Your website is the digital address of your business in the online space. It is the first go-to-page that a brand’s audience interacts with, to learn more about the brand and its offerings. Keeping this in mind, you must ensure that your website is credible, or, in other words, people trust your business and what it represents.
We’ve listed the essential requirements you must take care of while designing a good business website in this blog post. Read on to know how you can create a high-quality website.
Security certificates
The very first step after entering the URL to open a website that a visitor experiences is- either a seamless website opening or a security error. To keep a website secure, and to avoid users being prompted with this error message is to have a SSL certificate. These certificates help website domain owners verify ownership of a website. If a website is insecure, the target audience may receive the message that it is insecure, which will be a major deterrent preventing them from visiting the website and going through its content.
Website speed
Creating a website is necessary, but the website's speed is a factor that cannot be ignored. The slower your website loads, the higher are the chances of your target audience being discouraged from staying on the page and moving to another window. This also deters them from reading the content or scrolling through it and clicking on the ‘’Back button.’’
Page layout and structure
The first thing your target audience will note about your website page is the Appearance of the home page, page layout and structure. An attractive, informative and organized home page is the first step towards gaining credibility from a visitor.
A well-structured and organized website makes it easy for the visitor to read all the necessary information about your business like- products or service offerings, more about the brand, previous clients and testimonials etc. and enhances the user experience. Proper layouts also make it easier for your audience to navigate through the website, enhancing their understanding of the brand and its products.
Appropriate typography and white space
Appropriate typography and white space are two crucial website design elements that you must consider. Ensure that there is adequate spacing between letters and select the right font size and style for the pages of your website. The typography should be consistent across all pages on your website. Such consistency shows that the website is properly designed with all standards being kept in mind, and hence adds on to the credibility of your brand.
Spelling and grammar
Correct spelling and grammar is the basic prerequisite of a well functional website. It creates a positive impression of the brand in the target audience's minds. Hence, proofread all the information on your website as errors make a website look unprofessional.
Detailed business offerings
When your audience reads through your website, they should immediately know about the business offerings that you provide. Hence, mention all your company's products and services on your website’s web pages. The necessary information about these products/services can encourage them to purchase them.
Relevant images and videos
Any website can be made attractive and explanatory with the help of rich graphical content. Hence a website with relevant photographs applicable to the organisation is considered more authentic than a website with generic stock images and videos. Considering this, you can include pictures and videos of the office, relevant products/services, team members of the organisation, etc. For example, a coffee company can post photographs of its various coffee flavours like vanilla and hazelnut. It can further include videos of the coffee manufacturing process on its website to engage viewers. Using real photographs adds to the credibility of the brand and website.
Regular website updates
An unchanging website is not likely to be viewed often by the target audience. It should always be updated with new products/services offered by the company, informative content in the form of blog posts, company updates, and so on. When a website is updated consistently, it forms an impression that a business is growing in the reader’s mind. Without regular updates, your target audience may feel that you do not have a high level of commitment towards the business and/your customers.
Level of search engine optimisation
In this era of digital marketing, creating a website is not sufficient as it needs to be discoverable by your target audience. Hence making sure that your website is searchable, by including relevant keywords in the content of the website is essential.
Search engine algorithms assess the performance of websites on the Internet and influence your website’s search engine rankings. For example, meta descriptions, alt text for images, website keywords, backlinks, etc., are some things that may be taken into consideration by a company.
Social proof
The reviews/testimonials given by a client are all a part of social proof. Social proof makes an individual or an organisation trustworthy.
Since there are many reviews that people put up each day, you can make the testimonial look real by linking it to a social media account, like the LinkedIn profile of the individual who gave a particular review of a product/service.
Essential contact information
A website without contact information is incomplete. Now that your website visitor has gone through all the information on your website, they may want to get in touch with you to discuss business. Hence, one needs to provide a method for your visitors to contact you. Having a contact or query form is a good way to receive prospects' details. Additionally, having your phone number, the location of your business, address, and any other details that your target audience must know, adds to the credibility of your business establishment.
Conclusion
The content on the website, the search engine optimisation efforts, the spelling and grammar, security certificates, and website design elements like white spacing, typology, all influence the website quality. These factors have a direct impact on the website's credibility.
Let’s Build Brands is a marketing agency in New Delhi that helps firms devise appropriate marketing strategies and grow. If you wish to learn more about the services offered by Let’s Build Brands, head over to this page.