| Let’s talk about websites! When was the last time you evaluated your website? How would you go about doing it, and is it even worth the effort? This week I’m going to try to answer these questions. Hopefully, I will convince you to prioritize how you represent your business on the web, and will provide some knowledge on where to begin.
When designing a website, it is important to consider its purpose and audience. It doesn’t matter how beautiful your landing page is if people can’t find the information they’re looking for. Starting from your end goal and working backwards ensures that your final product will stay true to its intention.
Let’s expand on defining the purpose of your website. First, ask yourself “what do I want to do with this website?” Maybe you want to sell products, provide information on your services, or collect information from potential clients. Browsing through your competitors’ websites is a good place to start. It will give you an idea of what others are doing and provide inspiration for how information could be organized. Be realistic and prioritize. If you can’t imagine keeping up with a blog, don’t have one. Also, some of your wants may conflict with others or need to be added later. That’s okay! Websites are continuous projects and will inevitably need updates and maintenance. Finally: be ready to invest. Time, energy, and funds must be allocated to create a successful website. If it is important to you, be ready to engage during the design & implementation process to ensure the result meets your expectations.
Let’s expand on identifying your audience. Who are your visitors and what are they looking for? Are they usually looking up fast information on how to contact you? Are they people looking for a specific service? How do they usually find your website? Are they usually fast browsers from mobile devices or does your common visitor spend time reviewing your content? Most importantly: who do you want to attract to your website? Putting yourself in the shoes of your common or ideal visitor will help identify qualities that are of most importance and set priorities during the planning process. According to the Nielsen Norman Group, viewers typically leave a website within 10 to 20 seconds. Even if you are not concerned about losing them to a competitor, you should pay attention to your bounce rate because your potential customers grade you before they even meet you based on if your website appeals to them. Here is a great article on bounce rates.
The most important aspect of a website is the quality of user experience. A website that is down, slow to respond, or with broken features indicates quality issues. The quality and efficiency of your website speaks to your professionalism, and it is an unacceptable area in which to lose points with clients. Websites need to be monitored, punctually patched, and protected behind layers of security.
We enjoy providing our sleep-better-at-night service for our CTS Website Care clients, in addition to helping plan facelifts or build new websites. Regardless of how or where you get help, always remember that your website is often your first impression. If you are going to have one, make sure it lives up to your name.
See you on the Wild World Wide Web,
– Burak Sarac, Team Lead
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