When it comes to running a website, you can’t afford to keep still while your competitors are making those all-important improvements. Advancements in hosting and web design, changing customer expectations and shifts in search engine algorithms are just some of the challenges that webmasters have to tackle to keep their sites fit for today’s marketplace.
Here, we’ll look at what we consider to be the essential features of a website in 2025.
- First-class hosting
Your choice of hosting package underpins every aspect of your website’s performance on the internet. A modern solution, like VPS hosting, for example, can ensure your site is always online, loads quicker on user’s devices and that it can handle spikes in demand without performance being affected. At the same time, a good web host can also provide you with exceptional security and backup solutions, improved compliance with regulations, reliable business email and 24/7 technical support to help you quickly tackle any problems which may arise. It can also make it easier to manage your website and your business with the use of advanced control panels like cPanel or Plesk.
With a first-class host and hosting package in place, a website can rank better in search engine results and reduce the number of visitors abandoning the site, while improving its reputation for being a reliable and secure place for people to visit and shop. - Mobile first design
In 2025, smartphones remain the most popular way to access the internet, with users now spending even more time browsing on mobile devices compared to desktops and laptops. The widespread availability of 5G and the ongoing rollout of 6G networks have made mobile browsing faster and more seamless, encouraging people to search for businesses, shop online, and consume content while on the move. Mobile commerce has grown significantly, with recent industry reports showing that over half of all online sales in the UK are now made via smartphones, contributing to a market value exceeding £45 billion.
With smartphones now central to how consumers browse and shop online, website owners no longer have the option to overlook mobile optimisation. While responsive design has been standard for years, earlier approaches often prioritised desktop layouts and adapted them for mobile as an afterthought. This practice typically resulted in a subpar user experience on mobile devices. In 2025, a mobile-first approach is not just recommended but essential. Google’s ongoing focus on mobile-first indexing means websites must be designed primarily for mobile users, ensuring smooth navigation, fast loading times, and optimal display on smaller screens. - Personalisation
Personalisation has become one of the most important features of contemporary websites and provides benefits for both the user and the business. The process begins when a user signs in and, once done, the website transforms into one which is unique for that person. What they are presented with are the products, offers and information they most likely want to see. This improves their user experience, makes them feel valued, encourages engagement and generally makes them more interested in what’s on offer.
For the company, not only does this mean you are far more likely to make a sale; it also gets customers coming back over and over. It’s a technique that Amazon has mastered and which virtually every other online business wants to emulate.
While major companies invest heavily in advanced technologies, such as AI and product recommendation engines, to implement personalisation, it is possible to do it on virtually any website. There are numerous WordPress plugins, for example, that can personalise the website’s content and product recommendations, many using AI recommendation engines that analyse users browsing histories, etc., to ensure that those recommendations are highly relevant. - Ease of use
Customers expect every aspect of a website to be easy to use. This includes the fast-loading, mobile-friendliness and personalisation mentioned above, as well as a raft of other important features. Key here are simple navigation, so that whatever the user wants to find, they can do so quickly, and advanced product search, so that results can be filtered by size, color, price or brand, etc. The checkout process should also be simple, without the need to fill in lots of information and with payment options to suit the user’s preferred payment methods.
Customers also expect finding information to be easy. This means providing FAQs or knowledgebases, while making it simple to get in touch and get speedy replies. Today, many websites feature chatbots, which have replaced live chat to customer service reps with interactions with AI-enabled software. Although the AI takes time to train, unlike a human, it can work around the clock and chat to multiple consumers simultaneously, answering the vast majority of queries that they ask of it. Importantly for generating sales, it can also initiate conversations and make product recommendations.
Conclusion
We have included the four qualities that we believe are necessary to help websites function properly in the current marketplace, while this is by no means a comprehensive list of all the features a website should have. To make sure your website can compete with other websites and fulfill the expectations of modern users, it is essential to have excellent hosting, mobile-first design, personalisation, and ease of use.
For more information, visit our VPS hosting page.
