Many businesses still treat their websites like brochures: long pages of text that no one reads, unappetizing designs and content without a clear purpose… In recent years, web design and development have grown increasingly sophisticated. If your website is not carefully planned and developed, it’s simply not going to generate new business.
- Mobile Friendly Layout
This year, we are seeing the majority of traffic coming from mobile devices over desktop computers. If your website is not mobile friendly, your users will have a bad experience and leave. Simple as that. - Clear Messaging
Here’s where a lot of websites get it wrong. Make sure each web page has a clear goal. For example: “Inform prospects that we are the best website designers in New York.” Use titles and headings to communicate major points and support text where necessary. Icons are also a great way to illustrate an idea or offering. - A Call-to-Action
What do you want your visitors to do? Call? Fill out a form? Make a purchase? Consider what type of action holds the most potential value for your business. Then, encourage visitors to act by placing prominent and compelling calls to action on your website. - Easy-to-Find Contact Information
Make it as easy as possible for prospects to find your contact info. Have your phone number on every page and a contact page with a link to directions and a map. - Basic SEO
Search engines are always one of the top traffic sources for websites. But optimizing a website can be a long and cumbersome process. So for starters, make sure each page has a unique title tag, meta description, H1 and keyword rich text. For more information, here’s a link to MOZ’s SEO cheat sheet.
So there you have it – this week’s Friday Five. If your business needs help with a new website – we’d love to hear from you!
By John McHugh