Secrets to website success

Click, click, click It may seem strange, but for a website to be successful it is important that your website designer knows exactly what it is that you want your website to achieve. It may be that your website is an online brochure; a simple means of informing would-be customers of the type of business that your organisation undertakes. On the other hand, you may wish to sell a range of products from your website and to take payments online. Whether your website is for online PR or for online sales, the most important aspect of any website is the call to action. In other words, a website fails every time a visitor comes and goes without leaving a contact email address or getting in touch with your organisation via an online form or by phone. Success or failure with regard to web design lies not so much in the hands of a website designer but more in the hands of the client that issues the brief. Understanding the profile that makes up the typical client or customer that is to be welcomed to your website is more important than any other aspect of the marketing process. However, although a typical customer profile may be a female aged 40, it is important that a male aged 30 does not feel entirely excluded. In other words, your website design and content is a fine balance that requires constant attention once the website goes live. One of the ways to see what is happening to the visitor experience is to measure the traffic that comes to your site, including bounce rate and the level of contact and sales. In other words, it cannot be overstated that knowing your customer, statistically, will inform you as to the kind of products that are likely to appeal to your customers. Flash The secret to the success of any website is seduction; do not try and sell everything all at once on the Home page. It can be OK to have a little Flash but keep it subtle so that your Home page is easy to digest with clear navigation to sections and products. People follow breadcrumb trails through websites but they hate it if they get lost and cannot easily navigate themselves back again. A key point to note is that your web designer should ensure that your company logo is live so that when visitors click it, they are taken back to your Home page and can start again. If your web design follows good industry norms, your logo should be located top left of the screen, near the Back & Forward arrows. It’s important that potential customers do not have to hunt around for your logo; if they get lost and frustrated, they may simply bail out of your website. SEO London The internet has turned the world into a global village offering the potential for organisations to find new customers living in all parts of the world. However, the competition to attract those customers is intense and every day, web designers and internet marketers are looking at ways to improve their search engine optimisation techniques within website design. London is a city that is renowned for its design innovation and SEO London innovators are probably the finest in the world. The default language of the internet is English and so ensuring that your website is Search Engine Optimised in English is key, especially if your principal market is in the UK or other English speaking countries such as the USA and Canada. Search Engine Marketing can be an all consuming process and it is best undertaken by a website designer or internet marketer that understands the fluidity of search engine marketing and has a firm grip on how to maximise the effectiveness of Pay Per Click, link building, blogging and various features of Google’s dark arts.