Back to Basics: Where to Start with Your Website
“Great websites are born from great opportunity” - Herb Brooks (probably) Websites are how businesses, entrepreneurs and individuals stake their claim on the internet. A website represents the small corner of the digital world that you have control over. When the time comes to evaluate how your 24-hour-information-machine (your website) representsyour business, brand or mission, it’s important to go back to the basics: highlighting your website's purpose, user experience and content strategy arekey pillars to optimization.
Find Your Website’s Purpose
If you haven’t done so already, now is the time to ask yourself, “What is the purpose of my website?” The simplest way to begin thinking about this question is to evaluate the kind of people who will be visiting your website. A good website always caters to the needs of users. Each page of your website must have a clear purpose in order to fulfill users’ needs. Your website is always working for you if it is built the right way: that’s why understanding your website’s purpose is an essential first step.
Here are some purposes your website might serve to get you started:
- Education
- Interaction
- Entertainment
- E-Commerce
- Information
- Many more!!
Find Your Users (And Give Them What They Want!):
Crushed the purpose of your website? Perfect! The next website fundamentals are focused on identifying your users and their experiences. User experience is often overlooked when creating websites. At Keystone Click, we conduct the billboard test whenever visiting a website for the first time. Similar to a billboard on the highway, your website has seven seconds to make a first impression on a brand-new visitor. Website owners are often so focused on being found in search engines that they forget about what a site visitor experiences once their site has been found. The billboard test asks three specific questions that are imperative to site success.
How To: Billboard Test
- Do users know what you do or what you offer? A site visitor should immediately know what you do or offer upon landing on your site
- Does the user see your credibility? The internet is huge and full of information. You need to demonstrate that you are the right resource for users and can do exactly what they need. Using client testimonials or client logos, media exposure or industry certifications are all great ways to build trust with your site users!
- Do users know what they’re supposed to do? You’ve defined your website’s purpose, told the site visitor what you do and built credibility, now it’s time to tell the site user what to do next with a clear Call-to-Action. You need to make it easy for a site user to do business with you!
Find a Content Strategy:
With your website’s purpose well-defined and a deeper understanding of your user’s experience, you can bring it all together with a content strategy. When it comes to content, it’s important that the content you are creating for your website will connect and resonate with your ideal site user. A great way to do that is by asking yourself the following questions:
- Who is consuming your content?
- What kind of content is popular with your target audience?
- Which platforms/devices do they use to consume content?
- Which content topics are trending and may be of value to your target audience?
- What are the key drivers to convert your readers to potential buyers of your product, service or offering?
When creating any strategy, it’s important to begin with the basics. Websites are no different. Use these tips to improve your own website. Stuck? Schedule a call with Keystone Click to see how we can make your site even better.