7 Helpful Website Features in 2024: Elements for an Effective Business Website
Your website is your digital storefront, and many factors determine its effectiveness. In 2024, the significance of a well-crafted online presence is more important than ever.
A website's success is more than aesthetics; it must combine functionality, engaging user experience and best practices for building a website. This blog post focuses on the needed elements to transform a business website into a powerful sales tool for success.
Learn the essential components, each guaranteed to elevate engagement, foster trust, and propel businesses toward online excellence.
The 7 Helpful Website Features:
Custom Brand Name, URL and Website Header
1. Custom Brand Name
Your business name is also your online identity. It must convey professionalism and uniqueness and help establish a memorable online presence. A distinct brand name is crucial for recognition and trademarks and sets the tone for your business's identity, fostering user trust.
Your business name should be prominently displayed on your website in the URL, header (in the logo), footer (bottom of your website) and mentioned within the written content across your site pages.
Personalized Domain URL
Custom Domain
Your personalized domain is essential for a company's online identity; It is your online address. It adds professionalism, builds trust, and enhances brand recognition. With a short and simple web address, businesses stand out, making it easier for users to find and remember them. It signals authenticity, contributing to long-term brand-building, search engine optimization and effective marketing efforts. A personalized domain is a strategic investment for a credible and influential digital presence.
Having a personalized domain name for your business email is also critical. Why? Because if you’re using a free email, it’s perceived as less trustworthy. Not just by people but by email delivery services. Your free g/email could wind up in spam. I’ve heard people say that if they receive a free g/email from an unknown person, they automatically delete it.
SIDENOTE: Read our blog post about URL Structure: Best Practices for SEO-Friendly URLs.
Logo
Design Powers Logo
A professional business logo is crucial for your visual brand identity. It should be prominently displayed on the website, typically at the top left or center of every page, to ensure immediate brand recognition, no matter where the visitor is. Your logo does not need to be large to be effective, but it must be there because it serves a functional purpose—as a link to the home page.
This strategic placement maximizes visibility and consistency, creating a positive user experience and seamless navigation. A well-designed logo is a visual anchor across the website, reinforcing brand cohesion and building visitor trust. A business logo is a vital graphic element that must be featured front and center for optimal impact on the website.
SIDENOTE: Check out more of our blog posts about Logo Design and view our portfolio of custom logo designs.
2. Simple and Effective Navigation
Site navigation can make or break the user experience. An intuitive menu, organized page structure and clear pathways enable visitors to effortlessly explore your website, find information, and engage with your content. Easy navigation enhances user satisfaction, reduces bounce rates, and ultimately contributes to the success of your site. Effective header and footer navigation are crucial for a user-friendly website.
Page Organization
Page Organization
The navigation of your website doesn’t start in the header and footer—It begins with organizing your website pages. Pages must be structured in a simple, logical, and strategic roadmap (also called a sitemap). Page structure guides the navigation choices. Its simplicity is not just an aesthetic design choice but a thought-out and user-tested element that empowers people to navigate a website effortlessly.
SIDENOTE: To learn how to structure your website pages, read our blog post BUILD BRAND TRUST: Top 4 Principles to Writing Website Content that Search Engines Love!
Primary Navigation
The top header section of your website contains your logo, as mentioned, and the primary navigation, typically located on the top right side or tucked inside a hamburger-style menu. The primary nav, along with the logo, is the first point of contact. It guides visitors to the top pages and usually has a bold call to action button with the #1 action you want a user to take on the site.
It’s best to limit the number of items in your primary navigation to only the most important (4-6 items, except for websites that provide many services and need mega menus or online stores with tons of products and categories). Fewer items in the primary nav reduces decision fatigue and confusion because it communicates precisely where you want a user to go.
Website Header Navigation
The Footer
Meanwhile, the footer acts as a convenient endpoint, offering quick access to essential links, contact information, additional navigation options, and necessary legal policy pages, such as privacy policies and terms of service. Additionally, it provides a valuable space for users to find quick links to social media profiles, encouraging further engagement beyond the website.
The page organization, header, and footer navigation create a cohesive and intuitive structure, ensuring users can explore the website's offerings effortlessly. When well-designed, all three increase user experience by reducing confusion and improving accessibility.
Website Footer Navigation
3. High-Quality, Relevant Written Content
Written content is the backbone of effective communication in print media and online. A website's success depends on the foundation of helpful, high-quality, and relevant content. This content informs visitors and establishes the website as a credible, authoritative go-to source within its industry. Providing valuable information clearly and concisely engages visitors and can improve search engine rankings.
Helpful content addresses users' queries, provides solutions, builds trust, and encourages users to return visits. Written content is not just a complement to design—it's the driving force behind it. You need good written content to create brand credibility and sustain online success.
Home Page
Home Page with a Tagline and Short Description
Your home page is likely one of the top visited pages on your website. It requires concise and impactful written content. In the top section, you can use your business tagline, which encapsulates the essence of your brand, conveying its values and unique selling proposition in a memorable phrase. This succinct statement instantly communicates the brand's identity and resonates with visitors' pain points.
