There are two types of people in the world when it comes to making money; one group is comprised of the people who prefer to do jobs because they think they are happy with the 9-5 set routine and can earn enough to meet their expenses. The other group is comprised of the people who are highly ambitious and think the job is not going to fulfill their dreams but they should start a business and start their own ventures.
In recent times, we are witnessing an emerging trend of entrepreneurship or small businesses across the world which shows that people have realized the power of business. They are giving preference to even small scale set up of their own and creating jobs for others. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 62% of the jobs have been created by small businesses in the new private sector since the end of the Great Recession which is indeed remarkable.
A business of any nature, whether at a small or large scale, cannot ignore digital marketing these days. It has revolutionized the ways of doing business for the last decade or so and has not impacted only old businesses but has paved the way for a generation of new businesses as well.
When you enter a digital world to interact with millions of audience present there, your first digital outlet is the website that speaks about you, your business and products or services you want to sell to the customers. The latest statistics reveal that there are around 1.94 billion active websites in the world which, of course, offer some value to their visitors that is why they are active and exist.
Your website is your digital shop just like a physical shop or office where you entertain your clients. Imagine if your shop does not provide all the necessary facilities for the clients, they will walk away. Similarly, if your digital shop i.e. website does not provide value to the clients, you will start losing customers. We have prepared a checklist for your website to see if your website is ready for 2020 or not. It is imperative that you keep your website updated with the checklist and enter the New Year with new sales targets.
Attractive Design
The first thing on the checklist is that your website should have an attractive design. Design, layout or look of the website is the first thing which visitors notice and may decide then and there if they want to stay or leave. If your website design is not attractive and contemporary, your bounce rate will keep increasing and create hurdles in the ranking.
Content Easily Searchable
This factor is extremely important that the content on your website is easily searchable. Your website may have a lot of content on different pages and there may be no end to the list of items on an e-commerce website. You have to make sure that the visitors can easily search the relevant items and content on your website, otherwise, they are not going to stay. You can easily find the cost of a business website to facilitate your clients.
Compatible with all Browsers
It is also an important item on the checklist which people usually tend to ignore. There are many browsers available in the market and people use different browsers of their choice to surf on the internet. You check your website only on the browser you are using but what about the millions of people who may be using other browsers? So, you have to ensure that your website is compatible with all the browsers or at least with major ones used mostly worldwide.
Smooth Navigation
This is one of the factors which catch the attention of the visitors immediately. If smooth navigation is not in place on your website, you will be sending your potential customers away for sure. According to a survey, ‘Ease of Navigation’ was declared the most important characteristic of a website by 83% of the participants.
The visitors on your website should be able to easily use the sitemap and there should be no hiccups in the navigation. The strong navigation structure makes the website user-friendly and people love to spend time on these websites.
Fast Download Speed
Many of the websites carry videos, photos, surveys and PDF documents that people want to download and keep them for their record for reference or watch/read them later on. At this point, download speed becomes critical and some websites may crash or downloading speed goes down significantly. You have to ensure that you have a premium hosting plan for such heavy data that can cater to the visitors with fast downloading speed.
Security
Internet users are getting more and more conscious about the security of their personal information on the internet. People share their personal information on websites, social media platforms and make transactions of millions of dollars on e-commerce and banking websites. People take security very seriously and you have to make sure that your website is secured enough to protect the information of your clients.
Compatibility with Smartphones
The smartphones have taken the world by storm and more and more people have started using smartphones to connect with the digital world whether it is surfing the internet, social media, YouTube, emails, official correspondence and so on and so forth. Your website should also be compatible with smartphones because most of the potential clients are likely to connect with you via smartphones.
Conclusion
Your website is your digital face and face is a part of the body that we care about the most. You have to ensure that your website is equipped with all the necessary characteristics mentioned in the checklist we have shared with you so that you can present your services and products in the best manner to your clients. 2020 is coming with new challenges and your business website should be ready to overcome these challenges and touch the new heights.