Looking to build an online business? 6 elements to consider
The business landscape of our age dictates some rules that entrepreneurs have to follow if they want to succeed. One of these rules is that a business needs to have a great business website. It doesn’t matter if you already have a brick-and-mortar store or not, an awesome website is a must-have.
Furthermore, due to the pandemic, the whole world is fighting at the moment, more and more customers are avoiding physical stores and more and more business owners are moving their operations online. As both business owners and customers are turning to online stores, the eCommerce industry is picking up the pace.
If you too have an idea of setting up an online business, keep reading. Below you will find various elements that you should definitely consider when creating your new website. Keep in mind that some of them are strictly technical while others deal with marketing and sales strategies.
Come up with a recognizable domain name
A business domain name is the web address of your business website and the first thing you should think about once you decide to set up an online business. This name is what customers type into the web browser to reach a website.
Domain names were invented as technical shortcuts to replace strings of numbers with words so that people can visit websites easily. However, a domain name is much more important than just that.
Know that a short, memorable domain name can make the difference between creating a successful web presence and getting lost in a sea of online businesses.
Having your own domain name makes your whole business seem professional, so do not publish your website through an ISP or a free web hosting website. If you do so, you will end up with a generic URL that is not trustworthy.
On the other hand, if you register a domain name that matches the concept of your business, you may draw a lot more visitors in search of that topic.
And more than anything, a domain name can increase awareness of your brand significantly. When a domain name matches the company name, it reinforces the brand and makes it easier for customers to remember it and return to the website.
Finally, when looking for a domain name, bear in mind that it is perfectly okay to go for a cheap domain name. In this case, cheap does not necessarily mean bad, as you can find a number of attractive domains at an affordable price.
Create a stunning home page
As soon as a visitor clicks on your website, they shall be directed to your home page, which is why this page should leave a great impression if you want to increase the sales figures.
One of the most interesting facts about generating traffic on a website is that your website should potentially impress the visitor within the first 10 seconds they visit your website. These moments are very important, since over 90% of visitors make an immediate decision about your website by looking at the home page.
A good business website should not leave any room for guessing, but it should clearly convey what’s on offer as soon as a visitor is there. It is up to you to ensure that the page your visitors see first looks professional and appealing.
Take the following elements of a homepage into consideration when creating it:
- Spacing
- Logo and other visuals
- Product gallery
- Image scroller
- On-hover
- Navigation
- Footer
- Textual content structure
Write clear and concise contact information
Every business’s main goal is to make profits. In order to do this, you should gain your prospective customers’ trust to convert traffic into leads and sales. This is as important as impressing them with great products and flashy web features.
Displaying your contact details in a clear manner is essential if you want success. These details include NAP data:
- Business name
- Address
- Telephone
- Social media pages
This kind of information has to be shown clearly in a prominent position, as visitors easily get lost or give up when looking for it for too long.
Besides this data, it would be wise to create a good About page that provides a clear insight into the business and the key people behind it. Photos of your team can be very useful, as they make potential customers feel that they know your company better, which can significantly influence their subsequent consumer decisions.
Implement a customer loyalty program
Acquiring customers is important, but investing efforts in retaining them is crucial. And that is precisely where a good customer loyalty program can help.
This is your chance to reward your best customers and say thanks. A customer loyalty program shows that you respect your customers and that you are ready to show them love by providing special treatment for them.
On top of that, this will have a positive impact on your business.
First of all, customer loyalty programs boost growth. Even though they are a straightforward approach to growing sales, increasing customer retention, and building loyalty, they really work.
Loyalty programs are cost-effective too. Looking for new customers tends to be expensive, but focusing on your current ones and stimulating them to spend more comes at a considerably lower price.
After all, an existing customer is much more likely to purchase again from an online business if you give them a good deal or a special offer through a good loyalty program.
Finally, a customer loyalty program can also improve the reputation of your business. Not only will your customers feel appreciated, but you also increase the chances that your current satisfied customers will tell their friends about you.
Happy customers love to talk about the positive experience they had with businesses. So, the more a customer feels that your business acknowledges them, the more they will spread the message. After all, word-of-mouth marketing is still one of the best marketing methods around.
Take advantage of social media
In order to grow and make your online business more popular, you definitely need to take advantage of social media.
Social networks are now a significant part of every marketing strategy, and the benefits of using social media are so great that anyone not implementing this cost-effective resource is missing out on a great marketing opportunity.
This is why you should make use of social media because it is one of the top cost-efficient digital marketing methods used to promote content and increase business visibility. Implementing it will considerably improve your brand recognition since you will be engaging with a broad audience of consumers.
For starters, create social media pages for your business and begin interacting with others (customers included). Have team members, business partners, and sponsors to like and share your page. Simply having people that interact with your content will improve brand awareness and begin building your reputation as a business.
Also, include social media sharing buttons on your website. Customers should have the ability to share what they see on your business website with their friends on various networks. To enable this, you should look into social media feed plugins and other tools that offer this and similar functionalities.
Be mobile-friendly
More and more people use their mobile phones to do almost everything, including shopping. Make sure not to neglect these users because you might miss out on a lot of revenue. Some say that almost half of the potential customers usually try to access websites using a mobile device.
If your website does not load properly or users face awful navigation and choppy elements, your business may suffer. Therefore, you should do your best to optimize your website for mobile devices. A well-designed website will respond to the screen size, whether that’s desktop, tablet, or mobile. Otherwise, you will never gain the maximum exposure or conversions that you want.
Final thoughts
Your business’s website is the factor that will either make or break your online business. That is the reason why you should invest as much effort and money as possible to make the website look and feel great.
The eCommerce industry is huge and it offers great opportunities, but this also means that the rivalry is fierce there. So, do your best to be better than the rest and you will see the results.
Good luck!
