Top 5 Things Consumers Look for in a Website

Top 5 Things Consumers Look for in a Website

As we’ve stated dozens of times before, technology and its standards are always changing. Businesses must take advantage of the changing trends and stay one step ahead. Having a business website is vital in this day and age, and experts suggest updating your website every 2-3 years. Potential customers need to be able to find what they're looking for without having to jump through any obstacles like slow loading, confusing navigation, or unclear design. Below, we have compiled the 5 most important attributes that consumers look for in a website.

1. Aesthetically pleasing design.

A study found that 94% of negative website feedback was design-related and first impressions occur in less than a second. Going for a modern design creates more positive first impressions. You want to make sure your website doesn’t look like it hasn’t been updated since 2002. Modern websites opt for a crisper and cleaner look, along with a horizontal aspect ratio. And nowadays, all websites should feature a responsive web design, meaning that the display of the site should adjust based on the pixel size of the device on which it’s being viewed. 

2. Clear navigation.

Visitors to your website should be able to quickly find what they’re looking for. In order to keep them from feeling overwhelmed, break your navigation into groups of 5 to 7 items. . Also, use descriptive labels—doing so will  not only make life easier for visitors, but help with search engine optimization as well. Navigation labels such as “videos,” “photos,” and “services” inform visitors about the format of the content, but give no clues regarding its subject matter. People don’t go to websites looking for videos or pictures; they come for specific answers and information! A descriptive and easy-to-use navigation tells them immediately if they are in the right place.

3. Fast loading.

Forty-seven percent of users expect a maximum loading time of 2 seconds for an average website. While we all want our business pages to have the highest resolution images, the reason for slow loading is usually large image files. This causes users to leave the site and negatively affects SEO. Google has a great tool for testing the speed of your website pages so you can diagnose any loading issues.

4. Equally good or better mobile site.

Google prioritizes mobile-friendly websites over those that are not mobile-friendly in mobile search results—and roughly 52% of all website traffic is on a mobile device. Having a mobile version of your website or a responsive design should be a priority today because it makes your site more readily available to all customers and shows that your business is modern and relevant. 

5. Have a call to action.

70% of small business websites lack a Call to Action (CTA) on their homepage. A CTA is a prompt on a website that tells the user to take some specified action, usually using an imperative verb such as "call now," "find out more" or "visit a store today." Having a CTA on your website makes it easier for visitors to take the next step with your business after gathering the information they need.

At The Pod Advertising, we take all of these factors into account when creating websites for our clients. We will build you a site that not only meets your needs and the needs of your audience, but allows you to update it yourself, improve it along the way, and expand it over time. It will align with your brand identity and provide full functionality to grow your business.