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Top 10 Features All Websites Should Include

By on September 29, 2012

When you are building a WordPress website, it is extremely important to think ahead and plan what you want and need to include. You must invoke a sense of trust with your website visitors and provide enough information to gain actual paying customers.

A poorly designed and thought out website can lead to loss of interest and trade no matter how good the products are that are offered.

There are a variety of options when setting up a website. Template sites such as WordPress are a brilliant option as they provide a wide range of templates for you to choose from, and you simply add your own content. The other option is to work with a web designer and developer. This can be time consuming, and costly, but the results mean you get a bespoke website which can be tailored to your target market and business.

Whichever option you pursue you must make sure key features are included in your finished site so that your customers are well informed and trust you as a company.

1)      Security logos

Your website must be secure especially if you are taking online payments. To take payment you might use gateways such as PayPal, WorldPay, and Interac. Each will offer security within the package, but make sure your customer is aware of this, display secure payment logos where appropriate so that customers trust your checkout system.

2)      Blog

Blogs are a great way to provide news and updates, however they are also a great way to help benefit your site SEO. It indicates to Google your site is active if you regularly add posts. It also means you can capture more searches as you are adding new content.

3)      Image Gallery/Shop

This is your opportunity to show what you do. Make sure your photographs are clear and show your products or what you do from different view-points so it is extremely clear. Also if you have an eCommerce store your images are a very important part of your sales process.

4)      Contact details

If you place your contact details on your site rather than hiding behind a contact form, people are more likely to trust that you are a genuine company, and can also assess if you are a local company.

5)      Clear Navigations

Clear navigations which direct your visitors to different sections of your website clearly are a must. People will leave a website quickly and go elsewhere if they feel frustrated by over designed, slow loading, or generally confusing menus.

Make sure you give clear titles describing what is offered in each section of the website. While it might seem a good idea to be a bit unique and give each section a flamboyant and ambiguous title, it isn’t always clear to new visitors who don’t want to waste time trying to find out the information they are looking for.

6)      Mobile ready

Most people have smart phones or are at least likely to upgrade in the near future, so make sure your website is prepared to adapt to changing spending habits. More and more people use their mobile phones to make online purchases, so don’t be left behind. You need to get a professional theme that is mobile ready.

7)      Reliable hosting

Your hosting must be reliable and stable. Slow loading pages or long regular periods of website down time are extremely harmful for your business. If you site goes down, people will simply go elsewhere. If you are building a serious business you need to get a top web hosting company to host your site  This does not mean it will cost the earth though, as web hosting is cheap anyway.

8)      Sitemap

Site maps list your websites URLS which can be linked to, all in one place. This is mainly useful for search engine crawlers and can help speed up the indexing process.

9)      About section

People love to know about a company, how long they have been in business, testimonials, previous clients etc. Build a story around your business so people again feel they trust you as they will see you have experience and a reputation. Don’t hide yourself away if you are serious about building a million dollar business.

10)   Obvious ‘call to action’

If you have an online shop and wish to sell products, make it obvious from the outset that this is the purpose of the site. Place links on the home page to product in the shop, and make the online shop easy to locate.

About the author: This article was written by Kirsten who works for WhoIsHosthingThis? A hosting review and ratings site which helps people find good reliable hosting packages.

About mitz

My name is Milica Pantic but everyone calls me Mitz. I am addicted to internet marketing and making money online. Who wouldn't want to live that life? I started out with one website as a hobby and now have over 20. Building websites and making money online is not that hard. You have to actually take action to make money...that is the biggest hurdle! :)

63 Comments

  1. gamertin

    November 6, 2012 at 12:45 pm

    Thanks for sharing, Mitz! My blog could use a few more plugins, I’m actually trying to get rid of those that don’t really perform.
    gamertin recently posted..Tải game Marble blast 3 cho điện thoại Android (dofollow)

    Reply

  2. Trung Nguyen

    October 31, 2012 at 1:13 am

    thanks for your awesome advices, I think having a mobile friendly website is necessary today, we can do that easily by using a responsive WordPress theme for WP site.

