10 Must-Have Elements You Need to Include on Your Personal Website
If you don’t think having a website is important, Forbes disagrees. Having a website allows you to control the information and other important website elements.
Not having your own website is like allowing someone else to tell the story of your business and brand. There are so many pieces to the brand puzzle and just building a basic webpage might not be enough.
Continue reading this article to learn what the 10 must-have elements for your website are.
You Have to Have These Website Elements
If you aren’t used to building websites, it might seem like an overwhelming task. Building a website isn’t as simple as it used to be. If you look at websites like this website, you’ll find plenty of stores that can really take you back, but you don’t want your website to look like it is stuck in the past.
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Descriptive About Us Section
When people come to your website and are interested in what you have to offer, they will often navigate to your about us page. The more relevant information you have on your about us page, the better it is for increasing conversions.
If you know who your ideal client is, you can craft your about us page, so it speaks to the reader and pulls them in.
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Easy to Understand Web Address
Your web address should not be complicated. If your web address is complicated, it is difficult for people to remember and to spell. You shouldn’t use numbers in your web address if you can help it.
A short web address is better than a long one. Avoid dashes if at all possible and never have more than one dash.
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Simple Site Navigation
Being able to easily navigate a website is good for conversions and also helpful for SEO. When you learn search engine optimization strategies, you will see that how your site navigation is set up is very important.
If your site navigation is confusing, not only will your visitors be confused but the search engines will also be confused.
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Contact Us Page
Your contact us page needs to be easy to get to and also have all of your information. Many times, companies forget to put important information on their contact us page.
Your address, a map, phone number, and email address or contact form should be available right away when your visitors click on the contact us page. Make sure all of the buttons are working on your contact form. If people try to contact you and can’t get through, you’re likely to lose leads and customers.
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Specific Call to Action
Your website needs to have a call to action. People need to know what you want them to do. If you don’t tell people what to do, they are likely to click away from your website without taking any action.
If you have too many calls to action, you’ll confuse people, and they won’t do anything. Finding the gentle balance between too little and too much may seem complicated, but as you do testing, you’ll find what works for you.
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Customer Reviews
Customer reviews and testimonials are a powerful selling tool. If people see you have helped a lot of other people then it’s more likely they believe you’re going to be able to help them.
If you don’t have any customer testimonials or reviews, you should revisit any previous clients that had a good experience. These people usually will be happy to give you a glowing testimonial since you helped them through a challenge they had.
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Social Media Links
You want people to get into your web and part of that is your social media. Having people following you on as many social media platforms as possible will allow you to stay in front of them with your message.
Only add links to your social media where you are actually active. If you have a snap chat that you never are on, then you don’t need to post that information.
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Video(s)
People are more likely to watch a whole video than read a whole website. Look at the way you use a website. How often do you read an entire article and how often do you finish an entire video?
Videos are a great way to engage people and to convey your message. Videos allow you to get your message across clearly where text sometimes will leave explanation lacking.
Videos can be a short intro or greeting; they can be an explainer video or a tutorial. Whatever video you choose, make sure it is appropriate for the scenario you’re using it in.
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Original Images
If you’ve visited a website and have seen the same old stock photography, it can get boring very quickly. Not only does stock photography make a website look boring, but it also makes it look inauthentic.
You want to showcase real photos of your business. You should have photos of the people that work at your company. The more you can share about your company through original photos, the better so you can build trust with your website visitors.
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Kudos
Do you have awards or certifications? Anything official that you have that your competition does or doesn’t have, you should showcase this on your website.
The more proof you have that you know what you’re doing and have credibility, the more people will think about using your products or services. If you belong to any organizations or if you were a speaker at any events, you should list this on your website as well.
When you’re in the accolades part of your website, this is no time to be humble. You need to let people know how great you are and why they should do business with you over someone else.
Learn More About Designing Your Website
Now that you know about the 10 must-have elements for your website, you should learn about mistakes to avoid. Read our article about website design mistakes you should avoid.
