Five Elements Every Website Should Have (Especially Yours)

February 10, 2009 by Jeune Ortiz

Websites can only do so much with basic text, links, and images. The magic happens when you use those things to move your visitor to take action. These five elements can help your site go from drab to fab, and keep your hard-earned visitors on your site.

1. Informative Links. Like headlines, links keep people reading your site. The longer a visitor stays on your site the more likely they will be contact you. Compelling links change this: “Click here to view our current newsletter” to this: “Find out more ways to protect your investments.”
2. Call to Action. It’s not just for direct mail anymore! Tell your visitor exactly what you want them to do on your site. Some examples include: “Sign up for a FREE evaluation”, “Call now to make your reservations”, and “Subscribe to our newsletter for more money saving ideas”.
3. Sign Up. No site is complete without some sort of newsletter sign-up box. People want your knowledge and expertise. And especially in this dismal economy, newsletters provide an affordable way for your company to stay in front of your customers.
4. Relevant Content. Content is still king. Make sure your content reflects what your headline says it should. Also, make sure your headline reflects what the link says it would.
5. Custom Error Pages. No one is perfect, not even Google. Frequently, pages are accidentally or purposefully removed from sites. Unfortunately, this can mean that Google is directing people to pages that don’t exist anymore. Instead of an impersonal “404 Error,” why not apologize and give your visitor a way to navigate back to your site?

Category: Web Design | 2 Comments

About the author: Jeune Ortiz is VP of Marketing and Creative Director at future-ink. With more than 20 years of experience in graphic design and marketing, Jeune brings extensive knowledge and creativity to each website and internet marketing solution to grow your business.

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