If you are looking for ways to bolster your company’s revenue and improve the way things are going in 2021, your website is the first place to start. During the coronavirus pandemic, your website is likely the only port of call between you and your customers, meaning that it has gained importance dramatically in recent months.
If your site seems shabby or is difficult to use, this can only reflect poorly on your company. In an increasingly digital world, the need for a bespoke, beautiful, and user-friendly website is never going to go away.
Improving your company website can be done in myriad ways, and should be a unique project that caters to your business’s specific needs. If you are looking for inspiration on how to improve your company website in 2021, you are in the right place!
Here is how to make your company website stand out to potential clients and investors.
Invest in a Live Chat Function
In an increasingly immediate world, being accessible to your customers is vital. If your company comes across as faceless or absent, this will result in potential buyers clicking away and finding something more accessible. It’s as simple as that.
If you are looking for ways to become more accessible to your customers, a live chat function is the easiest way to make this happen. Live chat makes your customers feel instantly considered, providing them with immediate answers to questions they might have about your products or services. Live chat is not difficult to install if you use the right company; the value it can add to your site far outweighs the expense of operating it.
Looking to add live chat for your website? Find out more by clicking the link!
Explore Graphic Design Options
The next thing you need to consider is the appearance of your website. Just like a physical store, restaurant or office building, your website needs to draw people in from the moment they land on it. Research shows that the average user visits a website for fewer than 15 seconds, meaning that in order to keep them for longer, your graphic design needs to stand out in a unique, interesting way.
If you are not from a graphic design background, it is totally understandable that you may not have the skills or expertise to know what is the best way to keep consumers switched on. That’s why it is crucial to outsource your digital marketing and web design to specialists who can provide the insights you need to create a brilliant homepage that pulls customers in.
Consult a UX Specialist
Not familiar with UX? Well, you need to be. UX, which stands for user experience, is a skill that many people are now specially trained to consult and implement for businesses. User experience encompasses how a consumer travels through your site, and how easily they can find their way to what they want. If a site is well-signposted and designed with the user in mind, it is much more likely to pique their interest, thereby resulting in more sales.
UX specialists are becoming more and more ubiquitous, so it shouldn’t be difficult to locate one that can help you improve your website. Without proper UX consultation, your consumers are more likely to lose interest and click away – which is the exact opposite of your aims!
Update Your Cybersecurity
One crucial element of your website is its safety. The internet is packed full of cybercrime – it was found recently that almost 500,000 Americans reported cyber crime in 2019 – and if your business is not prepared for this, you could end up in devastating circumstances.
Here are a few ways to update your company website’s cybersecurity.
- Outsource your IT.
Outsourcing your IT can help your cybersecurity because you will be placing your site in the hands of a company that is entirely dedicated to IT. The institution to which you outsource will have resources and experts on hand that will ensure total security in each aspect of your company operations online.
Outsourced IT can also provide 24-hour surveillance of your company website, so you are never caught unawares by a cyber attack or customer issue with their details.
- Improve office device antivirus software.
Your office devices, whether being operated from home by employees or on your company server, should be installed with the most up to date version of its antivirus software possible. This is to ensure that your company devices are not vulnerable to hackers.
- Strengthen your payment channels.
Your customers’ personal details should be the top priority when it comes to cyber security. Make sure to use payment channels such as PayPal that are both insured heavily, and very reputable. This will also help to build trust with your customers.
Offer more delivery options
In the age of the coronavirus pandemic, delivery is king. Without efficient or trustworthy delivery of your goods, you might as well pack up and go home. Many companies only offer one delivery service that is unclear or lengthy, and this switches potential customers off. They are likely to go elsewhere and find similar products that can be made available much faster.
One way to engage a wider customer base is to offer different delivery options that fit more customers’ needs. This will require an investment on your part, but will likely reward you very quickly with more frequent sales from customers who need products right away.
If your company can’t provide these delivery options on its own, it may be time to outsource this to a delivery company that has better resources and a wider reach.
In addition, if you are offering more delivery options, make sure to include this on your site home page. Customers are looking for efficiency right now, so they shouldn’t be missing this vital information.
Build your brand on social media
Social media is the key to reaching younger consumers. Moreover, most people now use at least one form of social media, even those who are above millennial or Gen Z age groups. Whether it is Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, Facebook or Linkedin – or ideally, all of the above – your company should be building its brand on social media, and advertising its social media pages on the site itself.
Social media is a great way to connect with people because it allows you to get personal with your customers. Building your social media brand isn’t always about overt selling – it’s also about engaging your customers in your whole world as a company. Products are just a part of the whole vibe you create on social media.
If you are struggling to gain traction on your social media pages, consult a social media marketing expert for advice and guidance. There are plenty of techniques that can make headway with your followers, you just need to tap into the social media marketing industry!
Implement an SEO strategy
Lastly, it is necessary to implement an SEO strategy for your company. SEO, standing for Search Engine Optimization, allows your site to be found more easily by customers looking for your products or services.
Search engine optimization works by building your site’s content so that it is more easily recognized by Google’s algorithm. Google’s algorithm indexes sites based on keywords and links that you can implement onto the site, meaning that it is likely to come up as a result of many more Google searches than before.
It can be difficult to compete with huge companies that have endless budgets for PPC advertising, but with a great SEO strategy, you can edge closer to the competition.
If you want to implement an SEO strategy on your website, make sure to contact an SEO specialist agency to be provided with excellent content and other SEO strategies.
Include customer reviews on the site
Trust is one of the most important elements of online sales. Without a face-to-face connection, your company has to rely purely on the website to provide a trustworthy enough appearance to close a sale. For that reason, customers are looking for transparency and detailed information more than ever before.
One easy, cost-effective way to improve trust and increase transparency is to include customer reviews on your website. This means you can easily show your customers just how great your products and services are, incentivizing them to buy. Consumers are likely to trust other consumers more than a sales pitch, so this feature really is invaluable when it comes to encouraging customers to trust your brand.
Final Thoughts
The coronavirus pandemic has forced businesses all over the world to make big changes. Whether your business had to shut down its office, close up shop or lay off employees, it hasn’t been an easy time for any company.
As a result, many companies are focusing on digitizing their operations for a perfect online consumer experience. Don’t get behind the times – use this blog to improve your website and stay on track.