We all know that any business, no matter how small or large should have a business website promoting their services or products.

But what makes a good website? And why are some a huge success and others fail? I did some research and looked at what industry experts where saying and this is what I found:

Successful websites are…

1. Solving Problems

   Think about who your website is for and what kind of problems does your website solve? If your website isn’t helping your customers and prospects improve their own lives and businesses, you’re missing out on an opportunity to grow. Helping is the new selling!

2. Focusing on their customers and not themselves

   Instead of focusing on why you are brilliant, think about how you can help your customers. How can you or your product solve their “problem”?

3. Offering a great user experience

   It could be as simple as having a slow loading time or the difficulty of finding the information your potential customer was looking for which makes the visitors leave. The user experience is a very crucial factor when trying to bring in and retain customers.

4. Conversion friendly

   To help turn visitors into customers and to increase your conversion rate, you should ask yourself the following questions:

   • is your design clean and uncluttered?

   • is your navigation clear and easy to follow?

   • are your call to actions in the right places?

   • do you have easy to find testimonials on your site?

5. Trusted and and liked

   Before you are trying to sell your services or products you need to get your potential customers to like and trust you. This can be done by having an awesome ‘About Me’ page, by having them follow you on social media or through getting them to subscribe to your newsletter.

6. Focused

   The No. 1 reason why websites fail is due to a lack of focus. When potential customers land on your site, you want to push them toward your most important objective, which is usually selling them something or getting in touch with you. So don’t invite them straight away to subscribe to your newsletter, to follow you on Twitter or to read your blog. This can all be the next step, but it should help your primary goal which is turning site visitors into paying customers.

7. Mobile

   Everyone is mobile, so your website needs to be mobile friendly as well. As a website owner, your goal should always be to make it as easy as possible for your visitors to navigate your site. So if your website visitors are using mobile devices more than anything else you should consider mobile first design.

8. Inviting visitors to come back

   By giving your customers a reason to come back, they will come back. If your blog is updated just every other month and consists only of business updates, rather than helpful news, potential customer will not be interested in returning to your site. You convert leads into customers by earning their trust and educating them on why they need your services. Focus on producing content on your site that educates and engages your prospective customers so they keep coming back to learn more.

If you need help with optimising your website and improving your conversion rate, please do get in touch!