    Reply

  3. Walter Weeks

    October 29, 2012 at 5:21 pm

    Thanks for the list. Certainly gave me food for thought. The sign up for our newsletter pop up is certainly worth considering although I’d worry about it possibly putting some people off. I guess it depends on the nature of your site’s content?

    Reply

  4. Jasmine

    October 29, 2012 at 6:34 am

    This is a really good list of features every website should have. I will make this as a checklist.

    I must admit I do not have some of the features on my website, for example the security logos. This is mainly because it is not an e-commerce website and I do not accept payments online.

    What do you think? Do you think I should get SSL and include security logos on my website, 100webhosting.com?

    - Although I do not do e-commerce transactions.
    Jasmine recently posted..Step By Step Guide to Setting Up an eCommerce Website (dofollow)

    Reply

  5. ioana moise

    October 22, 2012 at 10:26 pm

    I am new visitor of your blog, this is my first reaction. I found your blog on basic tips. I think this is a great post. Every 10 points you have shared with us, very informative. thank you for sharing
    ioana moise recently posted..windows 7 key

    Reply

  6. Sandra

    October 18, 2012 at 10:10 am

    Epic list. From my own experience, a blog makes a huge difference because you allows you to open up und relate to the user. Its also a good thing when it comes to SEO as you create new content that search engines love.

    Reply

  7. Tony

    October 17, 2012 at 8:35 pm

    Thanks for this Mitz. I’ve realized I need to work hard on number 1, 2 and 6.
    Since my site is for a small local retailer I’m not really sure being mobile ready would be useful, I mean nobody really searches for shirts using their cellphones where I’m from. Still I loved the advice.

    Reply

  8. Suzanne

    October 17, 2012 at 1:39 am

    Mitz, I added a wordpress blog to my long time existing website so I feel as if I am playing catchup with all the features I need. Sitemap and better navigation are top of the list.
    Suzanne recently posted..A Financial Advisor Business Plan Template You’ll Want to Use

    Reply

  9. Kelly

    October 11, 2012 at 7:50 am

    These are great suggestions–plugins are essential in time management, providing our readers with an interactive experience and for added security. Thanks for the share!

    Reply

  10. Veronica

    October 10, 2012 at 10:27 am

    Thanks for sharing, Mitz! My blog could use a few more plugins, I’m actually trying to get rid of those that don’t really perform.

    Reply

  11. Swamykant

    October 8, 2012 at 4:40 pm

    Hi Mitz

    Instead of creating a separate mobile site it is better to use responsive themes/designs, so it will adjust based on the device.

    Thanks
    Swamykant
    Swamykant recently posted..10 Best Free Antivirus Apps for Android Phones and Tablets

    Reply

    • Mitz

      October 8, 2012 at 10:30 pm

      Well yes it is better to use a responsive theme.. Everyone is moving to small devices so we need to see how our sites look and work in these circumstances. I would check out other peoples themes and see how they look.. I use Thesis, Elegant themes, and Authority Pro. They all work well.

      Reply

      • Lorna

        October 9, 2012 at 4:23 am

        I just know it is better to use responsive themes. I might have mentioned somewhere else that I’ve used computers to earn money for a long time… however, I have a hard time finding themes I like that are responsive, they often seem really too simple to work for what I am trying to do. When I’m making a website, I’d rather not part with more cash than necessary, but then again, I hope I’m not losing visitors that are using their phones. I’m gonna have to check my device bounce rate now…

        Reply

  12. Stacey

    October 8, 2012 at 2:13 pm

    Great suggestions! I can’t wait to try out what these plugins could actually do for my mediocre blog :) Thanks!
    Stacey recently posted..Using the History Panel in Dreamweaver CS6

    Reply

  13. Mary Warsaw

    October 8, 2012 at 1:47 pm

    “Each will offer security within the package, but make sure your customer is aware of this, display secure payment logos where appropriate so that customers trust your checkout system.”
    This is the best passage from the article.
    Thank you for your hints. It helped me a lot :) I will certainly use your advice.

    Reply

  14. Joy

    October 5, 2012 at 5:06 am

    It looks like I have a lot of updating to do, my blog is in urgent need of a revamp! Thanks for these recommendations.
    Joy recently posted..Hello world!

