If it’s time for a website update for you or one of your clients, you’ve probably spent some time recently in the planning stages. Ironing out details such as the site map takes time to get right. Beyond those items, however, are four things every website needs. Let’s look at each in more detail and why they’re critically important to online marketing success.
Contact details
The first of the four things every website needs is contact details. This can take several forms, including:
• A contact page;
• Calls to action via form submissions;
• Phone numbers or email addresses within your footer;
• And address info, if you have a physical place of business.
Some marketing agencies make the Contact Us page the very first menu item. Others place it at the end. Regardless, it should be incredibly easy for website visitors to know how to get in touch with the brand.
A page outlining products or services
Again, the second item on our list of four things every website needs can take several forms. However, somewhere within the website should be a section that clearly outlines the products or services that the brand offers.
In an “infinitely scrolling” website, this will be a section on the homepage. The user clicks on Services and the web browser jumps to that particular part on the homepage. In other cases, the Services page has a drop-down for each item, linking to the Services Summary page at the top level.
Prominently displayed branding
However, that isn’t the only thing to focus on during your website planning. The third of our top four things a website needs is a catch-all category: branding. Branding can be a complex beast and includes such features as:
• A logo
• Unified primary and secondary colors;
• Approved fonts with header-specific sizing based on CSS coding;
• As well as a general look and feel.
On the last item, a brand that advertises itself as informal should carry this throughout the design language of the website.
SEO-focused copy
The rules of SEO continue to change, though there are several best practices you should follow when writing website copy. For example, your content needs to be engaging, organically incorporating SEO keywords when appropriate.
Your headers should be utilized properly and not simply as an aesthetic. Copy should be original and long enough to provide value. And finally, SEO-focused copy should always be helpful and informative.
Did we mention contact details?
Just a final mention of the first of four things every website should have. Contact details are incredibly important. A website visitor should be able to learn as much as possible from your site and then get in touch with you easily. We mention this only because this sometimes gets overlooked, especially with smaller businesses trying to make their first impression online.
Every website needs a special focus
As we’ve alluded to, a lot of planning and strategizing goes into the construction of a quality website. Our list isn’t meant to be all-inclusive of the things every website needs but does touch on some of the larger points. Each serves a purpose, whether providing a better method of search engine indexing or building brand trust.
If you need help with this process for you or one of your clients, let us know. We’ll be happy to provide our white-label website design services through a tailored solution. Contact us here to get started!