Essential Website Features for Your Tech, Hardware, or Software Business
While it’s easy to access the tools and features we need to build a website today, it by no means makes it an ‘easy’ task. This holds for website designers, developers, and even website owners.
Every website comes with its own unique needs and challenges. One can easily pick a ‘one size fits all’ kind of solution, but it doesn’t help a website stand out from the competition. Different website goals, offerings, industries, and audiences must be considered while building a website.
Tech, software, and hardware businesses have it especially tough! Whether you’re a B2B or B2C business, your website requirements and the problems it solves for your potential customers are unique. A website visitor to a tech, software, or hardware business website must solve a specific customer problem.
How do we do this? Your website content should help your visitors understand exactly how you are solving their problems. Give them all the information they need to make an informed decision. Additionally, you must have unique website features that further enhance your website visitor’s experience.
Let’s discuss essential website features for your tech, software, or hardware business.
7 Must-Have Tech, Software, or Hardware Business Website Features
The seven website design features outlined below can assist in creating an engaging, interactive, and meaningful user experience for your visitors:
1. Multi-Media Elements:
Videos, audio clips, infographics, GIFs, and images can be incorporated into your website to make your digital presence more engaging.
With most websites listing out benefits, product features, and case studies in detail, creating a video or an animation showcasing your product features would help you stand out from the competition. It could also lead to higher engagement and user retention.
2. Chatbots:
Leveraging live chat software can assist with lead generation, providing around-the-clock customer service. All while saving you time and money. Automating common responses and routine queries can take the load off your team and make your business website more efficient overall.
Consider a scenario where a potential customer is browsing your product options and pricing. A chatbot could prompt a user to make a purchase or even provide a discount to push your latest products and services. A chatbot can even route more leads directly to your sales team.
3. Interactive Design:
Interactive design is exactly what you think it is: functionality designed into your website to allow hands-on user engagement. However, this goes beyond basic interaction, like browsing or clicking to select an item. Utilizing interactive design leads to creating a more engaging website.
For example, an interactive design allows users to participate in polls or surveys, enter quizzes, play relevant games, or try your offerings virtually––the endless possibilities! Other examples include allowing users to leave reviews. Interactive design enables a collaborative, engaging, and personalized experience for the user.
4. Effective CTAs
A call-to-action (CTA) is a prompt or an instruction on a website for the user to take a particular action. A call to action can be used to push a customer to further engage with your website. For instance, using a CTA, you could direct the user to ‘Buy Now’ or ‘Schedule a Demo’ on a product page. On your company homepage, you could request the customer to ‘Sign Up’ or ‘Subscribe’ to a newsletter for continued updates and promotions from your business.
Effective calls-to-action use action verbs to communicate instructions clearly. You could also use different CTAs to take a customer through a buyer’s journey.
5. Security Assurance
Secure payment options, security around customer data, and detailed policies around how your website guarantees security can help convince users to become potential leads or customers.
6. Product Features page:
A product page should contain the product name, product description, pricing options, and top benefits or features. You could also go a step further, listing how you differ from the competition or comparing the pricing options. Product images and a clear CTA like ‘Buy Now’ or ‘Request a Demo’ can help to persuade visitors of the need for your product or solution.
7. Product Reviews and Testimonials:
When looking up a product, one of the first things most people look for is reviews or testimonials from others who have tried your product or service. Product reviews are a handy tool to build credibility. They show that others like the product or service and trust your business. If you have existing clients, ask for their testimonials to share on your site and other platforms like social media or ad campaigns.
A testimonial from a large client also goes a long way in building a credible brand image. Testimonials, reviews, blogs, videos, and product information––are all different types of content pieces that together help you build credibility and keep your audience engaged. Creating content not only raises brand awareness or your brand’s profile but is also a powerful marketing tool to direct customers your way.
Step into Your Customer’s Shoes to Improve Your Website Design
Your customers have problems; you have the solutions. Use your website to engage with your customers and offer them solutions rather than repeatedly hitting them with calls to buy your product. Your ultimate goal may be sales, but you can be a resource to help solve your customer needs. This is a win for your brand.
Use these seven tips to better engage with your customers and continue improving the user experience on your website.