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Launching your website to success
Have you ever launched a new website in a blaze of glory only to be left disappointed by low visitor figures and non-existent enquiries? If you answered yes then don’t panic. Here, in the first of a two part post, I outline some key points you should consider when launching a website to help you increase your chances of it becoming a success.
Planning
Planning is everything. And when you’re planning you need to think about your target audience as everything on your site is designed to appeal to these people. Types of questions you should ask yourself include:
• Who is your target audience?
• What will they be looking for on your site?
• What makes you stand out from your competitors and why should your target audience do business with you and not them?
Layout
Once you’ve established your audience you can then create the layout. This needs to be consistent and easy to follow. Top tips:
• Two and three column layouts are the simplest to follow
• Keep main content and navigation at the top of the page and any call to actions or sub menus to the right – Studies with heat mapping show these are the areas visitors are most drawn to
• Display contact information clearly so visitors can find it quickly when they need to
Aesthetics and theme
Before launching your website it’s important to get the aesthetics right. Think about how you want your business to be seen by visitors. Is your business quirky or professional? Once you have an idea about what kind of company you are you can incorporate this into your branding, including your website. Top tips:
• Try and stick to three main colours as any more can look tacky and unprofessional
• Use brighter colours to make call to actions and interesting points stand out
• Incorporate high quality imagery so that visitors can visualise your product
Call to actions
Use different types of call to actions throughout the website. Think about why your visitors are looking at your website and what might persuade them to buy. You could offer a free brochure, a quote, the ability to request more information or a call back. Sometimes a visitor won’t be ready to enquire yet but if you give them all the information they need and security for their concerns they’ll soon pick up the phone in no time.
Content
Content on your website should be aimed at potential customers and provide them with information as well as persuade them they should buy from you and not a competitor. Top tips:
• Copy should read well, have no spelling mistakes and incorporate relevant key search terms so visitors can find your website in the first place
• Incorporating a blog will improve the chances of visitors coming across your website and will give you the ability to talk about loosely related topics that allow you to utilise a wider range of search terms and phrases that can help you reach a wider target audience
In the second part of my blog I’ll be giving you more tips on how to launch a successful website including testing it, SEO and social media & content marketing.
This entry was posted in Web Development
