It seems like everyone wants to improve their website design these days. Maybe it’s that time of year, or maybe we get bored with our website after six months or so.

Of course, it could be that nagging feeling that your website isn’t getting the results you’re looking for… like lots of visitors, leads, and sales!

Whatever the reason, here are seven important questions to consider before starting your website design project.

1.  What’s the (real) purpose of your website?

• Generate leads and phone calls?
• Support the efforts of your sales team?
• Sell your products?
• Offer engaging content to build an audience?
• Provide helpful information about your company?

It’s okay to have more than one purpose. Just be clear on what the main one is so that you can design your website with that purpose in mind.

2.  Who is your target audience?

Can you describe them in detail? I hope so… since you’ll be spending plenty of time and money trying to find them on the Internet. Not to mention, hoping to get these prospects addicted to your website and offering. Again, who are you targeting?

3.  Can prospects find your website in search results?

Make your website “search friendly” so it shows up in the search results of your target audience, since the more people that find your site via “natural search” the less you’ll need to spend on marketing to find them. Not sure how to search engine optimize (SEO) your website? Get an expert to do it for you.

4.  How will your website visitors know they’ve come to the right place?

Your logo, “tagline”, and a handful of short benefit statements (with search-friendly keywords!) are really important for explaining what your website is all about and why your business is different. Photos, videos, and testimonials can also help tell your story and engage your target audience.

5.  How easy is it for prospects to find and act on what they’re looking for?

What do your website visitors want to do? And have you designed your site with these actions in mind? Take the time to figure this out before you redesign your website. For example, is it easy to learn about your services and pricing, or (gasp!) reach out and contact you?

6.  Have you made social media part of your website design?

Get customers and prospects to “like”, “tweet”, and otherwise share your website content with their social network. Put your business on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. Start a blog, and post reviews and testimonials. Bottom line: make it easy for everyone to “spread the word” about your business!

7.  How will you know if your website is getting results?

Create clear goals for your website and marketing efforts. Track and measure your progress. This is where having a good web anlytics software is critical. How many website visitors are you getting? Are they doing what you want them to? Do they ever come back? All intriguing questions for sure…

Start your website design efforts by first answering these questions. Then worry about the “look and feel” of your website. Do this and your website will have a better chance of generating the results you’re looking for. Otherwise, it’ll soon be time to work on your website design (again).

Want to learn more about this fun topic? Check out these posts:

Who are you targeting with your online advertising?

Let’s talk about SEO basics. You first…

Ready to grow your business with social media?

Without web analytics your website is flying blind

And don’t forget, we’re here to help… just give us a call at 888.330.3236.

Advertising your website means sending potential customers to your homepage right? Why not, since it’s the first page you want prospects to see so they can decide where to go next. Makes perfect sense… even though it’s the wrong strategy!

Here are five important reasons why:

• Your homepage serves many types of visitors. You’ve got customers and prospects landing on your homepage. Customers trust you, know how to navigate your site, and are open to discovering something new along the way. Prospects don’t know you, are very impatient, and have one specific purpose in mind. Sound the same? Not at all! You’ve also got homepage users that want to learn about your company, find a job, or need help with a problem. Remember, without a focus on prospects, it’s hard to turn them into customers.

• Everybody influences your homepage design. Your homepage reflects that great tradition of democracy… everybody gets a say! Marketing, sales, editorial, technology, and let’s not forget the CEO, each has an opinion on what the homepage should look like and how it can serve their (often conflicting) interests. So don’t be surprised if your online sales numbers aren’t what you’d hoped for.

• Homepages are about navigation… not sales! Most website visitors are thinking: “just passing through”, when they land on a homepage. That’s why good navigation is a rule of homepage design. But having your homepage be the first page a prospect sees also means they may be tempted to navigate to a place where it’s much harder for you to convince them to buy.

• Homepages have many distractions. Blinking ads, breaking news stories, and featured products… not to mention some person talking in a video! How will your prospects know where to click? Your homepage can be like an unfamiliar mall during the Christmas shopping season when you have one last present to find. Do you really want potential customers feeling like that?

• Homepages are hard to optimize. Your homepage serves multiple audiences and purposes, so it can be hard to optimize since there are lots of trade-offs to consider. Too many when compared to a “landing page” that has only one goal in mind: get the prospect to order the product, fill out the form, download the white paper… or whatever action you want your prospects to take!

Instead of using your homepage, you need to create a landing page customized for your ad campaign, target audience, specific offer… you get the idea! And landing pages are easy to set up and optimize, especially when compared to your homepage.