Getting web traffic can be hard. That's why it's of the utmost importance you get the most from each of your website visitors. Here are five things every website must have to be successful online.
1. Fast loading pages.
If your website doesn't load fast people aren't going to see it. Studies show the average person will wait no more than 7 seconds for a page to load before clicking the dreaded back button. You can ensure your web pages are loading fast by limiting the number of images and the size of the images which appear on your page. Take the time to reduce the file size of all your images. Anyone who is snapping a photo with their phone or digital camera without resizing them before putting them on their website is causing their site to respond slower than it needs to. Try also to avoid placing numerous widgets, scripts, and flash on your site. Those things are frequently responsible for site slow downs. Remember you can have the greatest product or service in the world but if nobody sees your site it's as if you don't exist.
2. A concise headline.
Once someone gets your page to load they'll give you 3 to 4 seconds to make sure they're on the right page. It's important you say exactly what your site is about somewhere near the top of your page in large text. If you're selling golf clubs you need to say something "Your source for the best prices on golf clubs." There are billions of webpages on the internet and your would be customers have options. Don't keep them guessing if they're at the right place.
3. Something fresh.
There are so many abandoned websites across the web. We've all clicked through to a website just to find the site is no longer in business or the information is out of date. Let your site visitors know you're in business and someone is behind the website by putting something new on the website everyday. This can be something as simple as a small bit of text that tells the last time the site was updated. One of my favorite strategies is to update the logo for each holiday or world event. For example_ around Christmas time we'll decorate our logo in a Christmas theme. Have some fun with it. Everyone feels better about a website if it's been recently updated. It's a great way to separate yourself from the pack.
4. Readable text.
Some websites make the mistake of getting overly cute with their images and text. If you want people to stay on your website be sure to make it easy to read. You may be tempted to use some bright colors or crazy fonts and there is a time and place for that. However the things you really want your site visitors to read should be in a basic font style like arial or georgia. Black text on a white background is the easiest to read because it provides the most contrast. Be careful not to make your text too small. There are a lot of people who don't see so well. Surround your text with whitespace and attempt to call out the sentences and phrases that are most important.
5. A call to action.
Before designing any page you should ask yourself what's the goal? If you've followed one through four above your site visitors are wondering what to do next. If you're trying to get a phone call from your site be sure to ask them to call and include the phone number in big numbers on the page. If you want them to buy something make the focus a large buy button. If you're trying to capture a lead be sure to include a form for them to fill out. Don't ever assume your site visitor knows what to do next. Make it obvious and then tell them exactly what to do right on the page.
By following these simple steps you're sure to get more out of your website. We designed WebStarts to make it easy for you to create a website that gets results. If you already have a website but it's not getting results or if you're just starting sign up for a free website at WebStarts.com. WebStarts was designed from the ground up to be search engine friendly. That means sites build with WebStarts are more likely to rank well on Google. Better ranking on Google means more web traffic for your business.