The first ecommerce website was set up in 1996, and ever since, things have been on an upwards trajectory. Website designs have evolved over the years to the modern, sleek and easy-to-use websites available today. As a business owner, ensuring your website meets the market standards is the first order of business to handle when going digital.
You will need to hire a qualified web designer to come up with the design and help with its management. With the right criteria in hand, you can find the perfect agency to entrust with your web design project. Here are 7 essential features for a business website to take your business to the next level.
High Search Engine Optimization Score
Understandably, a lot of business owners are unfamiliar with SEO. You can use your web design firm or another SEO agency to ensure that your content and website are optimized for higher rankings on search engines. Improved visibility from white hat (legitimate) SEO practices attracts organic traffic that your site will need to make conversions.
The better you handle your SEO, the higher your chances of building a better brand image that will be easy to market. You need a top-quality SEO expert that will continuously manage your site.
User-Friendly Navigation
Website designs have evolved over the years, culminating in sophisticated options that often leave search engine users confused. A complex website can lead to an increased bounce rate, especially from new traffic who find it hard to navigate the site.
A digital marketer can help improve navigation between the pages by improving the general layout of the website and using an internal linking strategy.
Other factors that will improve navigation on your website are a clear menu structure and search functionality spaces to help visitors who cannot seem to find their way around your website.
Mobile-Responsive
Is your website seamless and accessible from any type of mobile device? If not, have an expert optimize your website to make it mobile responsive. This is important for all business websites considering that a major percentage of the traffic online originates from mobile phone searches.
To make your website mobile responsive, images are optimized to improve the loading speed. Websites that are not mobile responsive experience more bounce rates from their new traffic simply because the display is toggled up without order depending on the type of mobile phone.
Well-organized Product/Service Pages
Besides a great layout, your website needs to have well-defined product/service pages. To successfully sell anything online, you will need to post high-quality images and videos. It furthermore eliminates confusion when a business uses proper descriptions to elaborate on what the buyer gets from the purchase. Other necessary factors that make up the product/service pages include the reviews and ratings from previous customers.
Simple and Secure Payment and Checkout Process
Not all visitors to your website are there to make immediate purchases—some are just browsing. Therefore, it’s essential to offer a guest checkout option so that customers can complete their purchases without being forced to create an account.
To cater to a variety of customers, your website should support multiple payment methods, including credit cards, PayPal, Apple Pay, and Google Wallet. This ensures a convenient payment experience for everyone.
Your web designer will implement secure payment processing using SSL certificates and ensure compliance with Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), safeguarding your customers’ information.
Finally, streamline the entire purchase process to ensure it’s intuitive and effortless, providing a seamless and enjoyable shopping experience for your users.
User Accounts
Upon successfully shopping on a website for the first time, several customers are likely to return. Your business should cater to this necessity by allowing the creation and management of user accounts. These are the accounts that your customers create on your website using their login information.
The account allows them to view the order history while also tracking current shipments dispatched to them. It also allows them to create a wish list of saved items that they will purchase once they have the budget for it. This personalizes the experience that shoppers have on your website hence increasing their loyalty to your brand even more.
Customer Support
All great businesses today understand the essence of a great customer care front. Your website must also have easily accessible customer care to cater to the needs of your customers. Digital marketing agencies use live chat to provide assistance to customers in real-time.
Developing the FAQs and help center makes it simple for your customers to address the common problems likely to be experienced.
Lastly, provide the contact information needed to access you or customer care services. These details can be contact forms, email addresses or even active phone numbers that the business management can be reached at.
Security Features
If your site is not secure, you may lose business to your competition. Understanding this risk, an SEO expert will install different security features that safeguard the interests of both the customers and the business.
An SSL certificate is the first order of business to handle when dealing with website security. It encrypts the data being transmitted on the website limiting unauthorized access to the personal details of your customers.
A privacy policy is also another ideal way of inspiring confidence in your customers knowing that the data collected on them will be kept private and protected.
Optimize Your Website Today
To elevate your website’s visibility and attract more organic traffic, partnering with a leading SEO firm is essential. At 1-FIND, we specialize in creating top-quality, optimized websites that achieve higher rankings and drive results.
Don’t settle for just any agency—choose a digital marketing partner that understands your unique needs and goals. Contact 1-FIND today to set up an appointment and discover how our expertise can transform your online presence and grow your business.
Reach out to us now, and let’s discuss how we can help you achieve exceptional results.
