4 Important Elements of a Successful Website

We all know a website is the most important tool in creating a web presence, but not everyone knows the key elements that make a website successful. So before you make a website or even want to evaluate your current one, check out the 4 important elements that are ‘must haves’ for a strong website. 1. 3 Required Pages There are three pages that you should most certainly have. First, it’s the homepage. Your homepage should tell the users very clearly on what your business does. Simple as it sounds, this is actually very difficult. What colors does your industry use? What layout is the most appropriate for your content? Which products or services do you want to focus on? The content of the homepage should be chosen very wisely, as well as the layout of teach content. This is the page where users will make their decision if they will continue to look around your site or not so think through it. There’s also the About Us page. The About Us page is where you will explain how you are different from the competitors and a further explanation about your company. You could write your company’s history and background to have them get to know you more to build a little more trust. Lastly, there is the Contact Us page. This page should clearly tell you how they could get in touch with you. The location of your company, emails, phone numbers or contact forms should all be listed and easy to find on the page. These three pages are the basics and you should not be missing even one of them. 2.Blog and News Many companies overlook the importance of blogs and news sections of their websites. This portion has actually become a necessity to grow an online presence. Not only does it tell users that you are an expert in your industry, but it gives them a reason to keep coming back to your website. This creates more contact between you and the users –as a result building stronger relationships. Also, blogs and news updates are very useful content to your customers. Customers always appreciate useful information especially when it’s free. This is a really great way to increase traffic to your website. 3. Newsletters Emailing newsletters to your customers is a very effective way to generate sales. This is where your leads will be collected and followed up on. You need to have a newsletter sign up field on your website to collect them. Once a user signs up for your newsletters, you have succeeded in gaining their attention and interest to look further into your services and buy. Once you have their email address, it is up to you to close the deal. You have the power to contact them and offer special promotions and pricing instead of waiting for them to contact you. Keep their interest alive by updating them with your company’s latest products and industry news. 4. Social Media Most businesses these days both small and large are connected to the social media network. Social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin are amongst the popular. You probably see these icons on the bottom of every company website you go to these days. It’s just as effective as sending out newsletters in terms of building leads. Having an account with one of these networking sites puts you in contact with your target audience. You should definitely create what’s called a “Fan Page” on Facebook solely made for businesses. Having share buttons for the blogs on your website is also a great strategy to let your customers share your blog with their friends on their own social networking profiles –which leads to more sales and contacts. Once you make an account with these social networking sites, make sure you put each of their icons on your website for your users to click on. Source: http://www.openforum.com/idea-hub/topics/technology/article/4-elements-of-a-successful-business-web-presence-samir-balwani