You also must have a brief description that clarifies who you serve and your core offerings, providing clarity and guiding visitors quickly. The home page content has to capture and retain the visitor’s interest. How do you do this? Write the content to be relevant and helpful to your audience's needs. Make it short and easily digestible so everyone understands it and knows where to go next.
About Page
Your about page humanizes your brand and fosters a connection with visitors. It should include a story that outlines the business's journey, values, and mission. The About page offers an opportunity to showcase the personality behind the brand, making it relatable and trustworthy to those exploring the website. Incorporating the founders' and team members' bios gives a personal touch, adds authenticity, and builds trust.
Services Page
Services
Your services page is the focal point for communicating your business's core offerings. It should present a clear overview of the services, highlighting their value. Each service should have a dedicated section detailing its features, benefits, and any distinctive aspects that set it apart. Additionally, incorporating clear calls to action can guide visitors to take the next steps, whether purchasing, requesting more information, or getting in touch (for more on CTA’S, see #7 on this list).
Other pages you need are FAQ, Blog, New, Resources, Contact, Location, link in bio and more. To learn more about writing website pages, read our blog post BUILD BRAND TRUST: Top 4 Principles to Writing Website Content that Search Engines Love!
4. Professional Branded Images, Video, and Graphics
Design Powers Team
Professional branded images, videos, and graphics are essential for conveying a visually cohesive and compelling brand identity. These elements serve as a means of visual communication, creating an immediate and lasting impression on visitors.
High-quality visuals enhance the website's aesthetic appeal and instill a sense of professionalism. You always need a good headshot for your team bio page or LinkedIn. Additional custom brand photos of the company, location, and team used to be a luxury, but now they’re essential, no matter the business or industry. Unless you’re top secret, private, or have a large remote team and taking consistent brand photos is too challenging, illustrated graphics can be a great solution.
Well-designed visuals capture and retain user attention, foster engagement, and effectively convey the brand's narrative. Video wins with this. YouTube is the second most visited website, after all. Whether it be a silent background video or a talking head, people are wired to stare at faces and moving objects. If you can’t take custom videos, you can opt for paid stock; however, with stock, there is always the chance that someone else is using it, too, especially if it’s free or has a Creative Commons (CC) license.
A combination approach of custom brand photos mixed with graphics, video, and/or GIFS that link to social videos can work, too. Nowadays, you can use AI-generated artwork commercially, which might be the right direction, depending on the situation. No matter which type of visual elements you decide to use, investing in professionally branded visuals is a winning strategy for building a memorable and trustworthy online presence.
Displaying visuals strategically across the website placed close to relevant written content strengthens the brand message and story. Incorporating branded elements in your website and marketing materials ensures consistent brand representation.
SIDENOTE: Stay tuned for our upcoming brand photo guide, part 3 of our BUIlD BRAND TRUST series, including our top tips for how to get great photos for your website. Can’t wait and need some advice ASAP? Read our blog post about our day of personal branding photography and what you can expect when you hire a professional fashion stylist, brand photographer, hair stylist and makeup artist.
Want to see examples of how we use professional branded images, videos and graphics with our clients? Visit our web design case studies page and explore our work.
5. Intuitive User Interface (UI), Experience (UX) and Responsive Web Design (RWD)
A modern website requires an intuitive user interface (UI) and a seamless user experience (UX) for optimal functionality and user engagement. UI is how it looks: the aesthetics, colors, typography and layout. UX is how it works: the structure, functionality, research, and testing. Both require discovery, design thinking, wireframing, detailing, evaluation, testing, and feeling.
UI/UX is interdependent and has to mesh well to create a robust end product. Thoughtful UI/UX ensures visitors can easily navigate and interact with the website, fostering a user-friendly environment and enjoyable journey.
Desktop View
Tablet View
Mobile View
Responsive Web Design (RWD) is equally crucial, adapting the website's layout and spacing to different devices for consistent performance across screen sizes. RWD is essential for reaching and retaining a broad audience because of the wide-ranging screen sizes determined by the endless physical hardware devices and their displays.
RWD is not a new concept, yet many businesses have not adapted and updated their old sites to this modern standard. Today, users expect your website to work and look good on all screen sizes; The layout must be fluid.
All three interactive elements create a positive digital experience, elevating the website's appeal, accessibility, and effectiveness.
SIDENOTE: Is your website an old platform, and you know it’s time to update? Read our blog post, Reasons Your Website Needs to be Responsive, for more motivation to update it this year. Are you looking for a design team to help you improve your UI/UX with a website rebrand? Contact us!
6. Reviews and Testimonials
Reviews and testimonials are indispensable for a website as they are authentic and influential endorsements of a business's products or services. When you shop online, I guarantee you don’t click the buy button without reading the reviews first. Your website is no different.
Trust is more important than anything else. And reviews (social proof) from satisfied clients are the fastest way to get it. Recommendations and referrals from family, friends, and associates are usually credible, instilling confidence in your purchase.
