As a business, you need to have a modern website if you want to be successful. According to Oberlo, there will be 230.6 million online shoppers in the US by 2026. With a modern website, you can boost your brand reputation, expand your audience, and ultimately provide the best possible online shopping experience to your countless customers.
In order to make your website modern, you first need to know the key elements of a modern website. You can then use these elements as a blueprint moving forward, which will help to speed up the process and ensure you get an end result that all of your stakeholders are happy with.
Ready to get started? Here are the five key elements of a modern website in the new era of online shopping.
1. Accessibility
Everyone should feel welcome when they use the internet, including those with disabilities. Sadly, though, this isn't always the case, as most websites on the internet aren't disability-friendly.
In other words, websites don't accommodate people with disabilities the way that they should (e.g., by having keyboard accessibility as a feature). If your website isn't accessible either, then it's time to modernize your website and finally make it accessible.
To get started with this, read reviews of accessibility tools so that you can decide which tools are right for your website. You might find that an accessibility widget is perfect for you, which is a type of widget that disabled website visitors can use to make the changes they need, such as increasing your font size.
2. 24/7 Chatbot
Moving on, the next thing on your to-do list should be adding a 24/7 chatbot to your site. A chatbot is a smart program that simulates human conversation with users. Whenever someone visits your website and sends a message to the chatbot, the chatbot will then use smart AI technology to send a real-life response (one that you would expect to hear from a human employee). In most cases, your chatbot will function as a customer service chatbot, meaning it can answer almost anything related to your business, whether it's opening times, product specifications, or anything else in between.
Naturally, the advantage of having a 24/7 chatbot in place is that your customers always have an instant platform for contacting your business and receiving the information they need. Not to mention, you also have the luxury of being able to save money, as you don't have to hire multiple customer service representatives.
3. Blog
A website isn't truly modern unless it has a blog. Specifically, you need to post blogs and articles that are SEO-optimized, as doing this will help to boost your traffic and send your website flying up Google's search engine results.
4. Mobile-Responsive Design
Mobile e-commerce is worth $2.2 trillion. Knowing this information, you'd be crazy not to give your website a modern and mobile-responsive design. This way, you can attract more mobile customers and give them a great shopping experience.
5. Easy to Access Shopping Cart
Lastly, make sure that you have an easy to access digital shopping cart. It should also be simple for customers to add and remove items from your shopping cart before making their end purchases. It should also not interrupt the flow of use for a customer – they may want to add an item without being taken to the shopping cart every time, for instance.
