We’re now at the point where any business wanting to be as successful as possible must have an online presence, but all websites are not created equal. There are good websites, great websites, and truly terrible websites, and you want to make sure that yours never drifts into the category of the latter. All the world’s most successful websites share these three key cornerstones and yours must include these essential features if you want it to thrive.
Functionality
It’s so easy to get lost in pretty colours and impressive animations that you can forget your website is at its heart a tool, nothing more. It’s a tool by which you distribute your product or service to your customers and communicate your business’ core strengths to prospects. So at its heart, every website must have a responsive design and intuitive navigation.
A confusing website is not one that you’re going to want to visit a second time, and the goal of every successful website is to become a regular stop for repeat customers. To achieve this, your website must work. Pure and simple, this is why the functionality is an essential feature.
Optimisation
Time is arguably the most valuable commodity in the universe, it’s something you never get back. How much of it have you wasted waiting for a website’s home page to load? No matter how much it is, it’s too much. Poor web design will make your website clunky and unresponsive; which will ultimately kill any interest your prospective customers have in doing business with you.
It’s a benefit to your branding too. If your website is slow and unresponsive you’re unconsciously giving your customers; the perception that your business itself is the same way too. A crisp, clean, modern website, however, means your business image is a picture of efficiency.
Security
As more people begin to make the most of their purchases online there’s more risk than ever of falling victim to cyber-crime. If you’re going to appeal to your customers and encourage them to share their payment details; you need to make sure they’re confident in your ability to keep their data secure. If you don’t offer extensive payment protection and security against hacking attempts, nobody will want to buy from you.
It stands to reason; your customers don’t know you and won’t take their money for granted. You need to prove to them that you deserve their business; and a secure website is one of the best ways to do so.
