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I talk to a lot of people in the Calgary area
regarding online business and the two most common questions they
ask me are “What do you think of my website?” and “How
would you make it better?”. Two good questions, direct and
to the point.
For those of you however who don’t have
an industry professional to talk to I’ve developed a simple
system that will allow you to answer these questions...on a basic
level at least.
I call this article The 5 Key Components of a
Successful Website and it serves as a basic starting point to evaluate
where your website is at now and in which areas it needs to improve.
Is My Website Search
Engine Friendly? – Bottom line no matter how good
your website is if no one is there to see it your site is essentiality
doing nothing. True there are other ways to bring people to your
web page (word of mouth, pay-per-click advertising, newsletters
ect.) but being visible in search engines lets “business search
for you” instead of “you searching for business”. Does your company
name show up on the first page of Google and other major search
engines? How about your various important keywords? If your answer
to both of these questions is no then traffic to your website will
be greatly reduced and thus your potential sales. To improve on
your current ranking seek out an SEO (search engine optimization)
company and see what packages they have to offer.
Does My Website Easily
Allow Others to Access Key Information? – This
isn’t quite as cut and dry as it sounds. Obviously your website
should be easy to read and content should be presented in a professional
fashion but take it one step further. What is the key purpose of
your website? What products and/or services are you MOST trying
to emphasize? A good website will direct you to ALL important information
in the easiest and most effective way possible. Your website should
immediately tell your audience who you are, what you do, and how
to go about using the most important features of your web page.
It should also state a clear "call to action". Do you want your
website users to pick up the phone and call you? Tell them. Do you
want them to sign up for your company newsletter? Tell them that
too. Always be clear on your intent and what you want your website
users to do.
Does My Website Look
Professional and Reflect the Image I Really Want?
– It's easy to put too much emphasis on how
a website looks rather than it’s overall function or purpose. That
being said web design is a visual service and to give the professional
first impression you desire you must first look the part. The visual
quality of your site is very important in establishing your company's
credibility and is often your FIRST point of contact for new business.
This is much like trying out a new restaurant for the first time.
Do you try the new place with well groomed staff, courteous service
and nice clean tables or do you try the hole in the wall with dirty
floors and ketchup stains on the counter? Potential customers often
use a company's website to weed out the "real businesses" from the
"mom and pop" operations.
What Is The Return Factor
On My Website? – What is
the return factor mean? Simply put it means what is it about your
website that will make visitors come back again after seeing it
for the first time? It’s great to have a professional and visually
appealing website but if the content never changes they have little
incentive to return. Be in the habit of frequently updating your
web page and have features on your site that actually warrant updating.
Whether this be a news & updates section, a frequently asked questions
page, a photo gallery make sure there is a reason for people to
give your site a second look. BE CREATIVE…the good news is this
is something that does not cost a lot of money. Take a look at other
websites in your industry for help or ideas that you may not have
thought of.
How Would You Rate the
Overall Content Found In Your Website? – Still
one of the most critical but overlooked factors in web development.
Many will go through the motions of coming up with many website
categories, fancy features and cool design ideas but will spend
very little time on the text or written portion of their site. All
the bells and whistles are great when your written content is useful
and engaging, if not you are missing the key purpose of your site...to
inform. Think about what you want to say to your target audience
and ask yourself “is this information useful or helpful” in promoting
the products or services you offer? Don't pad your website with
useless categories and other distractions in an attempt to "look
big", keep your focus on your primary first.
There we go The 5 Key Components of a Successful
Website There we go The 5 Key Components of a Successful Website in a nutshell. Try giving your website an honest score using the five categories we have just discussed, each category is worth 20% of your final grade...
A+ 100%-90%
- Elite territory, your website is a business unto itself.
A 90%-80% - A website that rises above typical standards and has the results to show for it with better sales and increased business. The goal of many, accomplished by few.
B 80%-70% - This is
where a lot of websites end up even when using the help of a small
web design company or contractor, a good start but room for growth
& improvement.
C 70%-60% - Probably where the average small business website will land without any major professional assistance. Nothing terribly wrong but nothing that stands out either.
D 60%-50% - Your site
exists but it really doesn’t do anything..…at all. Sound like you?
F 50% and below –
You may as well not even have a website, you are doing more harm
than good to your company.
Don’t be overly hard on yourself if your website doesn’t
score an immediate A+. Many websites are works in progress that
can often take months to years to realize their full potential,
and that means a few mistakes along the way.
If you're not sure on how to improve upon your website,
always seek feedback from people and those around you who can point
you in the right direction. In the end you get out of your website
what you put into it, good luck!
Written By Jeff Moyer
- Calgary Web Design Network Creative Director
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