In this weeks edition of our new series Web 101, the basic things you should be looking at if you are thinking about a new website, redesigning your current site or just want to be sure your website is as good as it can be, we look at your site’s functionality. What can a website do and do you need it to do?

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The question you need to ask at this point is what functions are necessary to achieve the goals of your website?

Most sites use contact forms to facilitate communication. A lot have galleries of images, either static or as slideshows, to illustrate what they are doing. Still others have calendars to let people know about events they will be having and registration forms to make it easy for someone to attend an event.

The list could go on for a long time, just a few examples of useful functions would be:

  • Search
  • Contact forms
  • Surveys
  • Subscription forms for newsletters
  • Blog
  • Calendar
  • Event registration
  • Photo Galleries, Slideshows, Video galleries
  • Recipes
  • Shopping Cart
  • Social Media links

The key to functionality is necessity. Does the function help the visitor? Or does it distract? When choosing the functionality you want on your website be sure to keep in mind the purpose of the website and whether the function you are considering will advance that purpose.