The vast majority of firms now have a website. Quite rightly, entrepreneurs see it as an essential part of their business. Close on 50% of the world’s population is already online, with strenuous efforts being made to bring the rest online quickly.
But, it is not enough to simply have a website. As you will see there are certain features that are vital for success.
A responsive site is essential
For many years now the Fastfwd web dev agency has been impressing on their customers the importance of site responsiveness. They have insisted on building websites that look good regardless of what size or type of device they are viewed on.
According to a study carried out by Stone Temple, in 2018, 58% of all searches were made using mobile devices. Add to that Google’s mobile-first initiative and you have two compelling reasons to build responsive websites that look good across all devices and platforms.
Speed matters too
Speed is another factor that is becoming increasingly important. That is the case from a user-friendly as well as a ranking point of view. Visitors expect websites to be super fast. If they are not, they soon click away. Google knows this so they will no longer serve up (rank) slow websites.
Good UX
Gone are the days when visitors would patiently click through numerous levels and menus to find what they needed. Modern consumers are used to having information presented to them immediately and in an easily digestible format. They expect to be able to visit a site or use an app and instinctively know what to do next. Good UX is essential.
Proper security
The last thing you need is for your website to serve malware to your customers and visitors. You have to take security seriously. It is no longer just about having the SSL certificate.
There are hackers out there trying to take sites down, using your bandwidth and holding companies to ransom. We cannot emphasize this enough, in 2019, – security matters.
You also need to store your customer’s details securely. The EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) changes have put this issue front and center. But, this is just the start and other countries are already producing similar legislation.
Business integration capability
Firms that take productivity seriously will always outperform their competitors. A wise E-commerce retailer will sell across several platforms. They will benefit greatly when the data they use to list a product on their website can be taken and used to automatically create listings that are suitable for use on places like eBay and Amazon. This saves time and makes it easier to create consistency across the business.
Given the complexity of the above “must haves” more businesses are hiring proper web designers. Relatively few firms are willing to leave website design up to their in-house IT team. Instead, they are hiring fully fledged design teams. Firms that produce bespoke websites that are tailored to meet the exact needs of a business and its customers.
