Part of running a successful business in 2024 is having a functional website where customers can interact with the brand from the convenience of their mobile phones or computers. Though some specialized companies can survive without a website, they are few and far between. This digital nexus point is crucial if you want to keep up with the demands of modern consumers.
A website can either work for you or against you. If you have spent the time to design a website that is user-friendly, appealing, and features a working funnel for sales, then that website is a powerful marketing tool. However, if you cobble together a boring template that fails to keep visitors on the page, then potential customers will quickly seek help elsewhere.
Whether you are designing the first website for your Kansas City business or you have had one in place for a decade, there are many things to consider if you want to maximize its potential.
User Experience
One of your top priorities should be designing an attractive and simple user interface. This feature refers to how the website visitor interacts with the website. How does it look to them? How do they navigate to the different pages? Are internal links working, and do they lead where they should? Is there an obvious flow to the path that visitors with different motives may take? All these elements are part of the user experience. Focusing on creating a positive experience is key because it can keep people on your website longer, which makes them more likely to take the desired action. User experience is a combination of navigation, visual elements, copy, ease-of-use, and answering their questions before they ask them.
Desired Action
As just mentioned in the previous section, your website should have a specific desired action for visitors to take, and each page should guide them toward that decision. For example, if you sell directly from the website, then it should be set up to guide users toward the product pages and a checkout process. If your goal is to entice them to visit your store, then perhaps the desired action is for them to sign up for emails to receive coupons. A website should do more than just provide background information about the company.
Auditing
Technology is complicated, and websites can quickly become large enough to accommodate many pages. Sometimes, links, images, pages, or content can experience issues that are not immediately obvious to the business. If they are discovered by potential customers, that could result in them leaving the website out of impatience or confusion. Preventing this obstacle is crucial if you want people to stay on your website and follow the funnel. Regular website audits can reveal issues with search engine optimization, broken links, security, mobile compatibility, and even performance metrics so you can ensure the user experience is smooth.
Security
Cybersecurity is incredibly important in 2024. People are more worried about protecting their private data than ever, especially since hacks, phishing, and online scams are so common. Beefing up your security measures on the website can protect the data of both the business and your customers. This may involve downloading some cybersecurity software for the website, but you can also seek assistance from a Kansas City managed IT services firm to assist you.
Search Engine Optimization
SEO has already been mentioned previously, but it is worth diving into a little more. When people perform a search query that is relevant to your business, your goal should be to pop up as one of the top results on Google, Bing, or another search engine. The top results in these searches see the vast majority of the clicks. If you have a poor SEO strategy, then people will not find your website organically. Strong SEO can come from quality backlinks, an optimized sitemap, internal linking, authoritative content, reliable loading speeds, keyword headings, meta descriptions, and technical elements.
Landing Pages
People will come to your website from different spots. Maybe someone reads a blog post that links to your page, or they clicked on a post from a social media account. Wherever they come from, ending up in the same place can be a waste of your website. If every link from an outside source takes them to the homepage, you are essentially taking everyone back to square one. Unique landing pages are far more effective in converting website visitors into customers. If people come from a linked blog post, the landing page should be directly related to the topic of that blog. If they come from email, what was the email about, and what kind of page would continue that theme? Focus on creating unique landing pages to accommodate the different places that users are coming from to your website.
Optimize Your Kansas City Business Website for Efficient Conversions
There are many ways to improve your website and strengthen the conversion funnel. These six basics will ensure that customers have a positive experience with your website, whether they have navigated to a landing page or are concerned about their private data during an online transaction. Start adopting these measures for your new website or make changes to the site you already have in place.
