Why Website Functionality Is Critical To Growing Your Business
The sales cycle is 22 percent longer now than it was five years ago.
Easily available information, product reviews, and online shopping encourages consumers to deeply research companies and products before buying. This is especially true with expensive, high risk products. With so many consumers researching online before purchase, having a helpful and functional website is essential to compete. Learn why having a current, functional website is critical for your growing business.
First Impressions Count
Good website design reflects the best that you do in your business. With so many of your potential customers doing research online before purchase, you need to make sure your first impression is a good one.
When a customer comes to your website and easily finds the information they need, they’re more likely to stick around and see what else you do, or learn more about your brand. This means that your website needs to have appropriate information for new users, and it needs to be intuitive to use.
Websites that are designed with the consumer in mind have a lower bounce rate, higher conversion rates, and better customer experience. This requires digging into the thought process of your target audience, and figuring out what information they need and how to get it to them as easily as possible.
Having that great first impression is so critical because without it, your customer may just click right off.
Is This Website Legit?
Old, outdated, clunky websites are just plain scary for customers. The last thing you want is for your customer to come to your website and think that your business isn’t legitimate, that they’re going to get a virus, or that their credit card number is about to get stolen.
According to Adobe, 38% of people will stop engaging with a website if the the design of the site is unattractive. That’s just based off the look alone (!!!) not the actual functionality of the website.
With poor website function bounce rate can skyrocket as consumers get annoyed with the site. This means that your potential customers click on your page and click right off without interacting or purchasing from your business. Frustrated users are not happy customers, trust us.
Finding Frustration
Have you ever visited a website that looks nice but you couldn’t find basic information? And then you couldn’t even find a search bar to search for the information you’re trying to find? Problems like this are extremely frustrating for potential clients, and when people get frustrated they will simply leave your website.
When we look into a website’s analytics, it’s immediately clear where there are user frustration issues. Potential customers can come to your home page, and drop off as they can’t find the information that they need.
When you have a modern website built to drive new business, your customers are more likely to return again and again. Once a functional website is in place, it should be easy to build out helpful content for your users.
Staying Current
We know that your business is constantly evolving and changing. Your website should be able to grow with you too!
If you aren’t able to easily add new products to your online shop, update a blog post, or share new information, you’re missing out on new and returning customers. Google loves to see that you’re keeping things updated too. Your “freshness factor” impacts your ranking, and decreases overtime. Want to stay fresh? You need to update content regularly.
If your website is on a platform that you don’t know how to use, or coded in a way that makes it nearly impossible to update without a computer science degree, you can’t inform your customers in the best way possible.
We believe staying current with your customers is so important that we build all of our client’s websites on WordPress. It’s trustworthy, easy to use, and our clients are able to make updates without a headache. Confusing website code just isn’t worth the struggle.
Available Everywhere
It’s 2018. We’re all plugged in all the time. With smartphones, tablets, and laptops all being a part of our day to day lives, your website needs to work well at any size. Not having a mobile friendly website means you’re losing out on new customers.
If someone can’t access your site from their phone, it’s pretty much game over. In fact this 2017 study found that mobile website information quality, visual appeal, and security had significant positive effects on consumer satisfaction.
Not only do you need to have a mobile site, but it needs to be functional and speedy. Google can even lower your search ranking if the site takes too long to load on mobile. Keep google, and your customers, happy by ensuring your website is fully functional on all devices.
We want your website to be a reflection of your brand. Professional, functional sites show that you’re in the game and are the perfect choice for your customer.