You have done your homework, reviewed the competition, analyzed your current website pages and have the facts to start your website redesign. Now, it's the fun part. It's time to plan, create content and produce your lead generating website selling machine!
Whether you use your in-house designer or a professional web developer, they should ask for more than image and copy assets. They should want to understand your sales process and the competition. The person you choose as a web developer should be an asset in helping you understand competitive research and web analytics along with designing a site that appeals visually to your target audience. If your in-house designers don't have that level of knowledge the responsibility of building your website falls on your shoulders alone.
Go Beyond A Pretty Design
Too often I see that the web designer is just making a pretty site without considering the audience needs because they don't know the sales prices or understand the audience...they just design. That's sad because design is powerful... when done correctly it provides a seamless flow from interest to closing the sale.
The same issue is frequently true of the programmer - they provide a functioning website but it is not appealing or helping the customer through the sales funnel. Being technically proficient doesn't equate to being marketing proficient or understanding the sales process the customer needs to be taken through.
It isn't just about building a pretty site. It has to be designed with the target audience in mind and why they would benefit from your product.
The colors, copy and visuals work together to make a statement about your brand. What appeals to a new mother is much different from a golfer or a financial executive. You have to hit the right style that resonates with your consumer. It's exciting to win an award for design, but the boss, board of directors, and sales staff are more interested in seeing sales and new leads that keep the company growing.
The secret is to create a website that flows the same way your customers shop!
Start with a wire frame, the plan of what content pages will contain, their hierarchy, and how the overall site is organized. Will it be simple navigation with every page visible in the navigation bar? Or do you have a huge amount of information to lead prospects through the sales process? A popular solution for large company sites is to have drop down menus or segmenting the site by customer type (retail vs wholesale). We developed wire frame charts for our clients that help visualize your planned page and menu structure.
A website should support your overall company goals. The content will make or break your sales goals. If your website doesn't perform to your expectations, you have more work to do.
Present your information as you would a package on a crowded store shelf or a billboard only visible for a few seconds as you drive by. Remember that your customer is a moving target offering you only seconds to persuade them to stay. I love the billboard analogy because everyone has experienced driving on a highway where our speed makes it impossible to take in a complex or wordy billboard. When you are out driving take note of ads on buses, billboards, even restaurant signs. Notice whether they are legible and if you comprehend, with one pass, what they are selling. You are sure to see a poster on the side of bus that is impossible to read because the copy is too small. Consider the cost of that sign and the lost opportunity because it didn't work.
Dig deep and find the reason someone has to buy and deliver what they need.
Every marketing effort, including a website, should have a formula to weight its return on investment (ROI). Whether it's a B2B or B2C, every decision a customer makes to purchase is an emotional decision. They are looking for a solution they are confident will solve their problem: make their life easy, make their boss happy, put a smile on a loved ones face. Without that emotional attachment they won't buy. The latest, greatest, or best value can be great selling points, but only a shopaholic buys for the thrill of buying. Dig deep and find the reason someone has to buy and deliver what they need.
Make Sure Your New Website Gets Found
Clearly describe objectives for the website redesign and SEO expectations to the web developer. Once you have a website, SEO strategy helps position your web pages to be found by people looking for what you have to offer. SEO work is not included in the design and production of your site. Even basic SEO is not typically included in the price for creating a website, but it's necessary. It's not going to achieve a top page listing overnight, but it's the foundation for building a successful top preforming website. Refer to this blog article for more information on the relationship between content and SEO
To help you go through your website development or redesign, we have put together a book with 10 steps to build a better website. Download it for free.
Ready for more? Check out these related articles:
How Do You Know It's Time To Redesign Your Website? PART 1
It's Time To Redesign Your Website! PART 2
Web Redesign: Inventory Your Assets PART 3