Quite a few of us have resolved to hit the ground running, business-wise, this New Year. One of the best ways you can start the year off right is to get a fresh new look for your website!
Are you working to improve your brand image, or appeal to a broader market? Are you launching a new product or service, and need to get the word out in a big way? Maybe you’ve decided to finally start the revolutionary new business you’ve been dreaming of, and want to do it right?
Online Southwest Florida is ready to help you achieve these goals, and many more! We are easy to hire and even easier to work with. Just contact us via our contact form. We’d love to discuss your needs, goals, and budget, and see what we can do for you and your business.
But… I already have a website.
Of course, you do. It’s 2019. Everyone has a website – and that’s sort of the problem. In 1992, all it took to be on the cutting edge of information technology was to ‘have a website’. It didn’t have to be amazing – just look at what Amazon looked like in 1995, and they’ve done ok.
But that was over 20 years ago. Today, you need a lot more to generate any digital sales, and that’s where the action is. Around 2/3 of purchasing decisions start with the results of a web search today, even if some of the money actually changes hands in a brick-and-mortar store at the end. This means that if your website isn’t stunning, you’re leaving six out of ten sales on the table. No one can afford to do that, especially these days. You need to have a visually compelling, user-friendly, and SEO-oriented website, populated with rich and engaging content.
Ok… but how exactly do I do that?
Even if I could answer that simply and accurately for every business, the fact is, each business is different. Each does something unique for their own set of customers, and each needs something different from their website to really thrive. Here are a few examples of big factors in online engagement.
1. Responsiveness, all the way
Not only are we online more than ever, but we also use more separate devices to get there than ever. Many of your clients have a desktop, laptop, tablet, and smartphone, and might use any of them to search for what they need depending or where they are, or which device is closer to hand. That means that your web presence has to be just as strong and easy to access for someone on their phone as it is for someone else scrolling through results on their tablet.
2. New, vibrant and engaging web design
The online face of your business is more and more becoming the first way potential customers will see you. This means that it is no longer an afterthought, but the core of your branding! Is your current website up to the job of providing the first, and perhaps only, impression your business will make on potential customers?
3. Clear purpose leads to clear results
Before committing to a new design or a redesign, you and your web designer absolutely must have a clear idea about what you need the website to actually do!
Many visitors to your site will only look for a few seconds before moving on. If you haven’t managed to clearly spell out what you’re about in that time, they’ll move on without ever getting any part of your message. That certainly won’t do you any good!
4. Your business has grown and evolved, and your website needs to grow with it.
Your website should be an integral part of your business. If it does not change as you do it will stop driving you forward, and start holding you back.
Furthermore, your website has to comply with all the latest trends and technological advancements. You can’t really ‘futureproof’ your online presence, and that means that you need to regularly invest time and resources in managing, updating, improving and fine-tuning your website for better functionality.
5. One last note – Performance and Speed
Not only does your website need to have a good look and a highly functional design, but you also have to ensure that it doesn’t take forever to load, especially on low-bandwidth mobile platforms!. A great many visitors will cancel a page if it hangs, and more will start off cross with you if your page loads in fits and starts, elements moving across the screen as they come in.
Fast load times is one of the most crucial factors to ensure early in the design process. Make sure you don’t end up with an all-singing, all-dancing monster that looks amazing on a broadband desktop, but takes five minutes (if it loads at all) on a tablet over a coffee shop’s throttled Wi-Fi.
Of course, the real key to getting a top-quality website is working with a skilled designer. Invest in your business get a quote from Online Southwest Florida!