Your website should be the hardest worker at your disposal. It doesn’t need sleep (or coffee for that matter), and it should always be ready to turn a complete stranger into your best customer. Taking the time to properly design and set up your website will ensure it is always working as hard as you are.

Local customers are turning to search engines for any and all information they can find about your company. As small as Durango and the Four Corners area is, this is only becoming a more utilized way of reviewing businesses. Whether they find you on a Google search, Yelp, Instagram or elsewhere if your website isn’t set up to convert this traffic into actual inquiries, you’re missing out on monetizing your marketing. Why?

Your website is much more than an online profile for your business. Think of it more as your very own, 24-hour salesperson who is going to speak to every person who visits your business online. Many times, it’s the first interaction a customer will have with your business, and you’ll want to make a good first impression.

To help you leave a good impression, we’ve listed 7 essentials your site needs to turn website visitors into paying customers.

1. Have a mobile-friendly website.

A mobile-friendly website means that people who visit your website on mobile devices such as smartphones are able to easily navigate through your site. This means the text on your website should be easy to read. They shouldn’t have to pinch in and out of your website to read or click on something.

If your website is not mobile-friendly, 80 percent of visitors will leave your site due to a bad experience. Even if your site was recently designed, it may still not be mobile-friendly. So, do a thorough examination of your site. You can start with using Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test to check your web pages.

2. Create a modern-looking website.

If your site looks like it was built when AOL Dial-up was still a thing, visitors will be discouraged to contact you. Why? Because a website’s design is a reflection of the business. One that looks outdated essentially appears less professional. So, if your site looks like it hasn’t been updated in awhile, update it. Otherwise, prospective customers may question whether you’re still in business. They may even begin to question the quality of the goods or services you provide.