These days building an efficient website couldn’t be more important to your business. It acts as a shop window, place to browse, and of course the all-important check out. Over the past 12 months in particular, the importance of online and getting your website just right couldn’t have been clearer.
So why are some businesses getting it so wrong? More and more emphasis should be put on building efficient websites to drive your business growth these days, and alongside all the more bread and butter features, there are a large number of additional features which can really set you aside from competitors.
If you’re looking to drive your business further, here are five additional features you should be considering for your website…
Multi-Language
From the very beginning of building your website, multi-language should be in mind, particularly if you are looking to trade internationally. It will make your website clearer, easier to understand, and also give people of all languages an equal importance as a consumer.
Many website builders can help with this, with companies such as Duda aiding design to suit all languages. Most of the time it can follow the same design as it would with English or your main language on the site, however. So it really is a simple addition that can help take your business a long way.
Duda recently wrote about this particular feature for businesses, stating that using multi-language allows the website to demonstrate “an understanding of their culture, their needs, and their desires. Showing that the business understands the customer is essential to convert visitors and keep them as customers.”
Video
More and more businesses are integrating video into their website, from homepage background videos to tutorials and more. Adding video will create a more immersive experience for the customer, and has been proven to keep customers on a page for longer.
There are many reasons why you would use video on your website, no matter what industry your business lies in. They can help increase trust and offer up information to people in a much quicker way, alongside bringing products to life. Among the key things people use video for on a website that you should consider include:
- Video backgrounds
- Viewing of products
- Tutorials
- Introduction to the business or team
- Video reviews
- Blog/brand awareness
And many, many more. In the retail space we’re seeing more and more brands use video to showcase their product offering, built into the product’s page alongside a selection of images. It allows a user to get a much deeper understanding and view of the product, and is often the difference between purchasing on that site versus a competitor.
Augmented Reality
Taking that a step further is augmented reality, and over the next few years it’ll be a real game changer as more and more businesses begin to integrate it into their site or through apps.
A number of brands have already started to use the technology and it’s proving hugely successful. Both Walmart and Asos have been effectively using it, with the latter offering up a feature called Virtual Catwalk. Another brand doing an excellent job of using the technology effectively is IKEA, who have developed an app to allow you to virtually drop their furniture into your home.
Staff Directories
The importance of the About page is often overlooked, but people like to see a face to a business and it’s all about building brand values. By humanising a business you can generate more engagement and get your values across more clearly.
Businesses will often simply gloss over the About section of a site, but taking more time and effort and ensuring it’s a real feature within your site can make all the difference, particularly for smaller businesses.
You can integrate the likes of video into the site as well as image galleries and sliders, maps and testimonials all to paint a better picture and tell a more detailed story about your business. Including images of staff or shots around the office or workplace will help with that, while video introductions to the people behind the business can also be a worthwhile addition.
Review Features
For anyone selling a product, real-life reviews can be a big part in getting a sale over the line. Most major brands will allow customers to leave reviews for their products, with boxes for comments and the ability to rate products out of five stars.
For customers considering the purchase, seeing what people who have bought the product think can be hugely influential, and therefore a great addition to the site. Don’t worry about negative reviews, the odd one will only add to the authenticity of the reviews, but of course, a sea of bad reviews will undoubtedly harm sales, so that is something to keep in mind.
