05
Aug

Website Design - Back to Basics

Posted by Aaron Brockhurst

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Whether you already have a website, or considering starting a new website, it is always good to examine the basics of your website, to make sure that you are achieving your overall goals. It’s a good idea to review your website regularly, as it is often the first contact that a client or potential client has with your business and brand.

In this digital age that we live in, one of the most common terms you hear now is “Google it” as the internet can provide answers to practically anything that you are looking for. Your business solves a problem, answers a question, provides a service, sells a product that customers are looking for, and if your website is found through the search engines, and the customer can find what they are looking for easily, then you have the opportunity to grow your revenues and customer base significantly.

When planning your new website, or reviewing your existing one, go back to basics firstly, to ensure that you have the most important elements covered:

  • Structure – Is it clear what your website is for? Have you given your customer all that they need to know in simple headings that will become your website menu? Your website needs to be easy to navigate or visitors will click away to your competition.
  • Content –What content is going to be relevant to your target audience? Are you providing the most up to date information, and will this change frequently? If it does, consider a content management system, so that you can easily update the content on your own website.
  • How will you get traffic to your website? SEO (search engine optimisation – the method to rank as high as possible in search engines so that your site is more likely to be visited) is a key tool to drive traffic to your website, so be sure to do plenty of research around keywords. Social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter can also drive traffic to your website, so make sure that you have links to your social media sites on your website.
  • Use your website to streamline processes to improve your operating costs – Can any routine jobs be done via your website? (for example, if you have an e-commerce site, you can have it manage your stock levels and even produce reports that you will need for your accountant)
  • Branding – Your website needs to be easily identifiable for those who already know your brand. Keep online branding consistent with your offline branding.

If you would like us to provide you with a free review of your existing website and how it performs in search engines or would like to talk to us about a new site that you want to create, please contact us: Tel 0845 258 1208