When it comes to building a website, there are some features that are easy to overlook. While it’s important to focus on the visual aspects of a website, such as the color palette and logo, it’s the less obvious features that can really make a difference in creating a high-converting user experience. In this article, we’ll discuss five features that are commonly overlooked when building a website and why they’re important.
Feature 1: SSL Certificate – Proving Your Site’s Legitimacy
One of the most important features of a website is the SSL certificate. It’s a code that’s installed on your site that provides several benefits, including proving your ownership of the website and verifying that the website is legitimate. This is especially important in today’s world where there are many fake websites designed to scam people.
Additionally, an SSL certificate provides a secure, encrypted connection called HTTPS between your site and a user’s web browser. This helps protect people who visit your site from being spied on and getting their personal data – such as credit cards and mailing addresses – stolen by a third party.
In addition to providing you with a level of security for you and anyone who visits your site, a SSL certificate will help your site rank higher in Google search results. So, it’s a win-win situation.
Feature 2: Sitemap – Mapping Out Your Website
A sitemap is a file that maps out how your website is organized by pages, blog posts, videos, images, and other types of content. Google uses sitemaps to crawl websites, collect their data, and index them. Once the site is indexed, it can appear in search results.
When you’re building your website, be sure to create a sitemap, as well. This way, it can be crawled and indexed, and users can find it when they search for relevant keywords in the Google search bar.
Feature 3: Calls To Action (CTAs) – Encouraging Visitors to Act
A call to action (CTA) is a phrase, sentence, or link that encourages visitors to your site to perform a certain action that guides them further down the sales funnel. CTAs can vary depending on what you want your customer or client to do, such as visiting your online store, taking advantage of an ongoing sale, scheduling a free consultation call, or making an appointment.
Regardless of what your CTA is, try to include it on every page of your website, but especially on your homepage since that’s the place that most of your visitors will see first. CTAs can be a powerful tool to help you convert visitors into customers.
Feature 4: Contact Page – Building a Connection with Your Visitors
Don’t overlook creating a Contact page for your website – especially if your business depends on your communications with customers or clients. A Contact page is where visitors to your site go to find the best way to reach you. Here, you will list your most convenient methods of communication, such as your business email address and phone number.
Bonus Tip: Don’t just put contact details on the Contact page. List your business hours, too, as well as how long someone who contacts you can expect to wait before they hear from you. This will help you set boundaries on the best days and times to reach out. A Contact page is an essential feature for building a connection with your visitors and can help you create lasting relationships with your customers.
Feature 5: Privacy Policy – Protecting Your Visitors’ Data
Above all things, do not overlook adding a Privacy Policy to your website! Since you’re running a business, you’ll have to request visitors to give over some of their personal information (e.g., their credit card information, email addresses, mailing addresses, phone numbers, etc.) at some point.
For this reason, by law, you must include a Privacy Policy on your website. It’s a legal requirement and helps establish trust with your audience.
In conclusion, building a website and ensuring it has all the necessary features can be overwhelming. As an expert in web design and maintenance, I can take care of the details for you, so you can focus on your business. Book a discovery call with me today to start building the best website for your business!
