It’s true what they say – you only get one chance at a first impression, both on and offline. That’s why in this day and age it’s crucial to have a well designed website that will impress as soon as the page loads.
Think of it this way. Would you buy straight off a business card? Probably not. But what you probably would do is go to the website later on.
It’s a sad fact that less than 50% of Australian businesses have an online presence. And of that number, 75% can’t actually be found online through searching.
Those businesses are missing out on a huge chunk of business, simply because they have no presence where people are looking. And what do customers do if they can’t find your website? The same things as they would if your bricks-and-mortar store is closed – go to your competitors.
So with that in mind, the idea of “build it and they will come” is a myth. Just because you have a website doesn’t mean anyone can find it (but that’s another conversation on another topic).
So what should you look for when getting a website built or designed?
This may seem like we’re shooting ourselves in the foot, but the way your website looks isn’t about you. A website needs to be designed with the user in mind, not just yourself as the owner. We often sit down with business owners to ask if they have any example of websites they like, or what colour scheme they want, if they want it to be an extension of their branding. And most of the time they’ll say ‘here’s what I like’ – and that’s fine, but is it what your customer will like?
To put it differently, the key decision is: do you want a pretty website, or do you want a website that brings in leads and sales?
When we design websites, we design with user experience, or UX in mind. The main aspect of this is how easily can a user interact with your website? Can they find the phone number or address? Can they easily click through the pages to find the information they need easily?
Most importantly, can they see the most important information about your business and services above the fold when the page loads (that is, without having to scroll down the page?). Do you answer your prospects burning questions here, before they have to go anywhere else? Their burning questions could be something as simple as ‘where’s the phone number, how can I call’, and you would be surprised by the amount of websites we see that don’t have that.
Secondly, we build websites within Google’s view, to make sure the content is easily read and that your website isn’t doing anything that’s not best practice. This includes things like ensuring there’s only one heading per page, the image attributes are correct, and the meta details for search results are correct.
So how do I get a great website?
Contact us at Digital Surfer. Our focus is on creating websites that are built for customer interaction, in ways that Google will also like. Make a great first impression and get your prospects to take positive action on your website.