Often the first point of call for potential candidates your company website can leave a lasting impression. A successful website should showcase what you do, what you are about and drive applications / registrations / engagement.

Various elements come together to create a great recruitment website however it is important the foundations are in place before adding the bells and whistles. Use the recruitment website essentials list to ensure the foundations of a great site are put into place.

1. Mission statement and about information

What do you do?
Where do you do it?
What qualifies you to do it?
What sets you apart from the competition?

Your ‘About’ page should be compelling, add credibility to your company and ultimately convince potential candidates that you are THE recruiter(s) that can help secure their next career move.

Talk about your approach, key members of the team and experience within target industries. User attention spans are short so make sure information is clearly presented and broke down into manageable chunks. Keep the content interesting and concise.

2. Clear contact details
Difficult to find contact details will frustrate users potentially sending them to a competitor site. Display your key contact details on every page of your website.

Make use of a fixed header and/or the footer of your website. At a minimum make sure your telephone number and inbound email address are ever-present.

3. Intuitive navigation
Websites don’t come with instructions because they should be easy to use. Your websites navigation should be logically structured. List the most important content on your website and measure how many clicks it takes to access from the homepage. If it is more than two chances are your navigation needs a review.

Keep you navigation simple, where necessary use drop down menus to categorise content. Plan candidate journeys and refer to your analytics to check what is and isn’t working.

4. Mobile compatibility (responsive design)
The average UK consumer owns more than five digital devices (Deloitte) and your website should work across all of them, adapting content presentation accordingly.

Recent research from Indeed revealed that 66% of people in the UK would apply for jobs via a mobile device if the process were simplified. Mobile optimising your website will improve conversation rates and may push you up the rankings as Google recommends a responsive design where possible.

5. Tracking and goals
There will always be something that can be improved on your website. In order to evaluate how users find your site, what content works and what doesn’t it is imperative you set up suitable tracking.

Google Analytics is the most widely used website analytics platform. Set up an account, add the tracking code to your site and begin to monitor activity. Analysing user data will enable you to make informed decisions and improve your web offering. Head over to the Official Analytics help centre for more info: https://support.google.com/analytics/

6. Clear Call To actions
What do you want candidates to do when they access your site? Chances are you are looking to collect candidate information and drive online applications.

What ever your target conversions are make sure the CTA is clearly presented, appropriately styled, sized and positioned. Scrolling or fixed CTAs can significantly improve conversion rates. Use Google Analytics to determine what is working and what isn’t – amend and adjust accordingly.

7. Appropriate branding
If your website, social media profiles and marketing collateral were presented together would it be obvious they all belonged to the same company?

Consistency is a key ingredient in creating a memorable brand. Uniform page titles, typography and the style of imagery on your website.

8. CRM connectivity
Your website and recruitment software should work together. The ability to check candidate registrations and applications, in addition to posting jobs to your website all from your CRM improves efficiency by reducing time spend on admin tasks.

Once you have the essentials in place you can push forward with more advanced elements. Introducing a company blog, developing an SEO strategy, improving conversation rates and integrating your social media channels (to name a few).

Do you have any more recruitment website fundamentals to add? Leave a comment below, send an email to hello@gethrs.com or connect via Twitter, LinkedIn or Facebook.