    Reply

  15. Kristine

    October 5, 2012 at 4:22 am

    Thanks for highlighting these features, I’m always after giving my readers a convenient and interactive experience every time they visit my site. More power!

    Reply

  16. Vijay Reddy

    October 4, 2012 at 1:07 pm

    Hello Mitz,

    I agree with all the points of this post except point No.4. I am a little skeptical about sharing about sharing the contact details. But we can always try this one too. Building relations with readers is more important always.

    Regards,
    Vijay
    Vijay Reddy recently posted..Best Addictive Games For Android Mobiles 2012 [Free]

    Reply

    • Mitz

      October 12, 2012 at 12:31 am

      The problem is are you in business or not? If you had an offline business there is no way you can get away with not sharing contact details…

      If you are worried about this you should setup a different contact method like a PO box and maybe a dedicated mobile for the business along with email etc…
      Mitz recently posted..Website Traffic Checklist – 25 Concrete Ways to Get Website Traffic (dofollow)

      Reply

  17. mohit rajwani

    October 4, 2012 at 8:22 am

    strongly agree with you every blog/site should have this features on their blog and this features play a great impact on the visitor of that blog..!!!
    mohit rajwani recently posted..Important Precautions to save a wet phone after it gets drowned

    Reply

  18. abhishek

    October 4, 2012 at 3:34 am

    These are very important points for any WP blog. I am missing on quite a few and will soon look for adding those. Thanks for this useful info.

    Reply

  19. akhilendra

    October 3, 2012 at 5:57 pm

    just to add in the list, robot.txt is also very important for any website, you can guide search engines and restrict crawling of sensitive information. thanks for sharing this,
    akhilendra recently posted..InReview From Elegant Themes-Best WordPress Review Theme For Affiliate Marketing

    Reply

  20. Aayna

    October 3, 2012 at 2:30 pm

    Hey Mitz,
    A good website is one which provides the relevant answers to all the questions that could pop in the minds of the readers. The pointers mentioned in this post, are of fundamental nature, but are very essential for the success of the website. Thanks for the share.

    Reply

  21. jzeek

    October 3, 2012 at 2:13 pm

    i thinks responsive themes are better then plugins and i am using a responsive theme on my blog, anyway great post thanks keep up the good work.
    jzeek recently posted..BlackBerry 10 Aristo specifications leaked

    Reply

  22. Ben

    October 3, 2012 at 1:06 pm

    Some great tips there Mitz!

    I’ve only really thought about Security Logos if I’m taking money, and have never put security logos on if I’m not taking any payment via the site.
    Do you think having a security logo on a website regardless would help with readership and with making readers feel more comfortable and secure?

    Also hosting, the best host I’ve found by far is Hostgator and I host all my sites with them.

    Great post!

    Ben.
    Ben recently posted..Day 6 – Feeling Better

    Reply

    • mitz

      October 6, 2012 at 11:08 pm

      When people are buying something a security logo is great…Also branding the sales page and the payment page is good too… For example when using paypal to take payments you can show a generic paypal page or you can brand it with your logo so people know who they are dealing with…

      I think anything that makes people feel safe is good.. :)
      mitz recently posted..Elegant Themes – Why I Will Never Cancel This Premium Themes Membership (dofollow)

      Reply

  23. Vit

    October 3, 2012 at 11:42 am

    Hi, Mitz. I have almost everything except a shop and security logos, but the most important thing as you say is Great Content, I often don’t have this :(
    Vit recently posted..Which is better to look for help from other people or become successful and help others?

    Reply

  24. Faisal

    October 2, 2012 at 11:43 pm

    Great tips on creating a website, I started my website using another piece of software with help from a friend.
    Faisal recently posted..Real Estate Riches (dofollow)

    Reply

  25. Mariella Lombardi

    October 2, 2012 at 8:11 pm

    Thank you for this list, Mitz. I am missing quite a lot of items from the list, but I do hope I become a pro someday. Good organizing skills are definitely a must for any website owner:)
    Mariella Lombardi recently posted..My Review of Henry Legere’s “Raising Healthy Eaters” 100 Tips for Parents

    Reply

  26. Pavel

    October 2, 2012 at 2:09 pm

    I think most WordPress websites these days are mobile ready. I set up a blog for a client recently and I was just checking how it looks like on my HTC phone and I was surprised to see that it was fully optimized for mobile and it looked great without me really doing anything to make it this way. All the above mentioned factors are important, though I think the hosting quality can’t be stressed enough because it can make or break a website. If you load times are slow or you website goes down for a few days the damage to your website’s reputation becomes virtually irreversible.

