7 point checklist to create a successful business website
Today buyers look for a purposeful web presence to research before making a purchase. Having a performing website is the first step towards having a powerful online presence. From functionalities and appearance to navigation and coding integrity, a lot goes into the process. Though there are plenty of factors to consider, this compilation serves a start-up list.
1. Outcome based planning & design
Define a purpose that is fairly specific and plan what you want to achieve with your website. Your business revolves around your Target Audience so, study their online behavior with plenty of secondary research and devise your strategy. Once the end-results are visualized, start planning on how far you would go about designing, marketing and maintaining the website. Since websites are merely online platforms, embedding mechanisms that measure the returns from such initiatives are a must.
2. Impactful Home Page
Each year, businesses invest millions of dollars over a space which is hardly a square foot in size- The home page. For your business website to be successful, you need an awesome homepage. There’s no getting around it.
Having a strategically built home page need not be expensive always, but differentiating it from billions of other websites in same business category is. Insights gathered during the planning sessions should be weaved in while designing the home page and major landing pages of the website. A homepage is only as awesome as your messaging, strategic placement of promotional offers, customer engagement mechanisms like live-chat, photos of real people from your brand, credibility factors like security badges etc.
3. Content is the King
Content has the power to inform, educate and attract the attention of your website visitors. It is not about throwing messages against your visitors and seeing what sticks. A good piece of content propagates your message into the mind of the visitors, driving them to choose your business over others. Original authoritative content gives customers a reason to visit your site often. Avoid salesy content with superlative words and deliver information that makes visitors choose you for your credibility.
Here are a few ways in which content is used to drive sales:
4. Customer journey based navigation
Have you ever visited a website and struggled to find what you came in search for? This is what a poor website information architecture can do to your website. Being organized and predictable with minimalistic approach will help visitors search and navigate better. A standard setup for page navigation of a single page of a website should be able to:
Each of these navigation options needs distinct look and positioning across the website to keep visitors at ease while browsing the website. Also research and include scripts like Google Analytics, marketing automation programs to monitor traffic, track conversions.
5. Appealing Graphics and Responsive Design
A website with striking web graphics and visual spark creates lasting impact on people and creates an impressive web presence. Avoiding cheesy stock photos with executives shaking hands or smiling customer service people with the headset will make your website look reliable. Good web design results in a lower abandon rate, higher time spent on site, increased referrals, and improved conversion path.
Professional web design doesn’t stop with websites that look perfect on laptops and PCs. The future is about mobility, businesses that acknowledge cross-device friendliness is increasingly performing better than their outdated counterparts.
6. Security is key
DDoS attacks, data breaches, and hacking incidents happen every day putting customers’ data security at stake. A recent report from the Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC), recorded 783 security breaches in the U.S. alone, which exposed over 85 million records. As businesses thrive on reputation, insecure website will be a major put off for any potential customer. Though security vulnerabilities online is a persistent problem, maintaining a strong system and offering quick fixes seems to increase the credibility. If your business deals with online payments or storing personal records of visitors, consider embedding SSL Certifications for adding credibility. Also if you don’t have in-house expertise in governing websites, consider managed services from vendors who would maintain uptime, stability, health etc.
7. Digital Marketing
Finally, having a website is just a beginning. To make it visible to worldwide customers and differentiate from niche competitors, Digital marketing is the key. A wide range of inbound and outbound digital marketing techniques will promote your offerings to customers who are actively using internet. The website should act as the gateway to accommodate digital marketing tactics like lead magnets, call to action elements and offers.
These are just the essential factors a website should start with. Closely monitoring for its performance against buyer behavior, the business should continue to add or let go functionality.
