7 Things Your Website Should Be Doing for You

A website is absolutely critical for all businesses in this modern, digital age. It’s important that they look the part, of course, but it’s also paramount that they actually have optimum functionality and are providing you with the best possible results. If your website isn’t doing one or more of the following things, then it might be time to consider a redesign and Kumo is just the agency to do that for you. We have a team of excellent marketing specialists with over twenty years of experience designing and building websites, alongside other marketing services. So what should your website be doing for you? Let’s go through them:

1. Attracting new customers & generating leads

First impressions count when it comes to your website. It needs to look fresh and modern and be easy to use. Make sure that it’s categorised and formatted in a way that visitors will be able to find, or even search for, as quickly and as easily as possible. Not only will it look professional, it will also help to instil some trust in you on the part of your customers. The more trust they have in your site, the more likely it is that they’ll make a purchase through your company or commit to a service you offer. 

Your website should look welcoming from the offset and that includes providing them with up-to-date contact information so they can get in touch if they feel like they need to. This is just another way in which you can build a rapport and solidify some trust between your business and both your new and potential customers. If you implement these changes, although your site might already be hitting the aforementioned goals, then you’ll start to see an increase in leads, conversions and, therefore, sales.

2. Offering quick & easy navigation

Your website needs to be easy and quick to navigate, which is just a part of its overall functionality. This also includes site speed. According to Digital, 1 in 2 website visitors will abandon a website if it takes more than six seconds to load. The same source also claims the following:

• 53% of customers expect website pages to load in three seconds or less
• 14% of website users want e-commerce pages to load up in one second or less
• 21% of consumers see slow-loading website pages as a main source of dissatisfaction in a website when shopping online
• If a website page doesn’t load fast enough, half of customers claim to abandon their online shopping baskets
• Companies that have slow-to-load website pages will have a negative impression on as much as 45% of customers, both existing and prospective

Digital conducted a study that found that 39% of people who were asked expected a website page to load in two-three seconds, so this is something that you should aim towards if your website is loading particularly slowly. If you’re having trouble with your site regarding slow website page speed and you aren’t sure what to do in order to improve it, then consult the help of a digital marketing agency to do it for you. Kumo has a team of specialists on hand who are fully-trained in the identification of, and the resolution of, site speed issues. 

Site navigation and functionality doesn’t just stop with site speed. You should also carry out an audit to find broken links, error pages, pointless redirects, among other things. You should also pay attention to payment pages and methods, ensuring that the speed at which payments are processed and taken is smooth and seamless every single time. If you’re looking for optimum functionality and quick and easy navigation but aren’t sure how to identify the issues, then consider employing a digital marketing agency to help you.

3. Providing an excellent user experience on all devices

We have already touched on website speed, which also plays a part in user experience, but it’s a huge part of how a customer feels when using your website. Broken links, error pages and similar aspects of your website can also be holding you back when it comes to whether or not a user has a pleasant experience using your website, as already discussed. You might find that, if you fix those issues, the user experience will be excellent. 

However, the main point here is that user experience needs to be exceptional on all devices, not just desktop. An increasing number of people are using websites and making purchases on mobile devices in an age that’s ruled by on-the-go technology. Cybercrew found that, by the end of April 2021, 46.33% of internet users used their mobile phones to access the net.

 It was also found that 5.3 million people who used smartphones to access the internet fell between the ages of 18-24, with 94% of females using a mobile device to access the internet compared to 93% of males users. Therefore, it’s imperative that you provide an excellent user experience on mobile devices as well as desktop settings.

4. Adding credibility & maintaining your reputation

Credibility and reputation are two of the most important things for all business owners and an excellent website will confirm this for your customers. The internet is incredibly saturated, so those searching the net need something to distinguish one company from another. A lot of the time, trust comes into how likely it is that someone will make a purchase through you. Online shoppers are carrying out more research than ever before on a company before making a purchase. 62% of those who shop through Google’s Shopping tab will compare similar, if not the same, products from different retailers, according to Internet Retailing. 

But a big part of establishing trust comes from reviews from other customers. Trustmary found that 93% of consumers will read reviews online before committing to a purchase, with 58% of people being ready to pay more or travel further to actually visit a company who has good reviews online. Not only that, but 62% of online shoppers said that they were more likely to make a purchase if they have seen a photo or a video of the product they’re wanting to buy, so make sure your website has these visual aids in place to help add credibility.

Reputation X claims that having a solid, positive online reputation is far more important than having greater revenues, more business opportunities or an increase in business relationships. Part of building a good reputation these days comes straight from online reviews, unsurprisingly. 90% of those asked said that positive reviews online have influenced their decision as to whether or not to purchase a product online, a statistic that also comes from Reputation X. 

This is something that your website can display in the form of a carousel on the homepage or in another format. But a good website can’t leave you with positive reviews alone. You need to provide unrivalled customer service and quality products and/or services to encourage those positive reviews online.

5. Highlighting everything you have to offer your customers

A good website needs to show your customers what you have to offer, whether it be products or services. It needs to be prevalent and be included in H1s and H2s as an absolute minimum. You need to have dedicated website service and product pages as well and it needs to be structured in such a way that website visitors will have absolutely no problem in identifying and accessing those website pages. 

Your homepage should also have a summary of what you’re offering, but the copy needs to be written in such a way that it benefits both the customer and your SEO results. If you aren’t sure where to begin with regards to website copy, then look to Kumo for specialist content writers. From page structure to keyword research and much more, you’ll be provided with high-quality website copy that performs well in the search engine results pages, persuades customers to make a purchase through you and instils trust in your customers.

6. Displaying clear ‘calls to action’ (CTAs)

Call to actions (CTAs) have the sole purpose of encouraging website visitors to take the next step in their online shopping journey. Whether you want them to contact you, book an appointment, commit to a service or purchase a product, a CTA will do this for you, when done correctly. A website should have clear CTAs throughout, including on the homepage, service/product pages, contact pages and even at the end of your blog posts and/or articles.

7. Keeping you connected to customers

You need to stay connected to your customers in some form or another. A website should display all of your contact information, with a business address as an absolute minimum. The more methods there are to contact you, the more trustworthy your website will become to your visitors. Some of the contact information you could include are as follows:

• A telephone number
• An address
• An email address
• Facebook page
• Instagram gallery
• Twitter account
• Pinterest boards

Kumo is an innovative digital marketing agency with over two decades of industry experience to draw upon. We strive to make sure our clients stand out from their competitors, offering bespoke, highly-effective marketing services regarding PPC, SEO, website design, content creation and more. Whether you’re looking for a trend-setting site or simply wish to start an industry-relevant blog, we’ll be with you every step of the way. For more information about how we can improve your results online, get in touch with a member of our professional, knowledgeable team today – we’re based in Nottingham but are pleased to serve clients throughout the country.