10 Crucial Website Features Every Website Must Have

The digital landscape has drastically evolved in the past few years. From billboards and posters, many businesses are proactively using the internet to expand their services’ reach. However, many businesses often face the same challenges of prioritising what to showcase on their website.

A successful website not only aims to look good but also to provide a seamless user experience (UX) across all devices. In this article, we will explore the 10 most important website features you must have and why they are important.

1. Business Statement

A good foundation for a website is a good business statement. People will skim and scan through your page, and keeping your mission statement concise but readable will make people interested in your products or service. One or two sentences can be powerful so long as it is clear and concise.

It is also important that you accompany high-quality images that naturally reflect your brand. Pictures convey more information than huge blocks of text. Moreover, you can also use images to subtly guide your users to where you want them to go such as to shop in your store or contact you. Be creative on the graphics but keep it in check from being very distractive.

2. Contact Information

Everyone will agree to this. Every business website needs to have clear contact information – this is very essential that the contact page has become an integral part of any web design. Nothing is more frustrating than having a hard time getting in touch with a needed product or service.

In line with this, have your phone number, e-mail address, and a contact form accessible at your visitor’s disposal, preferably on the Contact Us page. Furthermore, avoid attaching them as part of an image or a background photo, but as an actual text. People would most likely copy this information from the site in order to call or throw an email quickly.

Finally, using contact widgets that let users press a single button to call your company easily is by far the most convenient option.

3. Quality Content

The primary reason why people surf on search engines and browse for websites is to look for information. With the advancements of mobile technology, people expect content to be delivered promptly and reliably.

Whether the purpose is to entertain, educate, or to promote something, frequently visited websites must have quality and reliable content – especially if your website uses search engine optimisation as a marketing strategy.

Additionally, we recommend that you ensure the most relevant content such as your service location or product line is prominent on your site. You also don’t want it to be difficult for visitors to explore your content and get distracted by unwanted information.

4. Clear Navigation

It’s no surprise that many users have short attention spans. In order to allow for seamless user experiences, your website’s user-friendly navigation system must be clear and easy to understand.

In addition, essential links such as the About, Services and Contact Us pages should be prominent on your home page and must be accompanied by easy-to-understand labels. Your website’s call-to-actions also need to be visible within your navigation scheme. Finally, accompany your business page with a search box, especially if you believe that the page will amass a plethora of important content over time.

5. Search Engine Optimisation

Even if your website has concise and quality content, it means nothing if people cannot find your page. This is why search engine optimisation (SEO) is essential for every website.

Search Engine Optimisation is the process of gaining traffic from free and organic search results on search engines. This is achieved by using simple words as well as search keywords in your website content, making sure they are prominent and that they keep the integrity of your web content. You don’t have to use fancy words and complicated vocabulary for your articles and general content as it also compromises readability – simple is efficient.

6. Simple Web Design

Putting too much glitter and jingle in your website rarely adds value and may instead distract users from where they are meant to go. Websites that work best in converting visitors into buying customers maintain a clean and simple layout. Additionally, a minimalist approach offers a relaxing yet sophisticated design.

Moreover, the smart use of negative space and monochromatism or hues of a colour family rids of distractive layouts and allows visitors to focus more on the information they need. This layout is basically easy to make and is also proven to be effective.

7. Security and Encryption

Modern banking allows cash transactions to take place within the comforts of our homes through electronic money. If you are planning to sell products online or offer an online payment option for your service page, then you need to invest in online security for you and your customers. This comes in the form of a Secure Socket Layer (SSL) Certificate.

An SSL encrypts all personal information that takes place between you and your users. This information can be in the form of your full name, residential address and credit card details. It is highly important that in this modern age, your website is completely secure with SSL.

8. Cross-platform Flexibility

While most businesses use desktops to maintain their website, a huge portion of users access websites from the comforts of their phones. If someone feels the urgency to eat somewhere or hire service as soon as possible, they would pick up their mobile device and browse.

Smartphones and tablets are driving an increasing amount of web traffic – and you would want this traffic to gain access to your website with ease by using responsive and flexible web design.

Responsive web design allows your website to use fluid dimensions so that they can fluidly adapt to various screen dimensions on different devices. With adjustable layouts and scalable images, you are maintaining readability and organisation of your web content regardless of the device it is being browsed.

9. Webpage Speed

People naturally lose patience quickly – that includes when visiting a website. You want your webpage to load as quickly as possible because the longer it takes to load the page, the more likely the user will leave before the page renders completely.

Instead of focusing more on fancy graphics and extensive flash animations, focus on improving your page loading speed, reducing unnecessary graphics, and optimising all other controllable factors that slow down loading time.

10. Error Handling

Naturally, people make mistakes when filling up online forms. That’s why a website with good usability should have good error handling and clear on-screen feedback messages.

Correct error handling at an intimate level will ensure that your website is adaptive, intricate, as well as free from any bugs. In addition, displaying correct error messages will bring users back on track and improve user experience as well as your webpage’s overall usability.

Conclusion

A new web design or complete digital transformation can be daunting for any brand. However, by working with a highly experienced web agency, a digital web transformation can completely transform the way your brand engages with customers for the years to come.

Contact us on (02) 9339 4500 and brief us on your upcoming web project.