In today’s business world, not having a website can be considered as business suicide. You just can’t expect to stay competitive with other companies if you do not have your own website. With more than 80 percent of the population having access to the Internet, a company is more valuable than ever.

But having a website is just the beginning. Having one will not ensure success because the competition is very fierce. What you want is to be able to drive traffic to your website and get them to stay there until they do what you want them to do, which is either to buy or sign up for something.

Whatever your goal is in creating a website, here are the elements that need to be present for it to be successful.

Value Proposition

Your website needs to show the visitor what is being offered. Is it information? Is it a product or service? Whatever it is, your website needs to be able to properly communicate to the visitor what it is. If the content of your website are just a bunch of words that do not make any sense to the visitor, he or she will just leave the page altogether. Remember that it just takes an average of 8 seconds for you to either get the visitor’s attention or lose it. Make sure that your content is set to the former.

Links to Social Media

Everything today is driven to social media. That is why you have to have content that is highly shareable. However, having good content is just one element. You have to make it easier for customers to share that content. That is why it is important for your pages to feature social media buttons that will make it easier for customers to like and share your content.

Intuitive Navigation

Make sure that your website is easy to navigate. You want to be able to organize your pages so that it would be easy for a visitor to get the information he or she needs. Make sure that your anchor texts and internal linking system are working to a tee.

Call To Action’s

Base your Call to Action buttons on the goal that your webpage wants to achieve. If they want to buy, create a button that will not only entice visitors to buy but to also be able to do it easily. A simple “Buy Now” button that automatically directs the customer to the shopping cart should do the trick.

Contact Info

There should always be an easy way to get the contact info of your company. This gives your company an air of credibility and should assure visitors that if something went wrong, they know where to find your company.

Informative Video

Internet users love videos and it is easier to digest than long and winding text. Feature a video that is useful to your customers like demo videos.

Original Hero Images

If you are going to use images, use original images and don’t depend on stock Internet photos. If possible, use your own images. Do not forget to add alt text on those images that feature the target keywords of that page.

Client Testimonials

This is a trust indicator. This shows visitors that their fellow consumers are satisfied with your product or service.

Showcase Awards & Certifications

Another trust indicator, this one shows that credible award-giving bodies have recognized your company as one of the best in the industry.