There are numerous websites on the internet with different purposes. Just as you have to stand out on your social media platforms, you must also let your brand stand out through its own website. Whether you are an individual, a company, or an owner of a start-up business, a website is already a basic platform to reach old and new customers. With today’s technology, you can even sell your products via websites securely through e-commerce!

Consider putting oneself in the shoes of the users to know how your website should be — how will it benefit my market? How do they expect to see and spend time on each page? The digital realm continuously develops through time, and so do websites. This article lets us delve into the best website characteristics as well as the elements necessary for your brand to be seen and experienced by the market in a good impression. Most importantly, let them drive action and create positive responses from your target market.

Photo by Igor Miske

Here Are The Essential Website Characteristics and Elements

1. User-Friendly

Whether your website is accessed via desktop or mobile, the users, no matter their age, should navigate through what they look for easily without any delays in loading, odd presentation on the screen such as misaligned images and texts, and to locate what they are looking for with ease.

2. Clean Homepage

Your homepage shows your logo, company name that may include a short introduction about who you are, your product or service highlights, and contacts. Place the main menu on your homepage to include the necessary sections for easier navigation.

3. Menu Header
A standard and helpful menu header includes the following pages, but is not limited to, the Homepage, About, Contact, Shop, Catalog, and Blog. Putting the important information in different sections makes it organized and easier for the users to navigate around and learn about your brand.

4. Has Good SEO

It is very important to consider that your website stays on top of the searches when people look up your products and services; thus, focusing on digital marketing efforts to retain relevant keywords all throughout your website relating to your brand is one of the best ways to put your website on the first page of the search results. Putting the right meta tags is also crucial which can impact how your website appears in search results as well as improve your click-through rate (CTR).

5. Credible and Secure

You do not want your website to be the source of unwanted cyber breaches nor to be found as a threat for malicious online activities. Get a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) Certificate to secure online transactions especially for e-commerce websites and to keep customer information private, giving them a peace of mind. Doing so gives more credibility for your brand.

6. Visually Appealing

Keep your brand’s colors, typefaces, and overall tone or mood consistent in every page from your Homepage down to your Catalogs and Contact Page. It should be professional and visually appealing to build a good and lasting impression. Think of it as your website becoming an extension of your identity — the experience you give from your online presence should be on par with what you give offline.

7. Fast Page Loading

The standard page load time is at 0–2 seconds, with 3 seconds as an acceptable score. If your website loads higher than these numbers, then rethink the graphics you used and try a page-loading animation to keep your visitors entertained while waiting, giving them feedback on the current status of the loading website.

8, Descriptive Content

The content you show on your website matters a lot. Choosing the right keywords and keeping it short yet communicating the right message are the challenges for keeping your bounce rates, pageviews, session duration, and conversions at a healthy rate.

9. Interactive Widgets and Useful Plugins

With the digital advancement comes efficient and more interactive widgets and plugins that you can put on your website such as chatbots, calendar booking appointments, social feed, and lead generation forms, to name some.

10. FAQs / List of Clients

Dedicating a FAQs page as well as your list of partners or clients will earn you credibility and trust from your old and new customers. This will be a page dedicated to all the important questions of your market for a more straightforward interaction with them.

11. Mobile-Responsive

Having all these features but not thinking that users use their mobile phones all the time and would most probably see your website on their smartphones is bad practice. Make sure that your website is also mobile-responsive, no matter which device they open your website in — whether it’s on the latest Apple product or an Android tablet, users must be able to navigate through your website smoothly with a fluid layout.

These are the essential website features to date. When you have all these features, especially the relevant ones for your brand, rest assured that you’ll reach more customers by just having a useful website that holds the most basic information about your brand.

Photo by Kelly Sikkema

In Conclusion

Having a website is a basic necessity for any brand, whether old or new. But what makes them stand out from the rest of the competition is having a fast, user-friendly, and informative website that has all the user’s needs once they visit it and can be navigated freely without any difficulty. The last thing you want to happen is  to cause any frustrations to the potential customers and get them lost in your website or to have a complicated check-out process if it is an e-commerce platform. Aim to have a smooth transaction and interaction with them to gain their trust and earn the brand’s credibility no matter which industry you revolve in.

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Sevensharp Creatives elevates businesses from different industries to a whole new level! Our team offers 360 digital marketing solutions that includes the current online vital social media platforms, website design and development, software development, search engine marketing, search engine optimization, email and SMS marketing, photo and video shoot and more for small, medium, corporate businesses, and public entities. Get your free consultation with us to jumpstart your digital marketing journey! Contact us at +63 917 146 2603 (Viber, Whatsapp) or email us at hello@sevensharpcreatives.com.