An effective website has interactive features that make it come alive. On the other hand, bells and whistles without a purpose can make your site confusing and distracting.
Good website design balances several factors, including customer behavior, business goals and budget restrictions.
Functional Elements
A good website designer should have extensive experience in designing and integrating functional elements, which are optional and frequently interactive aspects that provide specific information or improve the user experience.
Two functional elements almost every business website should provide are a responsive web design (to optimize the viewing experience on any device) and a contact form so customers can get in touch with you. Depending on the nature of your business, other functional elements may include:
- map and directions
- filter and search tools
- photo/image galleries
- event and registration management
- slideshow or carousel images
- e-commerce functions
- catalog management
- dynamic site features (basically, anything that moves on your pages)
- video libraries
- blogs
- APIs such as MLS listings, Google Map and leased content
Want more? Stay tuned for Chapter 5: PROFITABILITY: The best salesperson you never hired.
