What every business website should have

In basic terms, a profitable website must contain the information, product, or service that your customer is looking for. To retain site visitors and encourage repeat visits (stickiness), the home page should clearly present the following:

• The products and services offered
• Why these products and services are of value
• Promise for customer support
• Accurate product reliability information
• How customers will find these things on the site
• Trust and credibility
  

The above points are called the ‘value proposition’. When the value proposition is clearly stated, customers learn that the site has what they’re looking for and how these items will satisfy their need. The last point assures customers your business is for real, explains why they should purchase from you, that they can safely purchase from your site, and you’ll be around for customer support if needed.

Before even contacting a web designer, determine what you want your site to do. This will determine what kind of website is right for your business, how large the site will be, and the cost of design and maintenance. Make a list of your online goals and see if they include any or all of the following:

• Sell products
• Provide a service
• Provide information
• Have secure areas for customer accounts
• Offer a method for user feedback
  

You now know what you want and require from your website. You and your web designer can now move on to build a successful website for your business.

What do you think every business website should have?
Comment on this post and let me know.

Coming up in my next post . . . How much does a professional website cost?