This is a user generated content for MyStory, a YourStory initiative to enable its community to contribute and have their voices heard. The views and writings here reflect that of the author and not of YourStory.
10 Essential Features a Website Must Have in 2020
This is a user generated content for MyStory, a YourStory initiative to enable its community to contribute and have their voices heard. The views and writings here reflect that of the author and not of YourStory.
There's no denying in the fact that websites are there to stay and are constantly upgrading in terms of design, user experience and more features. However, not every website deserves the time and attention of the visitors let alone the search engines.
So, what exactly a website should have to survive the current digital era? Let's discuss the top 10 essential features that a website must have in 2020.
Live chat
Gone are the days when a contact form was the only option to generate leads from your website. A landing page can have much more interesting option to generate leads, one of which is the live chat option. A live chat feature can let you know if a visitor is on your website and let's you chat with the visitors to convert them into a lead. Not to mention, it's a great feature to provide chat support for your product or services.
Slider
The first thing your website visitors would notice is the homepage slider. A homepage slider should showcase your primary services or products in a very fancy manner. The slides could be animated or static, based on the user preference. But it's crucial to make the slider very attractive since it would serve as a first impression to the user when they visit your website.
Responsiveness
A website must be 100% responsive to any device. Be it mobile phones, tablet, phablets or a device with any resolution. A website, when responsive, should adapt the resolution of the device in which it is visited and must be wrapped properly. A responsive website provides a good user experience to the visitors and is also a major ranking signal if we talk about the SEO.
Easy UI/UX
The user interface of the website must be very easy. It should be easy for any user to navigate on your site from one page to another. Not to mention, the structure of your website should be designed in a way to appeal the visitors and let them surf your website without any hassles.
Security
One of the most important features that a website must have is the security. If the website is built on core, make sure the .htaccess file has all the codes to secure your website from malicious attacks. If a website is built on a framework, the necessary security plugin must be installed in order to prevent all kind of attacks.
XML Sitemap
An XML sitemap contains all the links of your website that are indexable by search engines. It is used for the search engines to detect how many pages your website has and how to index them in the search results. An XML Sitemap is generally in this format - https://{your-website}.com/sitemap.xml
Sticky CTA
You would not want to miss a lead whenever a potential visitor visits your website and navigate through the internal pages. A Sticky call to action will have a contact button enabled on all the pages of your website, so the user don't have to look through the contact page or any other section of your website to contact you.
Social Buttons
Social buttons are the buttons of every social network where your company has a page and embedded on your website's header or the footer. It is a good practice to have the social buttons enabled on your website for the users to navigate to any of your social pages, be it facebook, twitter, or instagram, to see your recent updates and happenings in your company.
Favicon
A favicon could be seen on the title bar of the website on the left-hand side of your website's title. It is in the form of a very small icon that helps users distinguish between your website to others when opened in one of the many tabs in your browser. It is also a good practice to have a favicon enabled on your website because of some minor SEO benefits.
SSL
We already discussed about the security plugins, here comes the most important feature to secure your website - an SSL Certificate. Having an SSL certificate enabled gives your website multiple benefits. It gives a sense of trust to the website users when submitting their information to your website. Not to mention, it is a huge SEO Ranking factor.
Conclusion
So, these were some of the most essential features that a website should have in 2020. There are more features that will be discussed in another article.
Not to mention, if you are looking for someone to get you a website will all these features, here's our recommendation of a website designing company.