These days, building a website may seem like a relatively easy and straightforward process. Whether you decide to allow a third-party build the site or are using a content management system such as WordPress, getting a website up and running takes very little time and effort. Unfortunately, this part of the process is only a very small fraction of what must go into a successful project. There are design elements to consider, accessibility options that will need to be tweaked and of course, marketing must be incorporated throughout the site. For those who are beginning the developing stages of a business website, continue reading to find out what elements must be considered – regardless of industry or niche.

Proper Branding

Your website should be an extension of your company or business’ brand (even if the website IS the business), so your web design must take into account a consistency that makes an impression upon readers on every single page. Many companies already have a logo before building a website, so the main task is to integrate this logo into the web design as often as possible, without it appearing too promotional. If you are using a site such as WordPress, then branding at the top and bottom of the website is usually standard for each page: you can select your header and footer images that include the logo, which will be displayed universally.

Call to Action

Many businesses and marketers use calls to action in order to inspire readers and customers to go above and beyond, whether that be making a purchase, contributing to a cause or getting involved in a campaign. Usually, pinging links to just one landing page for each call to action is enough, but your entire website should function in some form as one big call to action. Are you articulating what it is your company stands for? What are the goals in using your product or service? Who benefits from it? These questions should be subtly answered throughout your website, giving readers added inspiration to convert in whatever way desired.

Site Maps/No Dead Links

In order for people to truly understand your business, all of your pages need to be working. When someone comes across dead links, it leaves an impression upon them that the site is either not completed or not properly maintained – and that in turn will speak volumes about your product or service. Likewise, search engines rely on site maps for pinging links and well-linked content in order to find each page of your website and subsequently index it into key search results. Having both a site map and all links functional is vital in gaining attention and maintaining authority. If you have pages that are not yet ready, avoid linking to them at all until they are finished.

Conclusion

The key elements to constructing and maintaining a website are fairly simple: make sure people know who you are, what it is you offer and make sure all content is accessible by both readers and search engines alike. If you can adhere to these three simple principles when building and launching your business’ website, then you can rest assured that the remainder will fall into place over time.