Today more than ever having a website is crucial to the success of your business. However that website must mirror the principals and image of your company. Many factors make the difference between a site that is useless and ineffective to a website that is effective and award winning. Studies have shown that having an ineffective website is often worse than having no website at all. Consumers, visitors and investors base a large percentage of your image on the overall experience they receive when visiting your website.
Designing websites over the last twelve years, I have seen my fair share of the Good, the Bad and the Award Winning. There always seem to be common elements that make the award winning sites stand out.
Here are a few simple tips to help create that winning website
Owners of the website need to have a vested interest in the creation and final product. Part of the overall experience is that Customer Service. As a business owner you need have a clear idea of what you want your customers/visitors to experience.
We always have this hidden urge to show them the whole warehouse of products as soon as they walk in the door. Slow down and present a clear path to your products and services. Let the customer easily see what you’re presenting, instead of them digging through the stock pile.
We all know that computers are fountains of multi-media, that can play music, flip out images and teleport us into a galaxy of neon colours. However not many consumers who are shopping late at night or at the office desire foghorns firing off when they add a product to the shopping cart. Keep in mind your audience and the habits of how and when they will be visiting your website.
Stale content can easily send the message that this business has closed its doors or does not care about the online consumer. Keeping that content up-to-date will not only retain confidence among your visitors it will also help retain or increase your search engine ranking.
We are not just talking about how the website will look and feel but also how the action items or processes will work behind the scene. When an order is received to your website what do you want to automatically happen? Simple things like automated emails or notifications can greatly increase your productivity and the consumers experience.
Give your audience that ability to toot your horn. If you’re not giving your audience the ability to tweet or push to Facebook, then you’re basically saying we don’t value your thoughts or opinions. Plus social media is a great way to help boost traffic to your website.
The website content is one the many items that often get overlooked. One of the biggest mistakes I see is “getting the website designer to write the copy”. Think about this for a second, does he or she sell your product or services every day? Most likely not, so why would they be a good fit in writing about your company’s products, services, procedures and methods. If you still feel uncomfortable about copy writing, then hire a professional writer who will interview you and completely understand your company inside and out.
Taking these steps into consideration when developing your online presence will help you steer the course to an awarding winning website. Contact joe@spcan.com from Symetric Productions for more information on website development & design.