When it comes to web design, first impressions count, but long-term relationships are built on ease of interaction, accessibility and convenient services. Luckily, your business can have both if you have a well designed, user-friendly and responsive web design.
Your website is often the first and most frequent point of contact a customer has with your brand and it can be your key lead generating tool, driving traffic to your business.
The importance of a website to your business, therefore, raises a critical question: How do you make sure the design of your website is driving leads while making your brand stand out?
Here are 10 things to consider when you are designing your website or what web design companies should keep in mind:
1. Identify your target audience and primary users
Create a user profile for your audience. Consider who your users are, what their behaviour is like, what they need, and how they are best engaged.
You also need to know who your highest value customers are. Targeting your website design and content towards your highest value segments/audiences/users is critical. These are your bread and butter, so keeping them happy can mean a higher return on your investment.
2. Optimise for mobile devices – mobile-first
At the end of 2019, mobile devices (excluding tablets) were responsible for 52.6% of global website traffic, having consistently hovered around the 50% mark since 2017.
Optimising your website for mobile devices is not optional anymore, it is essential. It has been proven to capture a larger share of target markets, so what are the key areas you need to look at?
- Reliable, secure and fast web hosting
- Make sure to implement strategies to increase your website speed
- Enabling accelerated mobile pages if possible
- Redesigning your pop-ups to work optimally for mobiles
3. Optimise for SEO
Incorporating Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) and advanced digital content and search capabilities into your website will help deliver results. Effective SEO drives your website to the top of related searches, sending more leads your way. There are many ways you can audit your website’s SEO, but two of the best are:
– Investing in a full external audit and on site recommendations
– Approach a digital agency that will provide a Free SEO audit of your website, which will help in improving your SEO potential
The benefits of hiring an SEO agency with web site development expertise will save you more time and money so you can focus primarily on the forefront of your business.
4. Plan for the future
Always think long term when you are designing your website. A site that meets your needs now, but does not have a lot of scope for expansion in the future, could put you at a disadvantage. It could mean redesigning your website again in a few months/years for a potentially higher cost. This wastes your time, effort and money now but also in the future. Plan ahead and make sure your site is scalable and can expand on functionality.
5. Communication and connection are critical
Your connection with your target audience should always be central to your website’s design. To make sure your communication is clear and strong, ask the following questions:
- How do I want my customers to reach me or to interact? (Online live chat, email, contact forms, telephone, etc.)
- What hours am I available to interact with customers?
- Who should customers contact in my business?
- What security measures do I need to put in place to keep both my employees and customers safe when we are communicating?
- Should I consider artificial intelligence or chatbots?
6. Be smart with your Content Management System
Every business has unique opportunities and issues to solve via its content management system (CMS). The most popular and widely-used system is WordPress because it is easy to use and fully customisable. However, every business is different and has different needs, so work with your web development company to investigate the best CMS solution and options for you.
Getting this right the first time will save you a lot of hassle down the track.
7. Make sure you drive action through your content
It’s scary how often this flies under the radar of web designers, but it represents a significant opportunity lost if it’s not utilised.
On each page of your site, design a call to action that is highly visible and has a clear message. Make sure your customers understand what it is you’re asking them to do – whether that’s to call, fill out a contact form, sign up to a newsletter etc. – otherwise they won’t take the action you want.
8. Link with your social media profiles
Not all businesses have them (there is an argument that they should) but if you have social media accounts, don’t miss the opportunity to link these to your website. Incorporating social evidence into your website content can increase your brand loyalty and give your visitors another channel to interact with your business.
To do this, make all links to your socials accessible on each page of your website. You could even link to other sites that mention your brand or link to your influencers, if applicable.
9. Know your budget
When it comes to designing your website, make sure you set a budget and stick to it! To ensure you get a good return on your investment, focus your resources on areas you know your customers will appreciate – this might be your website blog, for example. Over-capitalising, spending in areas that don’t return value or are not valuable to your customers is just a waste of time and money.
10. Be clear on who is responsible for what
Your web design will normally include a large team of people collaborating and working together to achieve the end result. To ensure you are working efficiently, carefully plan out what is to be done in regards to your web design and who will be responsible for delivering what; this includes who will write the content that will populate your website, who will be responsible for the branding, graphic images etc., and much more.
Conclusion
By keeping these 10 considerations in mind, business owners will have a better chance of creating a successful website project for their brand, ensuring their business goals are met and the overall design supports their customer enquiries.
Keen to learn more about web page strategies and how to improve your online presence? Get in touch with our website developer team today to learn more.