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7 things new businesses should know about website design

By 22 June 2012No Comments

Well you’ve finally done it. You’ve taken the leap of faith in to the world of business. Good for you! The challenge you face now is how to let everyone else in to your secret. In this day and age that means building a website to promote your idea, product or service. At its most basic level a website should be easily accessible, work on all browsers and smart phones such as iPhones and be search engine friendly. This article contains seven handy hints to help you get the most out of your website and really make a success of your business.

1. First Impressions Count

After coming up with the concept of your business your next job will probably be to choose a name, slogan and logo for your business. These things should reflect what you do, who you are as a company and should be easy for your customers to remember. In other words you are developing your corporate identity, which is vital for the success of your venture. Your website is an extension of this and needs to attract and appeal directly to your target audience. A good website means more customers and that of course means a thriving business for you.

2. Have a Goal

Everyone wants to be successful but to do that you need to decide what success really means to you. For example if you are a profit making organisation then your e-commerce needs to look great, be easy to use and appeal to your target audience. This makes your customer want to buy your product and will generate future sales. If you merely want to inform people then you need the information to be laid out clearly and concisely in a style that encourages people to read on. Decide on your goals and build your website around what you aim to achieve.

3. Find A Web Designer That Works For You

Unless you’re already an expert web designer then finding an agency to help you get your business off the ground is potentially the best choice you could ever make. With so much at stake it is vital that you find the right person for the job, so shop around and don’t be put off by the cost. A cheap website does not make for a cheerful business! When looking for a web design agency you should think about:

  1. Bespoke design
  2. Your website being W3C compliant and having SEO friendly coding
  3. Functionality of your website
  4. Hosting and maintenance
  5. Future support offered by the agency to help you with further developments

4. Call to Action

Put simply a call to action urges visitors to your website to interact with you immediately, this can be done with an action button that tells you to ‘click here’ for example. Another example is asking your visitors to ‘sign in’, ‘sign up for newsletters’, or ‘log in for exclusive content’. A newsletter is particularly effective as the visitor is then reminded of your every time a newsletter appears in their inbox. Like a rebel without a cause a website without a call to action is ineffective and unsuccessful.

5. Search Engine Optimisation

Or SEO as it is known in the trade. Having found your target audience you need to consider the words or phrases they would use when searching for your product or service online. Then you use the key words or phrases strategically around your website, and this ensures your website appears near the top of the list on a search engine results page, and you get more visitors. If you choose not to write your web content yourself or aren’t confident with your SEO abilities then looking for an SEO specialist copywriter is a wise move.

6. Testing, Testing, 1, 2, 3

So now you have your snazzy new website the big question is, does it work? Waiting until your website is live to find this out is industry suicide, if visitors find it hard to use then they will leave and never return. The easiest way to test your website is by asking a few friends to see what they think of the usability and of course the overall impression. Opinions are always good and changing small things before you reveal all could be the difference between your company sinking or swimming.

7. Have Fun!

This may not be all that technical but it is essential. Starting your own business is daunting but it is also exciting. Taking time to sit back and see the bigger picture will relax you and make you more focused. Enjoy the process of building your new enterprise and soon you’ll find yourself reaping the rewards, wondering why you didn’t do this years ago!