Do you already have a corporate website for your business or are you looking to build a new one for your next project and ventures? Are you clueless about what features and functionalities you would like on your website?
With an endless list of features and functionalities that you can implement for your website, it’s overwhelming to know what things you should focus on. Knowing your requirements will put you in a better position to describe what you stand for.
In this article, we share our top 3 affordable website design features and functionalities you should have for your small business. It’s time to ensure your audience has a positive experience on your site, enhance your business’s digital presence, and get them to start talking about you.
Security and Spam Reduction
There are primarily two ways to allow your audience to reach out to you via email. One way is to display the email address directly on the website, and the other way is to integrate it into a contact form, where you can set a designated email address to receive the inquiries made from it.
Email addresses that are visibly available on the website are a potential disaster as spammers and harvesters can easily obtain them. Imagine having to spend time and effort going through each email instead of focusing on the most important tasks at hand.
With a contact form, the email addresses are hidden from public view, and only you would know the exact email address to receive all inquiries. This, in turn, reduces spam and improves the quality of inquiries. Clients who spend time filling out a contact form are generally better than those who send brief inquiries.
Control of Received Information
A contact form allows you to specify and capture the exact information that you require from your customers.
This is not possible to control and manage on your end if your customers choose to email you directly, as there’s no way to know what they’re typing in their inquiries.
You should also pair the contact form with an FAQ page on your website, so that all frequently asked questions are addressed directly on the page itself. This reduces the manpower required to answer repetitive questions such as “Do you deliver to?” and “What are the prices for your services?”
Internal Email Notifications
Do you require a specific email address to capture different types of inquiries? In a contact form, you can provide drop-down options that allow your audience to select the type of inquiry, such as a sales or technical question.
It also enables you to set up multiple email notifications that can be sent to relevant departments such as sales, customer support, and technical support. If you list your email addresses directly on the website, the chances of emails being sent to the correct department are lower.
Having a contact form ensures that all inquiries are addressed and accounted for. For instance, the sales department may have forgotten to forward an email to the customer support department when they received an inquiry on customer support.
Convenience and Time-Saving
You would always want to keep your customers on your website without directing them elsewhere. If you allow them to send inquiries via their email software, it diverts their attention and focus, and it’s challenging to get them to come back.
For example, clicking on this link, enquiry@design-start.com, will open up their default mail client and take them away from your website. A contact form forces them to stay on your website, which improves both your bounce rate and session duration of each visit.
Choosing and Prioritizing Social Media Platforms
Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, YouTube, Snapchat. Social media can either be your main marketing strategy or an extension of your marketing channel that you can leverage to reach out to your audience.
There are a lot of social media platforms out there, so which ones should you focus on? Focus on where your customers are and where they hang out.
Are they looking at Facebook posts for your services or searching for videos to find out more about you? Are they looking for professional advice on LinkedIn?
Knowing where your customers are will allow you to come up with a strategic plan to cater to each platform. Start small first, and when you can see results, it’s easier to move on to other social media platforms.
Connecting With Your Audience
Your customers have their own communication preferences. Some may want to send you a direct message on Facebook or tweet at you rather than using your contact page to make inquiries.
It’s important to address each of these preferences to avoid any leaks in your marketing funnel and to show that you’re paying attention to your customers.
By leveraging social media platforms, you can integrate your business into the digital world, increase brand awareness, and reach new audiences, especially younger ones.
By making yourself more relatable and available, you may gain new customers.
Easy Sharing and Referring
All social media platforms have tools that allow you to easily share your content with just a click of a button. Provide your customers with incentives to share your content, instead of just asking them to “like and share my business!”.
For example, if you are in the plumbing industry, you can share a step-by-step video with instructions on how to unclog a choked basin.
By being an authority in your field and demonstrating that you care about your customers, you can show them that you are always there to help them when they need it.
Improved User Experience On Site
How many mobile devices do you own and what’s the amount of time you spend each day on them compared to your laptop and desktop? Having a responsive website design is not an option; it’s a must!
In Singapore, 8 out of 10 people own a smartphone or other mobile devices, and mobile usage has overtaken desktop use since 2015. With the rollout of advanced smartphones and the 5G network, the use of mobile devices is here to stay.
For these reasons alone, it’s essential to ensure that your website looks and functions well on all devices, from your work computer to your iPhone.
Ensuring a consistent and optimal viewing experience on all devices improves user experience on your website.
No one likes to pinch and zoom on a website that is barely readable.
Increase Search Traffic And Visibility
On April 21, 2015, Google rolled out the Mobile-Friendly update. One key takeaway is that websites that are mobile-friendly are ranked higher on mobile search results compared to those that are not.
To check if your website is mobile-friendly, you can use the free Mobile-Friendly Test Tool provided by Google. Simply enter the URL, click on the “Test URL” button, and wait for the results.
If your website is not mobile-friendly, there will be a significant decrease in mobile traffic from Google Search.
Designing your website with responsive design in mind ensures it performs well on all devices and ranks higher than your competitors’ websites that are not mobile-friendly.
With a professional web design company like Design Start, you are in good hands.
No matter how big or small your project is, we will take you from the start to finish and ensure your deserve a website you would be proud of.
Call +65-9824-5850 or contact us online today!