February 2018

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5 Essentials of an Effective Website

Whether you’re a builder, consultant or a not-for-profit organisation, having a website is a necessity. A website provides an online shopfront for businesses and one that’s well-designed can help you stand out from your competitors and reach new customers. 

Here are five top priorities to consider when producing your next website or when making adjustment to your current website.

1. Branding

You have one chance to make a first impression. Your website will be the first touch point for those that haven’t heard of your business. A website that is professionally designed will strengthen your overall business image and build trust.

A successful website incorporates branding elements beyond your logo, it has a consistent look and feel across images, fonts, colour theme and page structure, ensuring your business is instantly recognisable.

Creating a visual brand is an important step towards success. You should consider how you’d like your business to be represented. Our Brand Design Strategy Workbook that we use during our branding workshop and initial consultation will help you form a brand that will guide your website design and other marketing materials.

2. Website Design & Usability

A website with a strong, well-thought-out design that focuses on your target audience will convert visitors. How information is organised and structured needs to be considered to help visitors and search engines such as Google find what they are looking for. It must be designed to respond to all different device screen sizes including mobile, tablet and desktop, and adhere to the new HTTPS secure criteria.

3. Unique Selling Proposition

A business has around 10 seconds to capture a potential customers attention, giving you little time to explain your value proposition. Your unique selling points should be showcased on your homepage, through text, imagery and videos. This helps potential customers quickly understand your business values and what you can offer.

4. Call to Action

A website should help generate leads for your business, it should be clear to your visitors the action you want them to take. Ensuring your website has multiple ways for visitors to connect with you is very important – enquiry forms, email links, click to call phone numbers, book now buttons, newsletter sign-up and instant messaging are some ways your potential customers can connect. Providing different mechanisms for communication is critical when building a website to attract potential customers and will ensure you capture as many leads as possible.

For examples of our high performing websites visit our portfolio.

5. Integration with other 'Online Assets'

Your website is one touch point for potential customers. If you’d like your business to be more visible online, you need to consider other online assets. Building a Facebook community, creating an Instagram hub and making sure your Google My Business profile is owned and up-to-date are some of the ways to grow your presence online and drive more traffic to your website.

Need to make your online assets consistent and reflective of your business brand, contact us for more.