We’ve previously pulled together a blog that outlined the process required to build an exceptional website here. What we’re looking at here is the fundamentals of a website. What do I have to include on my website to respect the ground rules of online experiences?
1) Ensure your website is mobile responsive
In Australia, as of October 2022 over 42% of all Google Searches are done on mobile devices and for several years now, mobile responsiveness has been a key component in Google's algorithm determining search ranking. With such high numbers of mobile users, it is really important to ensure that your website is optimised for these users. Factors affecting mobile optimisation include your websites ability to present aesthetically and functionally across different screen sizes and ease of navigation on mobile devices (ensuring content is sufficiently spaced so that the touch of a finger only results in the desired action).
2) Know what your visitors are coming to your website for
Everyone visiting your site is doing so with a specific objective in mind - “Does this company sell product x?” “How much does service y cost?” “What resources do they have about problem z?” While you might be tempted to think about all the things you want to say about yourself, start by clarifying why your visitors would take to time to visit your website.
Ensure that the messaging and design of your website responds to this. I.e. if your customers are coming to verify that you are a legitimate business, take the time to write messaging that specifically address their problem and demonstrates your authority in the industry. If your customer are visiting your site looking for available appointments - have an integrated calendar and make it as easy as possible to book time with you.
3) You ensure that all of the information that someone will require in order to be convinced to take the action you identified in step 2, is readily available
If you want visitors to your website to make a booking, then you need to ensure that you give them all of the information that they need to be comfortable to undertake this action.
For example, if you are a hairdresser, you would want to let your potential customer know:
- What services you offer (so they know what to book)
- How much your services cost (so they can make an informed decision as to the cost)
- How well you provide these services (with photos / reviews and customer testimonials so they are confident enough in your abilities to book your services)
4) Ensure you have the basic SEO (search engine optimisation) components of your website set up correctly - correct heading structures, page meta titles & descriptions, url structures that make sense
Google and other search engines, like Bing are essentially really large library catalogues. In a physical library, the catalogue will record what sort of book it is (fiction/non fiction), who wrote it (Author) and where in the library it is stored - this information is input into the catalogue whereas Search Engines need to figure this information out themselves.
Google (or any other search engine) uses the information that you have on each page of your website in order to determine its relevance to any given user search. If you want your website to be found in relation to specific searches it is really important that you set up the information on your website in a way that search engines can understand it.
The key components are:
- Heading structures. Ensure these are set up correctly as they tell search engines the levels of importance of information on each page of your website
- Meta titles and descriptions. These are essentially the title and excerpt for each page on your website and are what searchers see in Google to determine if your page is relevant
- URL structures or SLUG’s. This is the text that comes after your primary domain in your URL in order to get to the page that you are on.
I.e. if you sell candles your URL structure might be: www.mycandlestore.com/products/vanilla-scented-candle which would clearly show Google that this is the product page for your vanilla scented candles.
Or if you are a plumber you might have:
www.myplumbingbusiness.com/services/hot-water-system-repairs
5) Make sure the key components of your website work
You wouldn’t believe the number of websites that have a customer enquiry form, but the form has never been set up to forward to the website owners email address - therefore, every enquiry that has ever been submitted has never been responded to, because the website owner has never received it.
Ensuring that every button and link on your website go where they are supposed to is of utmost importance. Buttons and links are generally key components of your customers journey to undertake the goal that you previously identified. If they don’t work, your customer likely can’t undertake the goal of your website, which means you will be frustrated - but so will your potential customers!
