Website Design -
What does your website design say about your business?
Tips to help you create an awesome website
Your website is your silent salesperson and in a lot of cases the most
significant point of contact with your customer base. So it makes sense to
ensure that your website performs for you and conveys the right message about
your business.
A website tells a prospective client a lot about a business. The colour scheme,
logo, how information is presented, navigation and the design of the site all
combine to give your audience an impression of your business.
So how do you ensure that this impression is a positive one that will lead to
more business?
- Have a clear objective of what you would like your website to achieve.
What action do you want your audience to take or what would you like them to
gain? Buy something, read something, download something, learn something,
contact you or perhaps a combination of things?
- Ensure the website design and wording reflects how you want to appear to
your audience. This will determine the tone and feel of your website,
formal, casual, funky, professional or friendly.
- Know your audience. Who are the people that visit your website, what are
they looking for, what's important to them, what are they likely to respond
to?
- Solve your customers' problem. Too many businesses only think of what
they want to achieve when putting together a website. You also need to
consider what your audience wants to achieve and why they are looking for
you in the first place. For example if you are a business consultant that
helps clients develop business plans, you may say on your website, "We are a
firm experienced in developing business plans". Instead clearly communicate,
"We work with you to develop a successful business plan", and solve their
problem.
- Highlight the benefits. Most websites are about selling, whether it's
selling a product or selling the company. One of the keys to successful
selling is highlighting the benefits to the customer, what's in it for them?
Using the example above, giving your audience the solution of a business
plan isn't enough, you have to tell them how it will benefit them.
- Offer something unique. This is particularly important for businesses
with many competitors. Give your audience a reason to keep coming back,
something of value. For instance a florist could include a discussion board
about what flowers suit what occasions.
Of course there's much more that needs to be considered when it comes to
website design that will appeal to your audience and websites are never a
set-and-forget thing. Instead they need to evolve with your business and your
customers and what may work now, may not work in a year's time.
By Jo Gitsham
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