Before we start with the list of must-haves for a good website, let me preface that first and foremost a website should be responsive and mobile friendly. Studies show that more than 50 percent of all websites and emails are opened on mobile devices; if your website is not responsive and mobile-friendly, stop reading now and find a web designer.
The next five points do not matter until you have a responsive site that people can read on their mobile devices. Take a look at your website using your smartphone. If the street address or services or pictures are illegible or too small, chances are it’s not mobile-friendly. You should not have to place your forefinger and thumb on the screen to enlarge the street address. A responsive site organizes the information on your website to best fit whatever screen on which it is displaying – desktop, smartphone or iPad.
Now we can begin. Here are five must-haves for a good, if not great, website:
1 – Multiple methods of contact easily visible and located in the expected places.
Potential customers are on your website – hooray – and obviously the next step is that you’d like to connect with them. Make this as simple for them as possible by making your phone number, address (linked and coded to map/directions) and email address easy to find. These items are standard in the footer and/or headers of a website, and this is where people will look for them, in addition to the “contact us” page of your website.
2 – Clear, concise content.
No one knows your industry like you. Now that I’ve landed on your website, please don’t bury me in industry jargon and terminology that I don’t understand. Your home page should be informative, concise and user-friendly. It should not be like reading IKEA directions (sorry, IKEA). You should be using layman terms to simply describe your product and services so that people feel like they can call you and have a conversation with you on their terms. Customers are not impressed by your wealth of knowledge and expertise in the field. They just want you to back up your work. They want to understand the gist of how you can help them and make their lives easier. Don’t be the hero in the story of what you do. Let your customers be the hero and you the guide.
3 – Unique, fresh content.
This is for all you Google-happy folks out there. Google crawls your page when new content is uploaded, hence the popularity of blogs on business websites. And Google is grading your content. Pencils down: Do your meta tags and keywords match your content? Is your content borrowed from another similar website? (That’s a big no-no.) Has your content been updated within the past 90 days? These three things heavily affect your search rankings. While many B2B companies in the construction industry don’t necessarily get their customers from Google searches, it is still important to remember and consider. Google is a giant with which to be reckoned. In order to play nice with Google, you need to have fresh, relevant content for your industry. A post once a month related to your services is a great place to start; this can easily be uploaded by office staff on the back end of a website built on a CMS (content management system) platform.
4 – Appropriate use of color and images.
I have seen many websites that look like a cookie cutter website with a logo attached. This is not a brand. This is a sad excuse for a website. Where is your identity? For what does your company stand? A branded website with strong sense of style, imagery and color helps set you apart from the competition and supports your sales effort by evoking a professional, signature brand. You don’t want to be known as the generic company that’s been around for a long time with that great salesperson. You want to be known for your brand. A brand can do a lot of things. It can make you look bigger than what you are. It can attract the right kind of customers. It can support a sales push. It can enhance work ethic of your company’s culture. A brand is so much more than looks, and it starts with your website. More so today than ever, a digital identity is crucial for brand success.
Lastly, and most importantly:
5 – A call to action.
You have a potential customer on your website! Now what? What do you want him or her to do next? Customers do not take action until they are challenged to take action. Unless we are bold in our calls to action, we will be ignored. We assume that we want them to buy from us, but that’s not correct. Customers have to be pushed into action. There is power in clarity. Make sure your site flows in a way that leads them to the action you want them to take, whether that is simply to learn more about your business or to pick up the phone and call you. Do you believe in your product? Customers aren’t looking for brands that are filled with doubt. They are looking for brands that have solutions to their problems. There are two kinds of calls to action: a direct call to action and a transitional call to action. For a good example of a direct call to action, go to the website of your favorite pizza chain. On the front page there is a call to action to get you to place an order such as pictures of delicious (albeit greasy) pizza. You’ll likely also find easy-to-click “order now” buttons. It will push you through the order, guide you step by step and try to upsell you soda and garlic bread.
As a brand, it’s our job to pursue our customers in a very similar fashion. We are the ones who need to take the initiative. Be bold and be direct when it comes to your website. State your purpose, have direction, include plenty of call to action buttons and methods to reach you, and support this clear messaging with a strong brand, logo, colors, imagery and easy navigation.
A good website can make or break a company. Let’s make yours.