Website Google Reviews
Online reviews from third-party platforms, such as Google, Amazon, Facebook, Yelp, and other industry-specific platforms, help verify the authenticity of the reviews because users need an account to publish the review. Even though fake reviews can and do happen, these platforms have guidelines and spam bots to help limit them.
Reviews contribute to transparency, offering insights into the real-world experiences of others and helping visitors make informed decisions. Displaying positive testimonials strategically on the website helps build a positive online reputation, influences purchasing decisions, and establishes enduring relationships with the audience.
Using plugins to embed third-party reviews is standard practice. If your clients prefer to keep their privacy but still want to write you a review, there are other ways to showcase real reviews directly written to you via a private email.
Need help getting reviews for your business? Take control of your online reviews and reputation with our Review Management Services.
SIDENOTE: We advocate for all our clients to get and manage a free Google Business Profile for public reviews. Why Google? Google is the number one visited website; your profile helps boost your local search engine optimization (SEO) in search results listings and map searches. It can also boost traffic to your website. Read our guide BUILD BRAND TRUST: How to Set Up Your Google Business Profile for more info!
7. Calls to Action and Subscriber Opt-In:
Calls to action (CTAs) are a fundamental component of a successful website. Typically, they are button links placed strategically throughout the website in the header, multiple times on a single page, and sometimes in the footer.
CTAs serve as guideposts that provide straightforward navigation and direct visitors toward desired actions (the goals of your website). Whether making a purchase, subscribing to a newsletter, or contacting the business, well-crafted CTAs prompt and motivate users to take the next steps. CTAs play a crucial role in converting website traffic into meaningful interactions and, ultimately, driving the desired outcomes for the business.
Subscriber Opt-In
A subscriber opt-in is a vital CTA on a website, allowing visitors to consent to receive updates, promotions, or valuable content via email marketing. By opting in, users express an interest in the brand and its offerings, creating a direct channel for communication straight to their email inbox. Email marketing is the best way to stay top of mind…people who sign up want to hear from you, and if they change their mind, they can unsubscribe.
Building a subscriber base gives businesses a loyal audience more likely to engage with future content, promos, and service/product releases. The subscriber opt-in feature is a strategic tool for cultivating a community of interested and engaged individuals, turning casual visitors into committed brand followers.
(LONG) SIDENOTE: Google and Yahoo are updating spam filter policies early this year. Email sender guidelines require more authentication and verification steps specifically for a free or unverified@gmail.com or @yahoo.com email and bulk senders (senders who send 5,000+ messages per day). If you use a CMS platform, like Squarespace, for auto commerce customer notification emails and only a free email account without a custom domain, the good news is Squarespace will automatically add an authenticated Squarespace domain for you. However, we strongly recommend custom domains (see #1 on this list)!
In general, all senders who send bulk mail from email clients (Google, Yahoo, Outlook, etc.) and email marketing platforms, such as Squarespace Email Campaigns, must verify the sender profile(s) (the email account(s) sending/receiving mail) with authentication codes and must verify ownership of their custom domain with DNS records (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) to successfully send and deliver emails to accounts. These updated guidelines help protect you from impersonators, ensure messages are delivered and prevent spam for users.
We can recommend our go-to email partner if you need assistance with a challenging email problem. Just get in contact with us.
Conclusion
The 7 helpful website features define an effective business website and form the foundation for user engagement and trust. Each element plays a pivotal role, from establishing brand identity to ensuring seamless functionality. Together, they create a roadmap for businesses to excel in the competitive digital landscape, emphasizing the importance of a user-centric approach and strategic online communication. We hope you found this post insightful. Scroll down to leave a comment or ask a question! Contact us if you need more help.
FAQS
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Having a custom brand name and URL for your business website is crucial for establishing a memorable online presence and fostering user trust. It serves as your online identity, conveying professionalism and uniqueness.
Additionally, a personalized domain adds credibility, enhances brand recognition, and contributes to long-term brand-building and effective marketing efforts. Utilizing a personalized domain for business email further enhances trustworthiness, as free email addresses are often perceived as less trustworthy and may end up in spam folders.
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Effective navigation on a website is essential for providing a seamless user experience. This includes intuitive menu organization, clear pathways, and easy-to-find information. Organizing website pages logically and strategically guides navigation choices, ensuring that users can effortlessly explore the website and find the information they need.
Primary navigation, typically located in the header, guides visitors to essential pages, while the footer serves as a convenient endpoint offering quick access to essential links and contact information. Well-designed navigation structures reduce confusion, improve accessibility, and enhance user satisfaction.
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Reviews and testimonials are indispensable for a business website as they provide authentic and influential endorsements of a business's products or services. Displaying positive reviews strategically on the website helps build a positive online reputation, influences purchasing decisions, and establishes enduring relationships with the audience.
Online reviews from third-party platforms contribute to transparency, offering insights into real-world experiences and helping visitors make informed decisions. By showcasing real reviews directly written to the business via private email or through embedded third-party plugins, businesses can further enhance their credibility and trustworthiness.
Need help getting reviews? Check out our review management services!
