Top 10 Must-Have Website Features for Your Business Website in 2023
How to design a business website that grabs instant attention? How can I make my design sustain the changing web dynamics? Will my design stay in trend down the line? How to design my website to increase traffic and engage visitors? When it comes to designing a business website, there are many doubts as to how to make the site stand apart and garner attention. In short, what is the recipe for a successful website design?
Ideally, two key aspects influence the success of the design. Despite changes in customers' perspective and the prevailing trend, some factors remain crucial, like the loading time and visual appeal. The second aspect is the new trends that one needs to consider to reach out to customers with more impact. By balancing the two aspects, it is possible to create a successful format that appeals to customers, engages them, and gives better outcomes.
Why is website design given importance? As per the WebFX site, 75% of a brand’s credibility online depends on its web design. 89% of consumers use a competitor site due to bad user experience. As per a GoodFirms survey, a non-responsive web design is a key reason for visitors to quit a site, according to 73.1% of web designers. No wonder web developers are in high demand now.
According to a survey by Top Design Firms on the visual elements that users are attracted by, 40% preferred images, 39% went for color, and 21% found video attractive. A 2020 survey by Statista reveals that 60% of surveyed respondents stated that usability is an important feature of a website for online shopping. From the studies, it is clear that many components influence a successful design.
The author is an expert in web design and development. He has over five years of experience in the industry, with a special focus on software development and Artificial Intelligence technologies. He has authored several articles on different aspects of web development, AI, and big data. According to him, “A business can leverage AI tech to engage, interact, and produce better outcomes with customers.”
This article will deal with the major components of website design that top web development companies follow to ensure successful results. The various website features discussed here will help in putting together a cohesive, fully functional, and user-centric solution.
Top 10 website features in a business website
If you are creating a portal from scratch or making changes to the existing template, what are the ten things a site should have? Here is a detailed explanation of the crucial ten website features a business website must have in 2023.
1. Quick loading
A vital factor that influences customer loyalty is how quickly a page can load. The quicker the page appears, the lower will be the bounce rate. Even a few seconds of lag can result in a loss of visitors, conversions, and more.
The loading time denotes the average time taken for a page to be visible. It is the time taken from when you click on a link or enter an address to seeing the page fully. It takes just 1 second or less. Two main influencing factors affect the loading time. They are:
- The speed of the server and network.
- The time taken by the browser to make the page available for user viewing.
Other factors that impact the time include the browser used, platform, and location. Further, the time can differ for different pages belonging to a single site due to changes in the
- Design elements
- Functionality
- Content of the page
Some ways to ensure faster loading are
- Selecting a high-performing hosting service provider
- Compress images
- Cache the web pages and use browser caching
- Optimizing files to ensure cleaner and faster speed of loading
- Avoid having unnecessary plugins
Website speed test tool from Google: https://pagespeed.web.dev/
2. Easy to access
Easy accessibility is vital for users to benefit from a site’s features. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) has set certain requirements that help in providing optimum usability. To ensure better usability, a developer needs to consider the diverse audience. Some of the ways to improve access include
- Adequate contrast for the images and text, so they are visible even to people having visual impairment.
- Descriptive labels for form fields ensure easy user compliance.
- Proper navigation of the site by the use of clear labels, positions, etc.
- Proper spacing of paras and simple headings
- Design the webpage for different views, screens, and devices
- Offer alternative options for viewing media like transcripts and text versions for audio and video content.
With proper accessibility in website features, you can ensure a proper user experience. All users, including those with disabilities, will be able to access the site. Other benefits include
- Increase in audience reach
- Improved search engine optimization
- Increase site usability
- Boost the competitiveness of the site
3. Incorporate appropriate media elements
While usability and speed are essential for seamless navigation, some components are added to ensure the site is attractive.
What makes a website attractive?
Having appropriate illustrations in the form of animations, audio, and video help to enhance the appeal. They improve the visual aspect, give users more benefits from the content, and provide a better experience. To be precise, they serve to retain users for a longer span on the site. They remember the site, and the chance of repeat visits is higher. With videos, there are three main perks:
- Video content boosts dwell time by 80%, and 68% of users prefer videos over infographics, text, and other forms of presentation.
- With videos, the incorporation of backlinks is easy. Creating informative, appealing, and expertise-rich videos accompanied by appropriate content helps in obtaining backlinks, which are otherwise hard to get.
- Generating organic visibility is effective with animated videos. When compared to the traditional form of content presentation, video content is given preference by search engines.
Besides animated videos, GIFs and illustrations are emerging as popular website features now. They create a custom look and help in providing a better user experience. User attention is more, and they stay longer on a site.
4. Mobile responsive
With the number of smartphone shoppers on the rise, the importance of putting together a mobile-responsive site cannot be overstressed. With a responsive design, users get to enjoy the same experience as on a desktop. There are many other reasons this feature of a website is a crucial addition.
- Ever since the mobile-first algorithm of Google was introduced in 2019, the mobile version has been given predominance in rankings. Thus, it is imperative to ensure an optimally responsive design is created.
- Ensuring an improved appearance on big and small screens can increase visitors' time on the site.
- With a responsive design, it is not necessary to have separate versions for desktop and mobile, thereby saving effort, time, and resources.
Some of the vital components of a mobile-responsive platform are:
- Content should flow easily to fit the screen, irrespective of its size.
- The sizing of various page elements should be relative.
- Breakpoints are used as filters to fit the varying styles and to customize the design.
- The design should work independently and make changes as per the changes in font, navigation, image size, screen size, and more.
