Why changing your website is good for business

As a business owner, you’ll know the importance of having a digital presence. This means that as well as utilising various social media platforms, you’ll likely have a company website.

But, these days, having just any old website just won’t cut it. With millions of businesses around the world competing online to sell products, offer services and rank the highest, an easy to navigate, up to date and visually engaging website is more important than ever.

The digital transformation of recent years has seen businesses evolve in areas such as online internal communications and hybrid or remote working, and has forced them to adapt their recruitment processes. But it has also meant that the way in which customers and clients interact with businesses and brands has changed. 

What do customers want from a website? 

With so many businesses to choose from, customers and clients expect a company to have a visually pleasing website which informs them of exactly what’s on offer. 

Legitimacy

A potential customer will want to make sure your business is credible before making a purchase or selecting a service and your website is the first place they’ll look to establish this. 

Brand and values

Your website should showcase your ethos and values and give a clear representation of your brand. This will help set you apart from competitors and increase the likelihood of sales. 

Mobile-friendly content

With an increasing number of users choosing to shop and search from mobile devices, it makes sense to have a mobile-friendly site with easily readable content. 

Contact information

Audiences expect easy and instant communication, therefore your website should include contact details to enable them to ask questions or gain more information before making a purchase.

Testimonials

Potential customers like to see reviews of products or services before making a decision so including these will give your business an edge and help develop trust amongst your target audience. 

Updating your website 

We’ve explained the basics, but there are even more reasons to update your website on a regular basis, to benefit both you and your customers:

Increase traffic

Updating your website and improving your content will result in more traffic. Including credible external links will improve your domain authority. Your domain authority (DA) is essentially a unit if measurement that predicts how high (or low) your site could rank on search engines. 

Add content that contains other high DA links to give you the best chance of improving your position and generating increased amounts of traffic. 

Offer new content and information 

Content isn’t just about increasing scores, however. Of course you want your website to rank high but your content needs to be useful for your audience too. 

Consider a blog section with supporting guides or articles that offer new information to current and potential customers. Although it might seem like a lot of work, it’s worth putting the time and effort in to showcase your expertise and brand. 

Adding keywords will also help improve your rankings and generate higher volumes of traffic so make sure to take the time to research these. 

Improve brand exposure

We’ve explained the importance of brand exposure and keeping your website and content up to date is a great way to continue building your audience reach. 

Make sure to keep in line with your tone of voice, whatever content you’re creating and whether it’s onsite or across social media. Update images, videos and statistics regularly and research current trends to identify what your brand can offer around those topics. 

Boost SEO 

Search engine optimisation can seem like a minefield. For websites to show as the top results, they need to offer relevant content for the user. 

Put yourself in the shoes of your target audience and consider what you’d want to see. Search engines will rank websites higher if they show expertise and relevance. Out of date information is likely to damage your rankings, as is incorrect or irrelevant content. 

Improving rankings will generate more traffic and increased traffic will get your website ranking higher. So, once you’ve nailed your SEO, you have a good chance of attracting a larger audience.

Offer a clear process 

Whatever your business, make sure you have clear CTAs (call to actions) that inform the user what they should do next. Examples include booking a tour or a free consultation, downloading a brochure, reserving a place or adding a product to the basket, depending on the nature of the business. 

Include simple steps and don’t overcomplicate the process or you’ll risk losing potential customers from boredom or not knowing what to do. 

A final word on security 

With the increase of online purchases and data inputting, it’s crucial to keep on top of your cybersecurity. Your target audience is more likely to make a purchase if you offer highly secure payment methods and authentication processes.

This also helps build trust and can increase the likelihood of returning customers.