Next to customers visiting the location of your business, your website is arguably going to be the place they visit the most.
This means that paying for a new website design is really an investment in your business. In addition to hiring the best web designers, you’ll need an effective SEO plan and the experts to back it up if you want to maximise your success.
Gone are the days when you could put up a cheap site, stuff the content with random keywords, and watch people flock to your online business. Today, the ability to succeed with a website requires a professional approach that potential customers can see and appreciate. While it takes more work, the results also have the potential to be much greater with so many people going online.
How to set the stage for an effective website design?
In other words, what do you need from website designers that can maximise the potential of your site to make it really work?
The answers are arguably not that surprising, but the following is needed to bolster your results and create a website that maximises its effectiveness in reaching people, creating leads, and converting them to customers.
Professional Appearance: The bottom line for any business website is to generate revenue. The more professional your site appears, the more it impresses those who want to purchase the products or services that you have to offer. It tells potential customers that you take your business seriously and are willing to invest to make it work for those who use the site.
This is where having experienced web designers pays off in creating a new website design for your business. A proper design will feature the following;
- Creates a solid first impression
- Free of glitches and bugs
- Easy to use and navigate
- Clean, simple, and elegant design
Think of the professional design as being part of your marketing efforts. The more people are impressed with your site, the better your branding efforts will be.
Mobile Responsive Design: With more people using their mobile devices to surf the web, having a site that shows up nicely on smartphones, tablets, and computer screens is a must. This is called responsive design which means it adjusts to the screen that the user is viewing your site. This type of design means you only have to create one website, so updates are easier.
Effective Branding: Branding is the credibility your site has built up based on its design. This means that the goals of your company are clear and straightforward which creates a positive impression on customers. For those living in the digital era, effective branding is more important than ever. Because in today’s world, it’s not just what you sell or the price you offer, it is the reliability of your company that is being judged.
Good branding established a bond of trust between you and the customer. This creates another avenue to reach them with your products or services. In other words, perhaps a potential customer will not buy from you today, but the impression you create thanks to good branding means that they will be back tomorrow if they need something else.
Beat the Competition: Healthy competition is a good thing because it keeps your business modern and relevant. By separating your business identity from others in your industry with a professionally designed website, easy navigation, and emphasising a particular product, service, or benefit, you can not only keep up with he competition, you can beat them at their own game.
The key to effective marketing is creating an identity which is recognisable and separate from your competition. Having a solid SEO plan, creating a powerful website, and using effective content can help gain your site the edge over your competitors.
Worldwide Exposure: Having the ability to reach around the world offers benefits that are not limited to online-only businesses. Even local shops, restaurants, and eateries which rely on local customers can benefit from getting attention around the world. Consider the tourists who visit your community will find your business online. This increases the likelihood of having people from outside your location pay money for your products or services.
Why Include an SEO plan on your new website?
With nearly 2 billion websites in operation and the number growing every day, getting noticed is more difficult than ever. However, there are effective methods that can be used to get your site in front of the customers that you want. Search engine optimisation (SEO) is still arguably the most effective form of passive marketing on the internet.
SEO essentially infuses your content with keywords and key phrases which are most likely to be used by those searching for your goods or services. When someone types in a query in Google or other search engines, they receive a list of results that most closely match what they have typed in. The higher up on the search result page your site is, the more likely people are to visit that site.
It is now commonplace for web designers to include an SEO plan into each site they create. The SEO plan consists of researching the right keywords or key phrases and incorporating the results naturally into each page and in the content of your site. This means that if your site sells plates, each page will have keywords or key phrases that will help those interested in plates find your site.
Of course, SEO is not quite as simple as that, but the general idea is to include specific words that match the queries put into search engines by those most likely to purchase from your company. An SEO plan will be constructed out of the type of business that you run for maximum effect.
Do the Basics: Strong SEO starts with getting the basics right, that means the following;
- Solid Domain Name
- High Quality Hosting Servic
- Easy Site Navigation
- Effective Keyword Research
Essentially, if you have a good website with an attractive name, a reliable host, and it’s easy to navigate the pages of your site, then you have the foundation for good SEO. Now all you need is the right keywords to bring people to your site.
Local SEO: If you run a brick and mortar store that relies on customers coming through the front door, then your site will be infused with local SEO. That means the keywords and key phrases will have your city, town, or community listed along with the products or services that you offer. In addition, your site will be listed in local directories so that people in your community can find you without going to a search engine.
An SEO plan is not cheap, but the result will pay off for years to come. This is because SEO is passive marketing where customers find you. The more you invest in SEO over time, the larger your customer base will grow as more people find your business year after year.