Every web design we undertake is different in design brief, size, budget, audience and, of course, objectives. But, if you want your website to be truly effective in today's digital marketplace, there are some fundamental considerations:
Website objectives and strategy
Before you start designing your website, you need to set clear objectives for exactly what you want to achieve. These need to be clearly measurable so that you can adapt or change where necessary, then you can decide exactly how your website is going to fit into your marketing plan and how it is going to effectively promote your service or product.
SEO optimisation
Any self respecting online business will have a solid SEO strategy designed to drive traffic to their website. This will be integrated with a Social Media strategy, now a key part of developing inbound links to help improve your Google rankings. But, for your SEO and Social search strategies to work effectively, your website needs to be fully optimised – for example ensuring all your website HTML Meta Tags are written and configured in the right manner.
Quality content that can be easily shared
If you are serious about developing an online marketing strategy that is going to dramatically increase the number of visitors to your website, a content strategy must be part of your overall online marketing plan. This will include developing quality content that your target audience will like, engage with and ultimately share. So, your website needs to contain great content that is easily shared on a range of platforms, at the touch of a button.
Content management system that is easy to use
Clearly, for a website to be 'fit for purpose', it needs to be dynamic and easy to update so your content stays fresh and engaging. A robust and easy to use content management system is integral to ensuring your website plays a key role in your overall online marketing strategy.
Responsive design
There are so many different mobile devices being used to access websites for business. A website now needs to perform as well on a 24 inch desktop computer as on a smart phone. So, a responsive approach to website design is a must, ensuring a seamless user experience on a diverse range of desktop and mobile devices.
Stand out design
The key to achieving a potent online proposition is an original and eye-catching website design, to engage your key audience and encourage them to drill down and explore your whole service and product offering. If you don't have a great design, it really doesn't matter how much traffic you have generated to your site – they will just leave!
Google analytics
There is some amazing digital insight online and Google analytics is a great place to start, giving you an overall picture of how effective your digital marketing is and helping you to adapt your approach accordingly.
If you are looking for an original creative website solution that will create real commercial impact online, please don't hesitate to get in touch with myself or one of the creative team here at Westgate. shaun@westgatecomms.com
www.westgatecomms.com