Have you ever visited a state-owned municipal corporation website that takes about 13 seconds to load to view a single static page? That is not what you want your website to be.
Toimprove your website, you must be aware of the current trends in the market. Tech giants like Google are pretty skeptical about a site’s loading speed, layout, SEO orientation, and SSL encryption.
Google is like your good old English teacher who demands perfect work (content & design) for perfect grades (high search rankings); no grace marking.So, what options are you left with? Well, you have to pay attention to the seven points we are mentioning under:
7 tips for creating a robust website
1. Get it designed well
You don’t want your customers to go crazy after visiting your website. Web design makes a world of difference when a customer is in a hurry.
At that time, if he cannot figure out where your menus, contact us page, and product descriptions are, he is likely never to return.
A good web design makes surfing smooth and easy for the user, where he does not have to waste his time understanding your website.
So, ask your designer to create a reliable web design instead of a fancy one.
2. An SSL certificate is a must
How secure is your site? How will you counter a cybercriminal looking to compromise your customer’s data?An SSL answers both these questions for you. SSL or Secure Socket Layer certificate is a security protocol that protects your website’s connection through encryption technology.
The entire communication between your customer’s browser and your website’s server is secured by Public Key Infrastructure. In a nutshell, this certificate does not allow hackers to see what data and information are being exchanged between your website and your customer.
Moreover, an SSL will also help you comply with PCI/DSS guidelines and Google’s standards for ranking, establishing you as a credible website in the eyes of your customers.
SSL comes in a plethora of types. Ranging from single-domain SSL to wildcard, to multi-domain certs and even multi-domain wildcard certificates, you can choose the one which is best suited for your unique needs.
So, which SSL should you buy?Well, if you are looking to protect a single domain static website, the work of which is only to process information and doesn’t involve any financial transactions, then a regular single-domain certificate is enough.
But, if you have multiple first-level subdomains under a single root domain to protect and wish to store customer’s information, accept payments through credit/debit cards and banks, then a wildcard certificate is your best bet.
Wondering where to buy a premium yet cheap SSL cert from?In our recommendation, you must go for a reliable CA such as AlphaSSL, DigiCert, RapidSSL, or comodo SSL certificate. They provide the best certs at affordable prices across the globe.
3. Quality content
An impressive website always has high-quality content that is easy to understand, read and, resonate with.
Use words like “I” and “you” to spark the conversation. People connect to people, not robots, so; you must act like a friend instead of a teacher. Ensure that there are no grammar errors in your piece.
4. Integrate contact details
How frustrating will it be when you urgently need some information, and the website you are on does not have any contact details?
At least we would never want to visit such a site again for sure. So, think like a customer; you don’t want to let them go just because they cannot connect with you.
Mention your phone number, location on Google maps, email address, and even social media handles, for that matter. Never leave a customer unattended.
5. Be swift and speedy
We can’t stress enough the importance of a website’s speed in today’s world. A simple rule is, don’t let customers wait for more than 3 seconds.
The ideal loading time is less than 3 seconds, and you must adhere to it if you want to stand out.
Slow loading speeds will increase your customer bounce rate and decrease your search rankings (something you cannot afford).
So, size down images, use links to videos instead of uploading them, don’t use unnecessary plugins and, get a genuine hosting provider to maintain good speed throughout.
6. Install enough CTAs
Here is where people go, no holds barred but, moderation is what one should be after. Call to action can only work when they are appropriately placed instead of their vigorous integration.
Good CTAs are the ones that induce customers to buy your product, get them to sign up for your email list, and follow you across all social media channels.
So, ensure that your CTAs are not placed in the middle of the article or contact form, negatively impacting the customer experience.
7. Ensure SEO orientation and get customer reviews
SEO or Search Engine Optimization is necessary to enhance a website’s search rankings. We believe you might have the best products and services, but what is the point if your customers cannot see you?
SEO involves integrating the right keywords, meta tags & descriptions, image, and video optimization, etc. All these things help Google’s crawlers in identifying what your website is all about.
Moreover, you must get your customers to share their experiences with the world. Like we mentioned earlier, people trust people. So, a customer’s word of mouth has more weightage and spreads faster than a company claiming itself to be the best. Get customers to rate your products and services on your website.
To Conclude
An impressive website in 2021 complies with Google’s guidelines and provides optimum customer satisfaction.
Simple and sober is the key to success. Fancy and complicated websites do not go a long way because customers do not have time to sit back and understand complicated designs.
In this fast-paced world, the only way to succeed is understanding you only have limited time to showcase your products and services, and you don’t want to waste that in displaying how much cash you have invested in your design. These seven points provide the roadmap to success in 2021. So, integrate them into your website today.