Planning and designing a website and then choosing someone to help with your business’ online presence (if needed) can be tricky at the best of times. How do you know if the ‘expert’ you’ve found is all they claim to be? Here’s a few tips to help you navigate the process and ensure that your new website gets off to the best start possible.
- What kind of message do you want to project about your business? Are you family friendly, corporate, hip? What are your values? Always keep your target market in mind.
- What is the purpose of the website? Is it to increase exposure, obtain new clients, provide visitors with information, sell products? What do you want your visitors to do?
- What domain name would you like? Is it simply and easy to remember? Is it available?
- A mobile friendly website is a must! Will it display correctly on everything from an iPhone to an enormous desktop monitor? A little note… Google likes this and will thank you for it when ranking search results.
- Will your website be secure? Does a security certificate need to be installed? Your customers are much more likely to buy and interact with your website if they feel their information is safe and secure. Hot tip… this is another thing that Google likes (see point above!).
- What information is the most important? What is the first thing you want your website visitors to see? This is the information that should appear ‘above the fold’ (the area which displays on a visitor’s screen without them having to scroll).
- What content do you want to include in your website? Do you want to include a blog? Always remember the old cliché, content is king! The more time you spend on this, the more effective your site will be. Make sure information is relevant, up to date, easy to understand, engaging and shareable. Also make sure it is arranged in a logical order. Again, Google will be very pleased.
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- What is your call to action? What do you want the visitor to do? Buy that book, download a PDF, get in touch with you? Whatever it is, make it crystal clear.
- Make sure you have all your contact information readily available. It should be super easy for existing and potential customers to contact you. Do not have too many email options, for example, as this will overwhelm and confuse visitors.
- Less is more. Do not try to cram everything into your Home page. Multiple colours, videos, headlines, flashing bits and pieces all vying for attention are a sure way to encourage your visitors to exit stage left! The key is to keep it simple and effective! Always.
- Will the administration area (the backend) be easy to use. You want to be able to manage the website yourself if you choose to do so.
- Is the server hosting your website reliable? I website that is continually ‘down’ will not achieve your goals.
- Will regular backups be taken? Imagine losing all that hard work in an unlikely but not impossible server disaster.
- If payments are accepted on your site, how will these be processed and handled? What systems/apps do you need to integrate into your website (we’re looking at you, Paypal).
- Have you considered Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)? What methods will be incorporated into your website to improve the way search engines view and rank your website?
- Do you want to integrate your social media profiles? Will you be seeking newsletter subscribers?
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- How will you gauge how successful your website is? Do you need systems such as Google Analytics in place to measure goals, traffic and performance?
- What are your competitors doing? What do you think of their websites? What works and what doesn’t?
- When would you like your website to be complete by? Is this a realistic deadline considering your wants and needs?
- Listen to the experts and take on board what they have to say. Partnering with a good web designer/developer will save you a tonne of grief down the track as well as get you off to a fantastic start!