Mobile friendly test from Google: https://search.google.com/test/mobile-friendly
5. Search feature
For a seamless user experience, the search feature is vital. As per Moz, 30% of visitors use this feature of a website on average. The advantages of the element are:
- It increases the rate of conversion
- Higher incidence of returning visitors intending to buy
- Visitors get to find the products faster
- Identify what the users want with the use of analytics
- Provide a wider range of services that users can access easily
Putting together a functional and successful website costs effort, time, and money. Ensuring the site has an optimized search feature is a worthwhile investment.
As per the Search Engine Journal, over 40% of the 1013 users surveyed stated that the search feature is one of the key website features to consider. Visitors will find the solution to their problem faster, resulting in better prospects of a purchase.
The feature is also one of the most effective website features that can improve usability and provide better outcomes. It is, therefore, a valuable component for a business site giving it an edge over its competitors.
6. Contact info
An often-overlooked element of the various website features is contact information. One of the main things to do is to place it such that it is easily accessible. Instead of just adding a section, including the info on every page will be more effective.
In addition to making the details easy to view, there should be multiple ways to contact them. Some of the common ways include an online contact form, email, and phone. The info should be clickable. Placing the info on the top section of a web page will ensure easy visibility.
A call-to-action feature that links to the contact form or email client is another effective method. While including forms, they should be simple and placed in every part of the site, making it easy for visitors to contact the business.
7. Social media
Including social media links on the site has become an integral part of website features. It is vital for connecting with customers and also provides an easy way for them to connect and interact with a business.
As per Sprout Social stats, 73.4% of users become brand followers due to their interest in the service or product.
Using accessible social media buttons will help in better sharing and syndication of content. The possibility of your content going viral is high with the element.
Another advantage is the addition can boost SEO rankings. With social media, there is increased visibility in the search results. Further, there is an increased chance of creating superior-quality backlinks.
A business can benefit by using the content that users post related to the brand, product, or service. Retweeting what a customer says about a product can boost brand authority and user trust.
It also ensures users are hooked to the content. An increase in potential leads is also possible by including the sharing buttons on the site.
At a time when cost-cutting measures are taken up on a war footing, using social media makes sense. It is cost-effective as the expenses involved are very less other than spending towards promoting a few posts.
But spending time on social media to interact with the target audience is essential to make the component successful.
8. Chatbots
Chatbots have turned out to be an indispensable feature of a website, and their importance is all set to grow in the future.
With advanced artificial intelligence and allied technologies, the tools will turn out to be a vital functionality aspect.
The chatbots help answer all types of user queries, from simple requests for customer support to providing a customized shopping experience.
Communicating with customers needs to be prompt to ensure smooth user interaction. Using chatbots will ensure quick communication. They are considered potent tools in website features because of the following advantages they offer:
- They are available 24/7, ensuring customers have their queries and concerns addressed immediately, regardless of the time of the day.
- The bots are capable of handling multiple queries simultaneously, thus providing a quick response.
- Consistent solutions are provided, ensuring a better user experience.
- They can communicate via different channels like websites, social media, etc.
- Multilingual and personalized support is possible with the bots.
In short, for businesses looking to build a powerful rapport with their customers, the bots offer a perfect choice.
A business can leverage AI tech to engage, interact, and produce better outcomes with customers. Efficient marketing goal achievement, boost in sales, and enhanced customer support are easier with the bots.
9. Interactive design
The interactive design element uses good navigation and user experience as its main components. It helps in creating an interesting site. The design is visually attractive and fun to use.
The main use of the tool is to
- Promote a service or product
- Create an e-commerce store and more.
Interactivity is one of the website features that help visitors to consume and interact with the content. The likelihood of users reading content is more if it is interactive. Adding surveys, polls, forms, etc. helps users to register their feedback and requests.
Some of the main aspects of this feature of a website are
- Animation
- Database integration
- Audio stimulation
- Quick response code
Using interactive website features, it is possible to generate memorable experiences for visitors, convert them into users, and eventually loyal customers.
Other advantages include higher conversion and better user sharing. The website is frequently updated and, as a result, maintains a higher site authority.
It is also apt for creating organic backlinks. And last but not least, it creates trust by forming a personal and emotional link with users.
10. CRM Incorporation
To maintain an edge over competitors it is imperative for businesses to make their user experience customized, memorable, and seamless.
To convert prospective leads into sales, businesses need to nurture customer relationships. This feature of a website can enhance user experience and make the internal system sophisticated.
CRM (Customer Relationship Management) software is vital as it offers the following benefits:
- Maintains customer info and helps cultivate a strong relationship with customers.
- Records customer behavior and helps businesses to use appropriate engagement with users.
- Provides diverse tools to track customer interaction to help in better closing of sales.
The technology helps in identifying crucial info about individual customer behavior on the site. Unlike the info on the site, which is generic and not personalized for each visitor, the CRM has separate profiles for every user, such as contact details, history, user preference, and more.
Dynamic site sections can be created by using the software without any additional effort or time as the task would otherwise need. Further alerts, bug trackers, and more are present to help in better design.
In short, CRM incorporation ensures a site is not generic, which can affect the productivity and operations of the company. Better work organization, enhanced automation, and high efficiency are assured with the integration.
Final thoughts
So, what does a successful website need? The top components mentioned in the list above help in building a cohesive structure that can meet the key business goals.
Not having a business website up-to-date on recent technological inclusions can be detrimental to the bottom line. Embracing the new technologies and retaining the basic website features that have proven to be effective will help in building sustainable websites that give outstanding results.
Make sure you use the top 10 website features mentioned in the above list to make your establishment stand out from the rest. The website features not only highlight your site’s functionality but also ensure the site is appealing to visitors enabling better leads and conversions.
