major no-no!  Think of your domain name as your brand, something a user type in the web browser or searches.  Make sure that your domain name ( www.myname.com ) is not only simple and easy to remember, but it shouldn’t contain numbers and special characters too.

4.  A Visible Contact Page

There are many sites out there which make it hard for people to find how to contact them.  You can allot a separate contact page where you include information such as email, address, and phone.  You can also include a contact form, links to social networking sites ( Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter ), or an instant messaging widget ( Skype, Yahoo, etc ).

5.  A Well-Written Business Blog

On our last post, we taught you how to write a knockout corporate blog and having one on your site is a great way to engage your readers ( who can be your potential customers ).  With Google Caffeine looking for fresh content, having a blog is a brilliant way of keeping your site updated.

6.  Seals and Testimonials

One of the best way to gain trust is to flaunt honest and positive customer feedback, testimonials or reviews.  There are also many who look for industry seals from respected third parties which assures your visitors that they are dealing with a genuine business.

7.  An FAQ Page

This is something that’s self-explanatory.  You need to help your visitors understand your products and services better on this page.  You may also include your site’s privacy policy, plus terms and conditions here.

8.  A Call-to-Action

If 90% of visitors on your site will go there without buying a thing, at least get them involved!   You can place a ‘Subscribe to RSS’ or email box on the header or the footer of a page, just make it visible for everyone to see.  You may even ask your visitors to follow you on Facebook or Twitter.  The options are endless in keeping the flames of their interest burning.

9.  Optimized Content

SEO, or search engine optimization, will help people find you faster on the Web.  In fact, you only need to come up with the right keywords related to your industry and make sure you practice something that’s acceptable by Webmaster standards.  If you will hire someone to do your site’s SEO, make sure that you watch out for these SEO red flags.

10.  A Unique Brand

If you want your website to stand out, invest some time and money in making sure that you have a unique logo and website design that don’t look like another copy from a free template found online.  What colors speak for your business?  What message does your brand name impart?  How can you enhance user experience on your site? These are just a few questions to consider.

Your website is the very mirror that reflects your business image.  Now that you have the vital elements, the next step is to use them so you can maximize sales and build meaningful relationships with your visitors.

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