    Reply

  27. Mike Dawson

    October 2, 2012 at 12:53 pm

    Some good points there. Having an ‘about’ page on your blog is essential; you’d be surprised how many highly-ranked websites I’ve come across without any sign of such a page. Ditto for the CTA!
    Mike Dawson recently posted..Pointers for Choosing a Good Domain Name (and Where to Register One)

    Reply

  28. Nadeem Khan

    October 2, 2012 at 9:55 am

    I was using Mobile Press plugin for my website’s mobile version and it wrecked havoc on my blog by appending parameters like ?post=true and ?postcomments=true – creating 2800+ duplicate meta titles and meta descriptions =(

    I have disabled it now and looking for a some free good solution for creating a mobile version of my site!

    Reply

    • mitz

      October 3, 2012 at 12:52 am

      Sometimes it is better to get a new theme that is mobile ready rather than mess with add on plugins. I hate it when things go wrong. :)

      Reply

  29. Robert Koenig

    October 2, 2012 at 12:16 am

    It is becoming more and more necessary to have a mobile friendly site, or at least one that keeps the important features at the forefront. The blog should conversely link back consistently to the website.
    Robert Koenig recently posted..Train Crashes with Big Rig in Central Valley

    Reply

    • mitz

      October 2, 2012 at 2:22 am

      Yes this is true Robert. I often check my sites to make sure everything looks right on mobiles, tablets and computers at different resolutions.. For example the sharebar plugin I have converts to small buttons above the post when viewed on a mobile device.
      mitz recently posted..18 Ways to Turn Your Ordinary Blog into A Million Dollar Business (dofollow)

      Reply

  30. Adam

    October 1, 2012 at 5:18 pm

    I’m very glad I got all of them. I agree with Renate. It should be number one.
    Adam recently posted..To Succeed or To Fail?

    Reply

  31. Maja

    October 1, 2012 at 4:26 pm

    Good Design and load time of a site is the basic requirement to get online business. I e-commerce site load time and design of a site plays vital role.
    Maja recently posted..News about Fantastic Sams

    Reply

  32. erda

    October 1, 2012 at 1:46 pm

    Great article Selene…I learned new things about the “Features All Websites Should Include”. Good stuff!My three favorites are great copy, a strong call to action, and easy navigation.Perfect rundown of the elements you need to include if your site is to be taken seriously by visitors.
    erda recently posted..Kanye West Sued For Sampling Songs On ‘My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy’

    Reply

  33. Kuliah

    October 1, 2012 at 11:53 am

    Thanks for sharing this information and resources its really help full for me and my working with the help of this we can improve our working greate work
    Kuliah recently posted..Sejarah Kemunculan Beberapa Firqoh Pemikiran Dalam Islam

    Reply

  34. Steve

    October 1, 2012 at 10:18 am

    Succinct but true article. I believe all websites need these things to cover usability of their site. Great post Mitz
    Steve recently posted..You don

    Reply

  35. Aditya

    October 1, 2012 at 9:56 am

    A blog should be Mobile friendly as everyone is now accessing the web through the phone.So it is now mandatory for every blogger to have a mobile friendly website with a good hosting service.Because if the pages are taking time to load then people will switch back to some other blog.
    Aditya recently posted..Inventory Management Software (dofollow)

    Reply

    • mitz

      October 2, 2012 at 2:26 am

      Yes I agree with all that you say. People have no time to look at a site that does not work on their device and there are plenty of other sites to turn to when yours is not up to scratch. :)
      mitz recently posted..WordPress Website Basics (dofollow)

      Reply

  36. hira

    October 1, 2012 at 9:46 am

    Hi mitz
    i am new visitor of your blog, this is my very first comment. i found you on basicblogtips. i like this awesome post. all 10 points that you have shared with us are very informative. thank you for sharing
    hira recently posted..3 Simple and Easy Weight Loss Tips

    Reply

    • mitz

      October 2, 2012 at 12:46 am

      Hi there Hira
      Welcome to my blog. Hope you find something awesome here! :)

      Reply

  37. CBhushna

    October 1, 2012 at 8:47 am

    WOW!!! Thanks for your list of key features which every website should have. I am sure this list will serve as a great guide for new website owners!

