It\u2019s a mantra as old as time and it still rings true for both in-person and online interactions – You only get one chance to make a first impression. It takes mere seconds for a visitor to decide if they want to remain on your website or search elsewhere. So, while it\u2019s imperative to create a website that will help your business grow and gain traction, your website should also make a strong first impression and keep visitors engaged from their first click!<\/p>\n
Following are ten steps to consider when overhauling an existing website, or building a new one from scratch, that\u2019s engaging, on-brand, easy to navigate, stylish, and helps you achieve your business goals.<\/p>\n
To start, think about your business and how your customers will need to interact with you. Is your website purely for customers to obtain information about your business and offerings? Or do you want people to shop for items on your website and contact you directly to make purchases or book appointments? If you are selling items or services via your website, you\u2019ll need a website with capabilities for searching and purchasing items with payment options. If your website is a platform for people to make appointments or book services, you\u2019ll need to consider scheduling tools and platforms to manage those requests. If your site is purely a place for people to learn more about your business and service offerings, you may just need a simple site with a \u201ccontact us\u201d form where potential customers can reach you directly. By understanding what you need from your website \u2013 and how your customers will be using it \u2013 you will be able to get a sense of how complex the project will be.<\/li>\n
For the average person, building a website can be an overwhelming endeavor. If you need something that functions well and looks professional, we highly recommend you loop in a professional. They will be able to guide you through the process of building a website to meet your business goals. Even \u201cfree\u201d web platforms come with hidden costs and can be difficult to navigate if you aren\u2019t familiar with coding. Additionally, if a website isn\u2019t engaging or dynamic from the first click, or pages take too long to load, it\u2019s not going to reflect well on your business and capture the interest of visitors. A professional will be able to assist in creating dynamic designs, interactive navigation elements, and visual appeal to keep visitors on the page experiencing your brand and offerings. Check out the incredible websites<\/a> TMG has developed for clients here.<\/li>\n A website is essentially a home for your brand. People may never step into your office or store\u2014so your website has to speak for your business. What do you want it to say? How do you want it to feel? What is your brand\u2019s overall mission? If you\u2019re lost, think of brands that you like. Even pieces of art, movies, and music can serve as inspiration. It will also be helpful to create a set of branding do\u2019s and don\u2019ts to guide you as you develop your brand\u2019s colors, voice, and tone. Once you find something you like, stick with it and make sure it\u2019s consistent across all media.<\/li>\n Now that you have a strong sense for your brand and whether you\u2019ll need help building your dynamic website, it\u2019s time to think about your audience. Who are they? What are their needs, likes, and dislikes? By knowing who your audience is, you can ensure the copy that will go on your website will be easy for them to understand and entice them to do what you need them to do \u2013 book an appointment, contact you for more information, make a purchase, etc.<\/li>\n Pretend you\u2019re a potential customer. What do you want them to do? Each part of the website should subtly guide them towards your goals. If you want them to book you as a consultant, maybe you want to have some positive reviews, and a list of services. The bottom line is that the easier your website is to navigate, the better a result you\u2019re going to have. When in doubt, keep it simple.<\/li>\n When writing the copy for a website, it\u2019s important to understand what people are searching for. For example, if you are a boutique in Charlotte, NC, you may want to mention those terms on your website\u2019s homepage. If there\u2019s something specific you sell that might be a differentiator, like clothing that\u2019s made in the USA, that could also be a major way to attract new customers to your site. The bottom line is that a little research on keywords can go a long way.<\/li>\n As you continue to flesh out the copy, make sure whatever you\u2019re writing adds value to your customer. People skim through websites all the time, so make sure to use big bold headlines to communicate whatever is most important. How does your business add value to them? How do you solve problems or make life better? Make sure you articulate these ideas clearly and don\u2019t add too much fluff or self-aggrandizing copy.<\/li>\n They say that a picture is worth a thousand words, and when it comes to web design, that\u2019s absolutely true. You want the imagery that\u2019s on your website to reflect your brand as a whole\u2014and also your customers. Think of every image as a snapshot of either what you want to do for them, or them enjoying your products\/expertise. Images leave big impressions, so make sure that whatever you select is as high quality as possible.<\/li>\n Once everything is in place, take some time to click on every link and proofread every paragraph. Remember, first impressions are everything\u2014it\u2019s paramount that your website looks and functions at the highest level.<\/li>\n Just before sending your website out to the world, send a preview to someone who has never seen it before as a final quality check. If they use it, understand it, and have the reaction you\u2019re looking for, it\u2019s good to go!<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It\u2019s a mantra as old as time and it still rings true for both in-person and online interactions – You only get one chance to make a first impression. It takes mere seconds for a visitor to decide if they want to remain on your website or search elsewhere. So, while it\u2019s imperative to create […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2927,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/threadedmarketinggroup.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2928"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/threadedmarketinggroup.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/threadedmarketinggroup.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threadedmarketinggroup.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threadedmarketinggroup.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2928"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/threadedmarketinggroup.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2928\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2934,"href":"https:\/\/threadedmarketinggroup.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2928\/revisions\/2934"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threadedmarketinggroup.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2927"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/threadedmarketinggroup.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2928"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threadedmarketinggroup.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2928"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threadedmarketinggroup.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2928"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Determine your brand\u2019s look and feel<\/h2>\n
Understand your audience<\/h2>\n
Structure your website with user experience in mind<\/h2>\n
Find SEO keywords that will make your website stand out<\/h2>\n
Implement content that will add value<\/h2>\n
Use compelling imagery that is on-brand<\/h2>\n
Carefully review your website<\/h2>\n
Show it to someone else<\/h2>\n