A functional website is a great way to increase traffic and maintain a following. Giving users a positive experience is something that will keep them coming back. Giving them a space where they can find useful information regarding your business in an organized manner is a sure way to increase your site’s visibility and overall function.
What is a Functional Site?
Having a “functional site” means that the website’s design matches the primary purpose of the business it represents. It can also be defined as working in a way that is viewed as easy or convenient for the user.
First Impressions
The overall appearance of a site is something that represents the business. It is the first thing that a user sees, and it is the first thing they judge. When creating a website for your business, you want something that stands out, but also looks clean and put together.
Have you ever clicked on a site that looks jumbled or rushed? It doesn’t set a good tone about the business, and odds are you clicked off of it and continued your search. Creating an organized site that provides the user with basic information will keep your website’s traffic up while ensuring users stay engaged.
Staying Current
There is no doubt that your business changes from time to time. Your website is something that should change, too. Anytime there is a change, whether it is information about your business, the team, or the products and services being offered, your site should remain current.
If updating the site isn’t in your company’s bandwidth, you could be missing out on new users, and even losing the old ones. Here at Compulse, we use WordPress to build our sites. This is a platform that is easy to use and update whenever needed. We also work with our clients to provide a training session so they are knowledgeable on how to make changes themselves
Another great way to remain current is to monitor new trends. You may not always want to or have to follow new trends, but sometimes just being aware of what is working for your competitors and what is not can help you as well. For example, if the new trend is to connect your Facebook account to your website so posts appear on a page on your site, it could be beneficial to follow that trend and add it to your site.
If social media is not your thing, blog posts can be a way to keep your site current. Blogs allow your site to be updated frequently and provides the user with content that is relevant to you and your business. This could potentially allow the user to spend more time on your site or even return to view the new content once it is posted.
Reliability
Being trustworthy and reliable is an important part of having a functional website. Providing accurate information at all times through your site is one way to be viewed as reliable. Making sure your locations, email addresses, and phone numbers are correct is crucial. This gives the user easy, direct access to you without any extra digging or hassle.
Having a site that looks like it is still up and running is also another way to be viewed as reliable and legitimate. According to Adobe, 39% of people stop engaging with a website if the images won’t load or if the site itself takes too long to load. If your site is new and optimized correctly, this will not be a problem. The user will be able to easily access your site without having to wait long periods of time for content to load properly.
User Experience
Having an easy-to-navigate site and one where the user does not have to go searching for the most important information is crucial. It can be frustrating to find information on a site that isn’t designed with the user in mind. Difficult designs and pages put the user through more work than what they should go through. Keeping everything simple and organized is one way to make for positive user experiences. While it may seem easy to build a website with the user in mind, it may require you to do some research on who your target audience is and how to get information to them as easily as possible.
An easy way to get information to a user may be through a mobile device. Making sure that the design is responsive for mobile plays a key role in user experience. In today’s society, we are constantly on the go. If your site works well on mobile devices, it gives the user the ability to constantly have access to your business’ information from anywhere. However, with that said, you want to make sure that your site is responsive on all devices and browsers to increase traffic.
Overall, a functional website is a great way to provide the user with a positive experience that keeps them coming back. It represents you, your business, and the work you do. With a functional website, those that take the time to view your site will be informed and have an understanding of what it is that your business does and offers.
Interested in learning more about how you can make your site functional? Give Compulse Integrated Marketing a call at 844-821-2154 to connect with us now.