How To Design A Successful Website

Today it isn't good enough to have a website for the sake of having a site online. Your website needs to be effective; it should be promoting your business in the right way. You can create free websites on your own or you can hire a professional web designer. It doesn't matter which option you chose, what matter is that you create your website the right way so that it enhances your success. There are a few key elements to keep in mind as you create your website.

Goal and Purpose of Your website

The very first question you need to ask yourself is, "Why do I want a website?" There are a number of different reasons businesses create a website including advertising, a way to get information to customers quickly, they are looking at broadening their selling potential (ecommerce.) There isn't really a wrong answer, the point is that you need to answer that question. Small business web design is about creating a website that is going to provide benefit to your customers/clients, both current and potential. Generally this means information about your products and services.

Understanding Your Customers

Before deciding your website design and what goes in it, you need to be clear about who it caters to. You might already know who your customers are if you've been in the business for long. Otherwise, you should identify the potential market for your products and design your website to suit their needs. You should

- Use a language and terminology they can easily understand
- Make sure that the website is simple to use
- The technology used in creating your website should be compatible with devices such as desktops, laptops, mobiles, etc
- Create a purchase or order process that is easy to follow

If you are considering creating an eCommerce site you will also need to make sure that your site is secure and reliable because your customers are going to be putting in very personal information.

What do You Want Customers to Do

A business website is successful only if it helps you achieve your goal. Once the customers are on your site, you may want them to

- Order placement
- Provide personal contact information
- Call you on the phone
- Create an account or subscribe to your newsletter
- Get a quote for services
- Download an item
- Make a donation
- Bookmark you site

Make sure that you organize your site in such a way that it makes it very easy for your customers to do what you want them to do.

Planning Website Design

Now that you have all your ducks in a row it is time to focus on the following aspects of your website:

- Classification - what pages do you want on your website. Often these include a : Home page, About Us, Contact Us, FAQs, Products/Services. You will also want to consider other links that can take your customer to your blog, calendar of events or case studies.
- Navigation and Usability - you want your website to be easy to navigate and use. No one wants to land on a page that is overwhelming or confusing.
- Content - the information on your website needs to be relevant to your business, contain the needed keywords and provide a benefit to you customers.
- Appearance - fancy flash really isn't needed. As a matter of fact sites that contain flash media have been shown to not rank as well as those that do not. You want to engage your visitor and make them do what you want. Attractive, striking but simple is best.

A paid or free web design would be most efficient when it is original, appealing and tells the customers exactly what to do.

By: Tom Jenkings

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