Websites are proving to be a great resource for businesses. Not only can you show your services and products, but there are lots of great elements you can include to deliver value to your audience and engage with your customers.
In this article, we’re going to cover the top 10 elements to include on a website in 2021 to help your website stand out from the crowd and help you build your online presence. With years of experience in creating websites for our clients, we know what works well and what engages website visitors. See our top picks to help your website below.
- Navigation
- Design
- Content
- Images and videos
- Contact details
- Security
- Privacy (and other) policies
- Interactivity
- Informative footer
- Consistency
1. Navigation
It should be easy for people to find their way around your website. Not only does this help keep your audience engaged, but it also means your audience will be able to find the information that they need quickly and easily.
Good navigation includes:
- An easy-to-use navigation bar
- An intuitive page structure
- Buttons and page links being clear in both where they are and what they do
Take a look around a few websites to see if you can find examples of good and bad navigation so that you can learn from them and use on your own.
2. Design
The design of your website is fundamental to how your audience perceives your business. A bad website design can make it hard for people to use your website, and even put people off using your website entirely.
Some examples of bad design are:
- Difficult-to-see colours
- Messy page layout
- Poor use/lack of images
Your website should be appealing to the eye whilst keeping to your company branding style, setting your website apart from others. There are lots of ways to make your website look professional and remain functional, it just takes time and scrutiny to make sure it’s right!
You may also like our article ‘Create Powerful Business Branding for your Website on a Budget’.
3. Content
You may have heard of the saying ‘content is king’. Content brings a lot of benefits to your website if done correctly, so it’s important to take the time and make sure that your content has the right style and delivers the right message. A few things to consider are:
- Does your content share the message you want it to?
- Is your content easy to read?
- Do you have too much/too little content on your pages?
By taking the time to make sure you have good content on your website, some benefits are:
- Better engagement from your audience
- Better rapport and reputability with your audience
- Higher conversion rates.
4. Images and videos
Images and videos add value to a website exponentially when used correctly. It helps to break up a large chunk of text and keep the reader engaged, whilst giving them the option to view a video instead of reading the webpage if that’s what they prefer.
When using images and videos on your website, it’s important to consider the following points:
- Images and videos should be used where necessary; use them sparingly!
- Images and videos should always be relevant to the page they’re on
- Where possible, try to use branded images and videos
- Images and videos should complement the page; they shouldn’t be too big or too small.
5. Contact details
Contact details are a must for your business to succeed online. It’s what allows people to get in touch with your business, so make sure to include a contact page and put your company’s contact details in your header/footer so they’re on every page. You should include:
- An email address
- A phone number
- Your registered address
- A live chat (if applicable)
- Your company registration number (required by UK law)
6. Security
Website security is a necessity for all businesses online. No matter what your business does, you must make sure that your website has good security otherwise you could find yourself in hot water. If you’re unsure on this point, consider hiring a professional to support you to make sure you get your website security right and help your business to stay safe online.
7. Privacy (and other) policies
Policies are important to include on a website to clearly state your intentions to your visitors. If you use cookies, it must be clear that you use cookies and your visitors must opt-in to allowing them. There are lots of things to consider here, so if you’re unsure, it’s worth hiring a legal expert who specialises in privacy policies to make sure your website, and your business, is configured correctly to avoid the risk of a fine in the future.
8. Interactivity
Most website builder tools allow for ways to make your website interactive. This helps to catch the eye of your audience and allows you to highlight key things on your website you want your visitors to look at. A few things to consider are:
- Do buttons stand out and change as you hover over them?
- Do your key sections, such as a call-to-action, stand out?
- Do you have elements loading into the page with an animation?
These are just a few examples as there are lots of ways to make your website interactive. Take some time to have a play around and see what you can find, but make sure to keep it professional!
9. Informative footer
An informative footer is key to keeping your website together. This should contain key information about your business, including:
- A logo
- Your company registration number
- Your registered address
- A page layout (it can just be the key pages)
- Contact details
- A sign-up form to your mailing list (optional)
- Your latest blog (optional)
10. Consistency
Last, but by no means least, consistency is the key element to consider on your website. The easiest way to do this is to create a page template and use this as the basis for all pages as you build upon your website.
Always make sure to consider:
- Branding
- Navigation
- Useability
- Page layout
- Accessibility
You make also like our article ‘Web Design Best Practices 2021’.
In summary…
There is a lot to consider when creating a website, and we understand it can seem quite overwhelming if you’re new to it. With years of experience, we specialise in supporting businesses to create the website of their dreams. If you need support in getting your business digital, or you’re looking for a fresh new website, contact our team today.