A homepage brings many advantages and is nowadays an absolute must for every company. It offers customers the possibility to inform themselves about your products and services without having to contact you directly or visit your office. This not only makes it easier for the customer to make a purchase decision, but it also saves time and money.
Your homepage also enables you to communicate offers. Via Google search engines you can attract potential customers who are looking for a product or service you offer. A well maintained website that appeals to the customer visually and in terms of content also illustrates your value. It can be inviting and convincing and thus it will help you achieve a higher turnover in the long-term.
Eminence, your local digital marketing agency, celebrating its 10th anniversary this year has collected some important tips, on what you need to consider before creating your website.
- Define the use of your website
First of all you need to ask yourself a few questions:
What do you want to achieve with your website? Is it an e-commerce? A service website? Make your goals and benefits of your website clear. This is the only way to develop a successful site. For example, if you want to gain more leads or contacts, you have to present your products in an attractive way. If you want to increase your sales through the Internet, be sure to simplify the payment process.
- Optimise your content
SEO Optimisation helps you to position yourself in search engines. It is just as important as to convince the visitor of your website with this content.
Many websites today bore you with uninteresting and superfluous information. Try to generate interest from your users with great content to ensure that they revisit your site.
As far as SEO optimisation is concerned, you have to define exactly what you want to say from the beginning. It also plays a role which keywords and which vocabulary you use. It is best to discuss this with an expert, because SEO is a world of its own.
Ultimately, the user should think he found your website by chance. And then, ideally stay on your site because the content convinces him. If you achieve this, your SEO and your content are brilliant!
- Establish a clear planning
Precise planning is important in all areas. This avoids unpleasant surprises. At every stage of the project, you need to know exactly what the next step is and how much budget you have. Also, the content and idea must always be clear.
A mock-up (sketch of your website) can very well illustrate what you are planning (especially for developers or other partners involved). With this kind of planning you can see very clearly what the landing page and the other pages should look like. You can also see how the pages are linked.
- Create a professional design
When the first content is established, you should turn to design. It’s better to call in a professional consultant. Even if you want to take an active part in decision-making and design, you should trust the opinion of a professional. Design is all about the usability and proportions of the web site to make it effective, aesthetic and user friendly.
- Remember: Mobile friendly is essential
Don’t forget to act Mobile friendly. This means that your website should be clear, compatible and attractive on all devices, including on smartphones, this is called responsive design. This part is in particular strongly connected with the design of your web site. Since the mobile phone is becoming more and more important, you should not forget this point. What’s more some experts advise you to start with the mobile version first and then switch to the web version later. However, this varies from project to project.
- Ensure a user-friendly handling
An easy navigation and a fast loading time makes a good website. If the visitor does not find what he is looking for on the page, he will quickly exit the site. The important information and functions must therefore be directly visible. The loading time is similar if it takes too long, the user will leave. Also try to avoid unnecessary scrolling.
Keep your website alive at all times. Ensure to post regular news and update pages, this is very important for the users. A good way to do this is to create a Blog and upload news and informative articles.
- Test and get feedback from your partners and your audience
External opinions are incredibly important in web development. You might be enthusiastic about your own idea, but is your target audience engaged and interested in your content?
In addition you should carry out numerous tests. Nothing scares users away more than a website that doesn’t work. Don’t start when you’ve finished the development. Ideally, do tests after every step of the programming. This is the only way to really improve your design and your entire website.
- Create a successful digital marketing strategy
A smart Digital Marketing strategy is just as important as your website development. Constant marketing and rethinking of your strategy can help you to anchor your website in the minds of your target audiences in the long term. Eminence, your digital marketing pioneer can help you not only to create your website but also implement a successful digital marketing strategy which will significantly increase your e-reputation and your ROI.