Introduction
What thoughts cross your mind when you think of launching your first website? You might consider learning some programming languages, upgrading your design skills, or signing up for an online course.
But believe us; you will waste your money, time, and energy if you choose any of the above options. Your website will fail miserably if you don’t focus on the things that are vital for its future growth. At PX Media Inc., a trusted web development company in Los Angeles, numerous business organizations have made the same mistake over the years.
You might eventually manage to develop a beautiful website with powerful features and functionalities, but you will eventually fail if you don’t focus on the core concept of website development. The success of any website depends on a deep understanding of the psychology of the targeted audience.
Plan your Plan first.
Relying solely on your gut feeling is not going to help you build a successful website. Without having a proper plan in advance, your plan to launch a fully functional website might come to a screeching halt. Important processes need to be maintained.
If you don’t invest your time in research and strategy, all your efforts to build a better website for your brand will go up in smoke. Since the website acts as a bridge between your customers and your brand or organization, you need to make sure that it works seamlessly on all devices and browsers. If people face issues like broken links, non-responsive pages, or slow loading, they will just leave immediately.
If you don’t focus on your visitor’s needs while developing a website, we are sure that it will not yield any productive outcome in the end. 82% of shoppers conduct online research before buying, and if you are in the B2B market, the number is 94%. This figure clearly shows how competitive the market is. It means you will have to put in extra time and effort to make your website look stunning so that your visitors don’t bounce back from your website.
Defining Goals
You need to define your goals, and they should not be abstract. You need to set measurable goals. Getting more traffic or generating more leads will not help you to achieve your goals. For example, if you have set traffic as your goal, you should be more specific about the traffic. Getting traffic from irrelevant sources will not take you anywhere close to meeting your business goal. You must define your goals in crystal clear words before you even start designing the basic structure of your website. In this case, you have to specify what kind of traffic you are aiming for and over what period of time.
These are simple questions, and they demand simple answers. Once you have the answers, you can measure your goals. Afterward, you can start designing a website aligning with your overall marketing objectives. By defining goals in advance, you will know where you have missed and by how much.
Think About Customer
How can you design your website without considering your customers’ likes and dislikes? That is insane!
Please remember that your website is the main communication tool between you and your customer. To communicate with your customers best, you must create a simple and stunning website with high usability and readability. Websites are designed for your customers, NOT FOR YOU. So, ensure your customers will engage by creating a look and feel they enjoy.
If you would like your customers to contact you by adding functions like a Quick Contact Box, Live Chat Option, or a simple Contact Us box. This will allow you to get customer feedback, which will help you build a better website for your brand. Place clickable contact info at the top and bottom of every page, most impurely for mobile. Your phone number / maybe other contact info, depending on if you are an online or brick-and-mortar business, should be the first thing they see at the top of their phones.
Simplify the Buyer’s Journey
The visitors of your website can be broadly categorized into three different types. The first type is the novice one who has no idea where the solution to his problem exists; the 2nd type is the intelligent one who knows that the solution to their problem exists and also knows where to find the solution but is just researching to find the best deal. The 3rd one is the motivated one who is hell-bent on finding the solution and is willing to open their wallet to get it.
So, while designing your website, you must consider these three types of visitors and their mindsets. Each customer goes through a different cycle of the buying stages, and it is standard for them not to trust your brand. So, the design and the overall structure of your website should be done in such a way that can instill trust in the minds of the viewers. Perception is EVERYTHING on the web. You need to make them feel comfortable while browsing your website. So, eliminate distractions and try to make it look as simple and elegant as possible. Don’t make your users work. Follow worldwide guidelines so users will feel familiar when they land on your page.
You must eliminate all gaudy elements from the template that can interfere with the buyer’s journey. Try A/B testing and then figure out which version of the landing page is converting more visitors. Stick to that version, and you will be able to see a higher conversion rate. This about this.”Nothing is bold if you bold all the text on the page.” This goes for graphics as well. Everything can’t be screaming at you. Nothing will be heard. Bold the path you want your users to take. Make it obvious.
Content Strategy
The content of your website should be relevant and cater to the audience’s needs. You can’t write content focusing solely on search engine optimization and neglecting the users. Of course, the content of your website needs to contain keywords, but you need to make sure that the content does not read like it was written by robots. The content of your website has to be human-friendly and contain keywords at the same time, but the keywords have to be blended naturally within the content.