Business owners get a website to help grow their business, and more often than not it doesn't succeed! Why? Because business owners (and most web designers) don't understand the fundamentals of designing a website. So read these ten steps to a better business website and tell us where your website went wrong...
1. What Is The Purpose?
Before you even think of hiring a web design company, you need to determine what is the purpose of your website. Be specific! Just to grow your business is not a purpose.
Educating your current customers, gaining new customers (leads) via a contact form or email signup form, selling your products online, or generating more awareness (branding) about your company. Those are all purposes.
If you don't have a purpose (goal), you won't know if your website is succeeding in growing your business. You need something you can measure and a purpose is your yardstick. Make sure you have one.
2. Who Is Your Audience?
You need to consider who your target audience is. What are they looking for and what do they expect when visiting your website.
By determining this you will be able to make vital decisions on what features need to be included on your website, what colours you need to use, what font size and how your navigation should be structured.
Questions you can ask yourself are:
- How old are my customers?
- What gender are they?
- What are they looking for?
- How tech-savvy are they?
- What devices will they use to visit the website?
3. Simplicity Is Key
I'm sure this is probably one of the most preached terms in business. Keep it simple! Many business owners make the mistake of creating endless pages about their company that just never gets read. Unless your visitors expect endless pages of information and your research proves this, just include the basics.
If you determined the purpose of your website, as in step 1, this will be an easy process to follow and help you eliminate any clutter. Don't add content and features just because your competitors are doing it. Stick to your purpose and make sure every action you take on your website is aligned with it.
4. Have A Contact Form
Yes a contact form. Not just an "email me" link and your contact numbers. People often don't realize the importance of this, and how your regular old contact page actually makes your life a lot more difficult.
There are a few problems with an "email me" link. By clicking the link it launches your default email client. Handy yes, but what if you're on a public computer or a friend's computer? Your email address won't be configured with that computer which just creates frustration. Also, what if your customer prefers using an online email client like hotmail, gmail, or yahoo? More frustration.
An "email me" link also exposes your email address, so any spam bot can come capture your email address and spam away. But the most critical flaw with an "email me" link is you can't easily capture necessary details from the customer.
A contact form makes sure you capture the right details the first time, and increases your conversion rate! Don't be caught without one!
5. Don't Settle For Less
It's a common fact, business owners are cheap! But you wouldn't be in business if you weren't. Every good business owner knows that a successful business requires its revenues to outweigh its expenditures.
There are however some exceptions and building a website for your business is one of those. It's very important not to settle for the cheapest, quickest or easiest website. After all, how many deals would your best salesman close if you dressed him in a cheap, dirty suit that portrays the opposite of what the customer expects from your company.
Dress your website for success. Make sure it's aligned with your purpose and make sure it's done by professionals!
6. Take Your Time
A website isn't like your company flier. It takes time, research and a whole lot of effort. Avoid using terms like "It shouldn't take long" and "It should be easy and quick". Remember that a website is an investment. Invest your time, patience and money in something you'll be happy with.
7. Invest In Search Engine Optimization
This step is optional, but depending on your purpose is absolutely critical to making a success online. If you're looking to gain new customers through the internet, then you can't skip this step.
Any one looking for a service on the internet uses a search engine, like Google. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) helps increase your visibility in the search engines for certain predetermined keywords.
Be careful though. There are a lot of people that try to sell you SEO that just doesn't work. (We'll save this topic for another blog post). If you need help feel free to ask us about this.
8. Keep Things Consistent
People like consistency. It prevents confusion. Try to keep your website's colours, navigation, layout and marketing message consistent. Just because you like the look of another website doesn't mean it's going to fit in with your purpose (step 1)!
9. Analyze Your Site
Have a good analytics program installed on your site. A recommended analytics program would be Google Analytics. It's quick and easy to setup and it's free.
By using an analytics program you'll be able to analyze where your visitors come from, what they're interested in, and determine any roadblocks that prevent conversion on your website. This also helps you measure whether you are achieving the purpose you set out for your website.
In Conclusion
This is not a be all and end all list of steps to follow, but it definitely lists some of the most important things to think about. If you follow them you'll be sure to make a success of your website.
Tell us what you think? What steps would you add? What's your experience with your website?
