The most important person that you need to please when you design your
site is your potential customer. I can not stress that enough.
I have clients who have told me "I don't like this design or that one or I
like these colours", etc. I want to please my customers so I try to create
a design for them that they will be happy with, of course.
But my clients don't often think of their site visitors or their own
potential customers when they ask me to design their site. Sadly most are
thinking primarily of one thing - how to make money from their website.
And because their focus is on making money rather than pleasing their
customers, more often than not, the website won't sell. And as much as I
try to advise them on how they can improve the quality of the site, they
stick to their own ideas of what the site should look like. Then they
email me later on and ask me what are they doing wrong. Oh brother!
If you want to have a successful website you must think of your visitors
first. Before you hire a designer or design a site yourself, you must
define:
Your Target Audience
The Purpose of Your Web Site
Procedures ie. What Material or Content Will Be Used
Your Goals
Next, you must keep your visitor in mind by:
Utilizing a Simple and Consistent Design
Making Sure the Website Design is Compatible To Most Browsers, Especially
Internet Explorer and Firefox
Making Sure Your Website Loads Quickly
Implementing Clear and Easy Navigation Systems
Maintaining Your Site and Regularily Adding Fresh Content
Your Main Page is Like a Sales Letter
Your main page should have a very strong sales message which includes a
keyword rich heading and a short introductory paragragh telling your
visitors what your site is about: products or services. Next in bullet
form, describe the benefits of doing business with you. In other words,
what makes your business stand out or what makes you so special?
You need to add credibility to your site so use verifiable testimonials.
Offer bonuses or something free along with your product or service and
then close the sale by calling for a clear action: Click here to order,
sign up today, request a quote, etc.
Next, you need to create a mailing list. Have your designer install a
mailing list script on your site so that your visitors can subscribe. Once
your visitors start reading quality material in your newsletter, you begin
to form a relationship with your subscribers and they begin to trust you.
Trust leads to sales.
How Will They Find Your Site?
Once your site is complete, and I do mean complete, manually submit your
site to the top search engines, such as Yahoo, Google, MSN and Alta Vista.
Don't waste your time worrying too much about ranking yet, because you are
not going to get a top ranking right away. No matter how much money you
spend on Search Engine Optimization services, your website will not get in
the top 5 position overnight.
Next, put your website URL and your email address on your business cards
and pass them out at every opportunity. Make sure your business cards are
a good quality stock and that they clearly define what your business is
about. Most people are naturally curious and if they got a good impression
from you and your business card, they will visit your site. Even if they
don't need your products or services, chances are they know someone who
does.
Word of mouth is very powerful. It is how I get most of my clients. So if
you have pleased one customer, that person will tell someone, who will
tell someone else, and then your business will flourish.
Yours in Success,
Karen Blundell
About the Author
Karen Blundell is a web designer and internet consultant based in Welland,
Ontario. Her focus is to assist home and small business owners succeed on
the internet. You can find out more about her services at
http://webzonecentral.com
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