In today’s world, a growing percentage of business is done online. The need for a website is paramount but so, too, is the need to market it.
Having an online presence is pointless if nobody knows you are there. Marketing will direct people towards your website and gain awareness for both it and the related company or brand. To this end, it also helps to make sure your marketing is done in the correct fashion.
The most common piece of advice is to market correctly, applying adverts to potential audiences that actually have an interest. A blanket approach won’t work, as a lot of your efforts go to people who simply are not interested or have no need of your service. Yet, even when you do get the right audience interested, there are a few more steps you need to take to keep them hooked.
Clear and Direct
First of all, a website needs to be clear. Specifically, it should be direct in its navigation. Tabs should be able to direct visitors to where they need to go and the fewer clicks it takes to go there, the more they will appreciate the transparent and simplistic nature of the site.
This is why a proper landing page is crucial. When your customers follow adverts, promotional material or word of mouth through to your website, your landing page is the first thing they will see. If they’re looking for a specific product or service, this needs to be clearly identifiable.
A website that is messy, clunky or difficult to navigate will easily lose customers. These small details do not encourage return visits and, if a customer is comparing services or simply has free time to visit such websites, yours will be further down their list of priorities if navigation becomes a burden to them.
Speed
Similar to navigation issues, speed is also important. Today is a world of super-fast broadband and fiber optic cables. Even the most average wi-fi device has fast downloads and transfer rates. If your website is suffering from slow loading speeds – whether it’s due to server limitations, data problems or software issues – your company’s business will suffer as customers go elsewhere.
This will also be true in the future, so future-proofing your website is recommended. A website performance test from NCC Group, for example, can show you how much your website can handle. Of course, being able to hand more is better – if you suddenly receive more than your current limits, those customers are going to face a slow loading speed, negating any benefits you could have capitalised on.