Making your own website is simple enough when it comes to getting your domain and setting the site up. Something which is not so easy is giving your users the very best experience. In order to ensure that your website, in whatever industry it operates in, becomes successful, you will need to market well across social channels and search engines but also make sure that once a user visits your site, they have a great experience.
In order to give your visitors the best value when it comes to your site, here are some of the key features which they will be looking for.
Mobile Ready
With such a high percentage of people using their smartphones to view content, it is imperative that your site is fully mobile functional. This can help in so many capacities, mobile users are more inclined to share on social media, mobile purchases are rising rapidly and if you want to ask your users questions like finding out your net promoter score, a mobile user is more likely to fill out this kind of information.
Great Content
At the heart of every great website is fantastic content which gives something valuable to your visitors. Far too many website owners place higher importance on the amount of content which they offer over the quality of the content which simply bombards users with stuff they don’t need. Ask yourself if you would find value in what is being written or posted on your site, if the answer is no, don’t post.
Speed
In today’s world where internet users have an incredible amount of options for everything which they look for online, speed is key. If you have a website which takes a long time to load pages and buffer videos then you could very well see many visitors simply go elsewhere instead of hanging around. There are many factors when it comes to site speed from the themes you use to the server space which you pay for and you should analyze all to ensure that your site operates without lag.
Great Design
The design of your website is enough to keep or lose a visitor within the first ten seconds of them being on your homepage. You need to ensure that you spend quality time analyzing the layout, colors and features of your website to make sure that when someone hits your page, they understand straight away who you are and what you do. Poor design can cost you visitors and money and it is important that you set time aside in order to give them a design which makes them want to stay with you.
Navigation
The ease with which users navigate your site is important as, once again, users do not have the time or patience online to search around your site for what they want. Your responsibility is to ensure that your visitors can see exactly what they want, when they want by way of menus, categories and links. Ask a friend or family member to play around on your site for a while and see how they find the navigation, this can help you to understand what others are looking for in a website.