Make the most of your website with our must have checklist!
How often have you Googled a business only to find that they don’t have a website? Or if they do, the website is hard to navigate, and you end up at their competitor’s website instead.
One in five consumers will stop considering a small business they haven’t used before if it doesn’t have a website. And surprisingly 40.5% of small businesses along the Bellarine Peninsula don’t have one!
Why small businesses need a website
Using the right digital tools and platforms is essential to finding new customers. Therefore it’s not only super important to have a website but to make sure your website is benefiting your business and, of course, your customers!
Whether you’ve got a website currently or it’s something you’re in the process of creating, we highly suggest going through the checklist below to ensure your website is up to scratch.
Mobile-friendly websites
You’d be hard-pressed to find someone that doesn’t use their mobile phone to visit a website. Mobile devices consistently generate 50% or more of global website traffic. Therefore having a design where all your pages perform well on a mobile is super-duper important.
You can use this free mobile-friendly test to check how well your website performs on a mobile device.
Search engine optimised website content
There’s nothing more frustrating than wanting a specific piece of information and not being able to find it on a website. For example, if you’re looking for a service-based business specific to certain locations, such as Geelong Digital Marketing Agency, but the company doesn’t list the areas they service on their site. It can be a bit of a time-wasting experience for you. You might contact them only to find out that they are a million miles away from you and therefore not suitable for your needs.
Ensuring you provide relevant and valuable content will not only please your customer but will also help your website’s SEO.
Secure websites
Have you ever clicked on a website only for it to come up with a warning message? Something like, “This site is not secure. Do you want to proceed?” This is a security measure displayed to prevent you from entering malicious or hacked sites. Therefore, it is why it’s essential to make sure your website is secure so that no one is turned away.
How do you know if a website is secure, you might be wondering? The easiest way to check is to click on the little padlock icon to the left of the URL. This indicates the web page you are visiting is secure. An extra measure is to check that the web address starts with “https://”.
As the business owner, its your job to ensure your website is secure. It’s worth making sure you have an SSL certificate, which is a digital certificate that authenticates your website’s identity. If this all sounds a bit over your head, don’t stress; reach out to our techie wizards, who can help set up website hosting with an SSL certificate.
Consistent branding
It may seem obvious but having consistent branding is an absolute must. For example, you wouldn’t want to have one branding design on Instagram and a different on Facebook. It’s the same with your website. Having consistent branding across all platforms helps with recognition and trust for your brand.
Website design
With branding comes colour choices. Did you know colours can have different meanings? Use consistent colours that evoke the feelings you want your consumers to experience. And also make sure the colour contrast ratio on your site is appropriate. There’s no point in choosing colours that aren’t legible. If a visitor can’t read the content on your website they’re going to leave!
Under design also comes imagery. Any files you upload to your site need to be optimised and in the correct ratio. Additionally, for SEO purposes, they need to have [alt] attributes.
SEO’d websites
If we had to pick five pieces of content that are a must for websites, they would be:
- A standout homepage – your home page is what visitors will see first, make it good enough that they’ll stick around.
- Call to actions – encourage site visitors to take the desired action that will directly impact your conversion rates. You may need to have these buttons and call to action at the top of the page rather than the middle or bottom. This will depend on your business and the user behaviour when using your website.
- Social media links – you may share different information on your other platforms. It’s worth prompting visitors to check out these other channels so they are getting the whole package from your brand. While focusing on this must-have, check out apps like Milkshake and Linktree that can help you direct your users back to your site. This feature is especially important for Instagram, as links in posts are not active.
- Online enquiries or contact information – allow users to reach out to you if they need. These might come in a couple of different ways. For example, if you need to have a specific form to identify a particular service or need to have one that offers dates to choose from or perhaps it’s just a general enquiry.
- Testimonials – customers are more likely to utilise your services if they know about other people’s opinions. Our VDM team have a saying when advising clients of having testimonials… “I can tell you how good I am, but if someone else tells you, you believe them”. Testimonials and reviews offer significant creditability to your business, and it is a must-have!
Support from a digital marketing agency in Ocean Grove
If you can implement all the above tips, your website will be off to a great start. But understandably, if these tips leave you feeling a little overwhelmed and not sure where to start, that’s ok too. The team at Viewpoint Digital Media are here to help!
We have got you sorted, from website audits, website development, creative content writing, search engine optimisation, graphic design, videography, photography, digital marketing strategies and digital marketing… so it’s safe to say you will be in safe hand