    Reply

  38. CBhushna

    October 1, 2012 at 8:46 am

    What this blof left out was the need to periodically review the content for relevancy and dated material. The biggest turn off to me is to visit a web site that has out of date information and has obviously not been looked at by the owner in years.

    Reply

  39. Sameer

    October 1, 2012 at 4:13 am

    Thanks for the list of features. My blog is not mobile ready. This is one thing that I will focus on from now onwards.
    Sameer recently posted..How To Learn Dance

    Reply

    • mitz

      October 1, 2012 at 5:10 am

      Hi Sameer
      yes we really need to consider the mobile devices now…Everyone I know is browsing the internet from a phone. How life has changed!

      Reply

  40. Nwosu Desmond

    September 30, 2012 at 11:44 pm

    nice write up….every website should have all the points listed here for best optimization. Thanks for the heads up…nice site.
    Nwosu Desmond recently posted..10 iPad Tricks To Know

    Reply

  41. Nawaz

    September 30, 2012 at 6:25 pm

    Blog is very essential component of a website as through blog you can update all the promotion related to your business. There should be door from where your audience can contact with you that is ” Contact Us ” and your introduction to other is also have importance for your reader that a web site must have.

    Reply

  42. Lorie

    September 30, 2012 at 6:07 pm

    Thanks for this list of essential features. My three favorites are great copy, a strong call to action, and easy navigation.
    Lorie recently posted..Angry Birds vs. Draw Something [INFOGRAPHIC]

    Reply

  43. Alicia

    September 30, 2012 at 5:04 pm

    Thanks for your list of key features which every website should have. I am sure this list will serve as a great guide for new website owners!
    Alicia recently posted..Jigoshop eCommerce Plugin Review

    Reply

  44. JS

    September 30, 2012 at 4:24 pm

    Where was this list 7 years ago when I launched my first site? Could have saved me lots of money. Oh well, live and learn. I am perfect 10 for 10 on your list which is awesome. Numbers 6 & 10 are key. Goolge is starting to put more weight on sites that are mobile and more people are doing mobile searches. And the call to action, well that is like putting money in your pocket.

    Thanks!
    JS recently posted..SoCal Mobile Auto Detail Terms and Conditions

    Reply

  45. Richard

    September 30, 2012 at 12:01 pm

    Great tips on creating a website, I started my website using another piece of software with help from a friend. I was then introduced to WordPress. Which is a fantastic! For the beginner like me it is so simple with varies plugins to help with SEO and being mobile ready. Setting the layout of menus and the basic design of the site is so much easier and gives your website a professional feel

    Reply

  46. Steven

    September 30, 2012 at 8:10 am

    Great presentation of details.Competition online is tight so we need to think of more positive strategies to use.Having a regular blog is great.Thanks for sharing the 10 features that all website should have.Very informative post..

    Reply

  47. Elena Anne

    September 29, 2012 at 4:31 pm

    Perfect rundown of the elements you need to include if your site is to be taken seriously by visitors. Competition is thick, and if you don’t take the time to do all of these things you’re likely sunk. A person can have some great content, but if the site lacks in organization or is difficult to navigate nobody is going to stick around to find out! :)

    Reply

  48. Renate

    September 29, 2012 at 3:52 pm

    Thanks for this great list of tipps. I’m still a beginner and obiously I have made several mistakes while starting my first blog.
    Especially the “mobile ready”-feature wasn’t in my mind. Though I see that there are lots of wordpress themes that are responsive.

    I would like to add feature
    11) Great Content
    although … this might be quite obvious :-)
    Renate recently posted..Marmor reinigen (dofollow)

    Reply

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