Over the next few weeks, I’ll be sharing some tips our team created in collaboration with @Ryan, our partner at Pool Monopoly and member of The Pool Deck. This series of posts will focus on critical components for optimizing your marketing efforts.

We’ll begin with a focus on basic web design and what elements you need to build a high-performing site.

Market research indicates that 76% of customers will look at a company’s website (and online presence) before doing business with them. This is why it’s essential to have a strong, professional website for your business.

These are the essential elements you need for a good website:

• Homepage 
• Calls to action
• Professional logo
• Optimized for mobile
• Who you are / Why you’re different
• Services you offer
• Positive real customer reviews
• Images

The homepage

Your homepage, often called the hero page, is where most prospective customers will land on your site. As such, you need to make it easy for them to understand who you are and what you offer with a quick scan of the page.

Elements to include on your homepage:

• Headline that immediately positions you to your ideal customer. Opt for clarity over cleverness in your headline. “Top pool service provider in Austin” is an example of a good headline because it immediately tells the prospect where you’re located and what you do.
• Clean, eye-catching design. A good design will help you stand out from your competitors and build trust with prospects. A nice-looking website is a great way to telegraph that your company is organized and ready to deliver great service. Also, a strong visual identity helps to create consistency with other advertising you might be running.
• Locations. Make sure that anyone landing on your site can easily see where you’re located and what areas you service.
• Visible phone numbers. Make sure your phone number is very easy to spot on your hero page. It’s also important to have a number whose area code is consistent with the area you say your service. For example, if you say you service Austin primarily, it’s best not to have a Houston area code as this could cause confusion for clients.
• Chat widget. This one isn’t absolutely necessary, but it’s a great bonus. Chat widgets are becoming increasingly popular, as they can help you capture business outside of regular business hours and also give prospective customers an alternate way to contact you (not everyone loves picking up the phone!). Most chat widgets let you set up FAQs, automated followups, and notifications for when someone gets in touch.