As time has passed there has been many changes in the way users view and use websites, additionally, there has been extensive changes in how a website is ranked on search engines.
Even today nearing the end of 2019 there are still plenty of websites out there that are still yet to be updated to take advantage of these changes.
Here are some interesting statistics that may shock you.
- It takes about 0.05 seconds for a user to form an opinion about your website that determines if they like your site or not.
Just like that in the blink of an eye, someone has already decided if they like your website or not, this really puts first impressions into perspective. This also really puts the pressure on when you consider just how little time 0.05 seconds is.
- 57% of users online say that they won’t recommend a business with a poorly designed website on mobile.
Responsive design is truly important as over 50% of users use mobile devices to search the internet. A poorly optimised website will negatively affect your chances at visits and sales.
To a user, there are two important factors that must be met. User experience and the design of the website.
- 38% of users will stop engaging with a website if the content or layout is unattractive.
If you make it past the initial 0.05 seconds that it takes to appeal to a user you’re still not out of the woods yet. Your website’s content and layout must also appeal to the user and must be easy to navigate as well as being clear and to the point.
With these statistics in mind, we can move onto what your website should have in this current digital era.
Number one: Mobile Friendly
More people in the world own a mobile phone than people that own a toothbrush – reference
Each and every day the number of users who browse online is increasing not to mention more and more people are converting to mobile searches as a preference over the desktop web searching. Currently, more than 50% of users are using mobile devices to search online worldwide (that’s a lot!). Knowing this makes it even more important that your website is mobile-friendly and responsive.
Number two: Useful Content
This may sound pretty obvious, but the content is important. Almost all of the content on a website should be short. It is recommended to have between 350-500 words per page on a website.
Content should be to the point and giving the user an option to read more if they want to gain more information on a subject. Uninteresting longwinded content is a major downfall for all types of websites.
Number three: Social Media Integration
It’s important that you link all of your social media presences to your website and vice versa. Social media is an important and useful tool to both gains a new audience as well as to keep your existing audience engaged with your business.
You can drive traffic to your website via your social media as well as driving traffic to your social media through your website.
Number four: Call To Actions
The call to action is a principle that all websites should abide by. The aim of a call to action is to guide a user to new products, different webpages, different services, deals and discounts.
Call To Actions main goal is to keep users on your website as long as possible.
Number five: Images
Who doesn’t like a good image?
Some key points to keep in mind while using images on your site is to make sure that the image will load fast, be clear and descriptive, fit with the content of the site and never forget to give your image alt text.
Remember to keep your files small and high quality, no one likes a pixelated photo.
Number six: Be Consistent
Again, this may sound obvious but speaking from experience it can be very easy to go off on a tangent and lose focus on what your original message is.
Not only do you need to be consistent on one webpage but your need to be consistent all the way through your website.
Keep a clear vision in mind of how you want your website to be seen and read. Make sure that the tone of voice is consistent, you can go from being extremely positive to negative from page to page.
Number seven: User-friendly Design
This is a combination of number one and number two, your website must be user-friendly. Remember your website is for your visitors not for you.
Your site must be simple and easy to understand, navigation is a common issue that users can encounter.
Always remember less is more and simplicity overrules anything that is complex.
Number eight: Link Building
This has more to do with your Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) than anything that is user-facing.
A great way to rank higher which will generate more visits to your site is to create links to and from websites with a higher SEO Score.
A website that already has high traffic and a high authority can bring you large amounts of traffic if you build links with them.
Number nine: Sitemap
This is also another SEO feature, you can share your site map with your visitors if you wish as it gives them another method of navigating your site as they can see each and every page that your site contains.
For websites with many pages, it’s more recommended that you keep an organised navigation system and perhaps not supply visitors with the site map as it can be confusing with more pages.
A sitemap allows a search engine to quickly and accurately map your content, this can give you a good boost in your SEO Score.
Number 10: Google Analytics
You don’t have to be afraid of google analytics, yes there is a lot of information to take in but in turn, it can give you great insights on how to improve your site.
The best part is IT’S TOTALLY FREE! You get information on the geolocation of your visitors, what devices they use, what times they visit your site and dozens of other useful analytics.
This can be a lot of information to take in. We here at ITC Digital have specialised in website design and SEO as well as graphic design, bespoke software solutions and other services, so why not leave the hard stuff to us and we will put our combined knowledge and experience into your website?
