For any business owner who is looking for web designers to design and build a new website, the process of choosing one can be somewhat similar to that if you were choosing a kitchen designer or landscaping designer. You would ask around to see if anyone you know could recommend one, you would research their past work, and then you might request that they create a quotation for you.
Another similarity is that, with a kitchen and a landscaped garden, there will be essential elements you would insist upon having in their designs. In a kitchen, you would want a sink and a cooker. In a landscaped garden, a lawn, and pathways, for example. So, when it comes to hiring web designers to create your new website, there will be some elements within its design that are essential and non-negotiable in terms of their inclusion.
Thankfully, if you do proper research and choose a professional web designer with a proven track record, then it is almost certain that their knowledge and experience already have them aware of what those non-negotiables are. The question is, do you know what must be included within your website? If not, we have explained them all below for you.
Clearly Defined Objectives
As with any business undertaking you make, a website must have a goal, even before the first piece of code has been created. With no clear objectives, a website is merely something to look at and will impact your business no more than the pictures you hang on your office walls.
A Means To Generate Leads
Lead generation is an essential part of any business, and a website can play a huge role in that. However, it can only do so if some way to capture leads exists within it. This might be a “Contact Us” form or an opt-in box where visitors submit their email addresses.
Identifiable Branding
Clear and distinctive branding is important for all businesses, but it is especially so for local businesses to distinguish themselves from their local competition. Your new website should be designed with your branding on all pages.
A Way For Customers To Seek Support
A big mistake many businesses make with their website is they either make support accessible only to existing customers, or worse, they include no means of seeking support whatsoever. To ensure that you do not lose prospects who are interested in your products or services, make a support option available for all.
Easy Navigation
You have almost zero chance of your website coming close to meeting any of its objectives if it seems like a labyrinth to visitors. The cause of that is having poor, or no navigation, whereby visitors cannot easily move from page to page, and back to the home page should they wish.
High-Quality Content
You want your visitors to, not only remain on your website for some time but also to come back due to being so impressed by it. One of the best ways to achieve this is to have top-quality content throughout your website which can include text, images, and videos.
Unambiguous Calls To Action
Ultimately, what you want all visitors who come to your website to do, is to take action, be that submitting an email address, asking for more information, or best of all, purchasing something. Those conversions will increase enormously if you have clear, bold, calls to action that leave no room for confusion.