Are you looking to build a website to represent your company for the first time? Maybe you're trying to perform a mass overhaul of your current site that isn't showing any signs of life.
Whatever the case might be, there are several key elements that you need to consider. A website is usually created by using a popular website builder. But you'll still be the one to make sure all necessary elements of your site are met.
See below for several key elements you'll need when building a website. If you're building a website from scratch, use this as a checklist while you go along.
Did you know that, for the first time in history, more people are using the internet via their smartphones than any other device including desktops? Because of that, your website has to have mobile-friendly navigation features.
These are features that smartphone users can easily recognize to move around throughout your website. Without adapting your site to fit a smartphone's screen, your content will look overwhelming and intimidating your clients.
Be sure to design your website for touch, list your most popular pages first, and reduce the clutter of your mobile navigation menu. Before you sign off on the layout of your site, visit it with a mobile phone and make sure your content is mobile-friendly.
Your website alone won't convince a customer to purchase a product from you. It goes a long way towards making a good first impression, but you need other forms of content to pitch the site visitor on why they should buy your product.
That's why it's important to prioritize your product descriptions and images for each product page.
Keep the product descriptions short and sweet while still following the recommended guidelines for SEO, using bullet points for technical information so that they're easy to read. The more benefits you can list, the more valuable the product becomes in the client's eyes.
For your images, make sure you're using high-resolution photos and implementing keywords into the titles that you save them as. Embed a slideshow of photos for each product to demonstrate different facets of the product.
You might also consider using video content for each product. Video content is more engaging and does a better job of demonstrating the item for your clients.
Few things cause more confusion and frustration among your clients than an unclear return policy.
If done right, a returns policy can boost your brand's trustworthiness. Essentially, customers view it as how you perceive your products.
If you're confident in them, you'll offer a better return policy knowing the odds are that the customer will be happy with the product(s) they've purchased.
Make the return policy readily available on your site. Place it at the bottom of your page under a 'support' tab. Use a FAQ format to provide more details on the specifics of your return policy.
Most importantly, keep the return policy as simple as possible. List important facts such as the timeline for acceptable returns, policy on damaged products, how to send it back, and make sure to place a number or email they can reach out to for more questions.
In time, your 'about us' page will be one of the most frequently visited parts of your website. Why? Because people want to learn more about your brand and the people behind it.
Your 'about us' page is an opportunity to tell your brand's story and give your clients more insight into the "why" behind your brand.
You can also share important information about your company such as your employees, your business partners, and certifications or patents you have, and so on. Anything to make your brand more relatable.
A great about us page example is the AllDayShirts.com website that uses the content on this page to promote their brand.
Now that you've focused content around convincing the client to purchase your product and support your brand, it's time to focus on the checkout process. This process can make or break the entire sale for you.
You need to make sure to offer a guest checkout for those that are purchasing from your brand for the first time.
Make sure to offer multiple shipping methods for those that prioritize meeting their budget or receiving the product faster. You'll also want to allow as many payment methods as possible. Not offering the right one can lead to the client backing out of the sale entirely.
You want to accommodate all the major credit card companies, as well as services such as Paypal.
To make your brand as approachable as possible, you want to offer your clients many different ways to get in touch with you. Your website's contact us methods are imperative for that.
Be sure to offer methods such as email, Skype, Facebook, Telegram, Instagram, and other ways to meet their preference.
This goes a long way towards building customer loyalty. The more accommodating and accessible your brand is to offering help, the more the customers will trust your company.
Now that you've seen several key elements that you can include when building a website for the very first time, be sure to use them to your advantage.
Take the time to think from the customer's point of view. What features would you want to see from a well-regarded company in your industry? How can you bring that to life on your site?
COO & Co-founder of 3dcart, a leading shopping cart software. As an ecommerce authority, he’s focused on helping internet retailers succeed online by developing strategies, actionable plans and customer experiences that grow and improve performance.
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