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If you are an entrepreneur, you have probably considered creating a website. Perhaps you have dabbled in building one yourself. If that’s the case, then you already know that website creation is not as easy process.
In today’s competitive market, a lot of companies are running their businesses from the inside of their cars. If you have ever been in an Uber in a large city, chances are good that you have taken a trip with a business owner in them.
A website is the most powerful tool in your conversion funnel. Your website represents you. It’s a must in gaining prospects, leads, and making sales. Everyone knows they need one but finding the right fit can be tricky.
Simplicity is the most valuable asset your website can have. A visitor’s time is valuable. If you’re making it difficult for them to navigate your site, then you are losing them.
Great web development is all about the little things. Have you ever visited a website where something small set you off? Annoyance leads to questions that lead to a lack of trust leads to no conversion. Is this really what you want?
The Importance of Purpose
The purpose is very important when it comes to website design. It helps you craft a strategy, identifies your target audience, and plan the design of your site.
The very first thing you should do when building a website is to determine exactly who your target audience is. Ask yourself what you want them to do when they get to your website.
It could be that you just want people to view your content and leave. If that’s the case then your purpose is not to sell anything but rather get the viewer involved in the subject matter.
Purpose can also determine how many different pages should be on your website. For example, if you’re selling products online and want visitors to buy from you, then
- It might make sense to have a section of your website dedicated entirely to photos of the items for sale
- Have links to reviews of those items
- And maybe even video promotions of those items.
The purpose is the reason for your website. It is what you want to do through your website. The purpose of your website is it’s “reason for being”.
The target audience is the audience for this website. It is usually made up of people who are looking for or need something related to what you are offering. It can be people that you want to use your services or products.
Purpose and Target Audience are two things you need when designing and developing your website. You should consider them in everything you do with your website. From the layout of the homepage to the design of contact forms. Design with your website user in mind.
This is the most important thing you need to know before you begin developing or redesigning your website.
Why? Because this is the first and most important step in understanding your audience. You will understand what they do when they visit your website.
Crafting a Great User Experience
Understanding these two things will help you create a user experience (UX) that does exactly what it needs to do. That is convert visitors into paying customers.
The goal of defining your purpose and target audience is to create a website that will be able to answer these three questions:
- What is this website for? Why does it exist? What is its purpose?
- Who are the primary users of this website? How can I define my target audience? Why are they coming here? What are their goals when they visit my site? Why aren’t they leaving?
- How can I design my site based on these findings to meet the goals of my primary users, their goals, and the purpose of my website?
Set Quantifiable Goals
When you start a new project, your first goal should be to set measurable goals. After all, you’re going to have less time and resources than ever before. In order to keep that from being a problem, you need to work smart and prioritize.
What I’ve found, though, is that most bloggers don’t take the time to set quantifiable goals for their website design projects. For example, I have a goal of “completing the site by next week” every time I start a new project.
That way, I know I can finish what I started within a reasonable timeframe. This helps me stay focused on the big picture and understand what my goals are for each project.
The best way to set goals is to create them. That’s what successful people do, and it works the same way for the development process. We all have goals, but not always with the same quality of objective.
A strong goal is one that you very clearly define and that has measurable results. It’s important to consider all aspects of what you’re doing so you can target your goals. Here are some points to keep in mind:
Define What You Want To Achieve
Your goal should be a clear statement of what you want to achieve with your website.
This is a key element because it can help you frame your entire project going forward throughout its development process.
If the goal is unclear, it will be difficult to measure progress on your project and make adjustments as necessary.
Define Quality Goals
Quality is a relative term when it comes to websites, but it still matters.
By taking input from those who will use your site, what they expect from it, and how they interact with it. You can then create a mutually agreed-upon goal by which you will measure everything else. Set clear key performance indicators. (KPIs)
Make Sure You Measure Results
It’s important to be sure that you have a clear definition of the result you expect from carrying out any particular step of the project. Is it revenue? or a specific action taken on the website?
Make sure that each step along the way is clear as well as has measurable results associated with them.
Prioritize Your Steps in Your Website Project
We all have limited time and money, so setting priorities is important. It helps to keep your goals focused on those things that are most important at any given time.
Prioritize each step according to the success or failure of its outcome and how much impact it has on achieving your overall goal.
Set A Deadline
Setting deadlines for yourself is important for several reasons. First, because we all like good results in good time for our business.
Content Development and Managing Change
Your website is a major part of your brand. It’s the first place users will come to learn about your business, so it needs to be a visually appealing and informative experience.
To get the most out of your site, you need to know how to create a consistent look and feel across all of your products and services. And just as important, you need to know how to manage change in order to keep things running smoothly.
When it comes to building a digital presence, making sure your website looks good is a big part of the process. A great website can turn a potential customer into a loyal customer, and a bad-looking site can easily turn off a potential client.
The goal of your website is to help you sell more products or services to your customers. You can’t accomplish that if your website doesn’t look attractive and easy to navigate. It’s also important for your customers to be able to find what they need on your site.
If you want your customers to buy more of your products, then you need to sell them on the idea that they need those products.
You’ll want to start by establishing a clear objective and mission statement. Something you can write on a poster and proudly hang in the office — before taking any steps.
Once you’ve defined your mission and objectives and obtained your budget, it’s time to develop your website. But before long, you’ll face one of the biggest challenges of all: managing change.
When you move into a new space or introduce new features or changes into your product line, part of the thrill is that everything’s brand new.
But there’s also excitement about change. There’s also fear about change — what if it doesn’t work out? And finally, there’s a general knowledge that things always need changing — we call this “change management.”
The good news is that this process is actually pretty simple and straightforward.
- Decide what needs changing,
- make it happen
- watch as everything keeps moving forward.
Takeaway: Communication is the key to a successful website project and blog
Communication is Key
A website is a “living” product.
As your business grows, so should your website. However, if you have no idea what you need or how to build it, then building your own website is probably not the best option for you.
Some businesses can afford to build their own websites, but many would be better off hiring a professional to do the job.
The truth is that there are many factors involved in creating a successful website. It doesn’t matter how good your content is if visitors can’t find it or don’t understand what they are looking at.
As your company grows, the number of people who will want to access your content grows as well. The more complex your site becomes, the more likely it will attract unwanted attention from hackers and scammers.
A growing business needs a content management system that allows for easy site updates and customizations along with thorough security measures.
