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Your site can easily do all of this and more. To get started,
there are three main elements of the website that you have to
address:
Content
Overall, the content, or text, on your website is the single most
important element of your website. This content gives:
1. Interested prospects a place to learn more about your services
and to get their burning questions answered.
2. Current and past clients a resource for at-their-fingertips
contact information and in-depth information about your
offerings.
3. Internet search engines some content to index. The search
engines read only the text part of your website, not the
graphics. So choose a few keyword phrases, and use those
throughout the text on your site. Hopefully, your keywords will
help your site to rank well!
Design
The design of your website should be consistent with the rest of
your brand identity and marketing materials, so that it can
extend your brand identity into the online forum. Be sure to
include, at the very least:
1. Your Logo: This should tell the story of who you are, what you
do, and what makes you different.
2. Your Visual Vocabulary: This is all of the visual elements, in
addition to your logo, that make up your business's look and
feel. This includes the fonts, color schemes, photography,
shapes, backgrounds, and other elements that you use.
It's important that your Logo and your Visual Vocabulary be used
consistently throughout all of your marketing materials. If your
website looks markedly different from your other materials, then
people who have your printed marketing materials might feel like
they've landed in the wrong place when they call up your
website.
Your site should also have:
1. Appealing information design: Having text content on a site is
key, but your text has to be designed and laid out in such a way
that it's understandable, easily readable, and compelling.
Laying the information in quick bursts, such as bulleted lists,
helps people to read your site quickly. And using headlines,
subheads, and bold text to break up the copy can also keep
visitors interested enough to read all of the text.
2. Consistent navigation design: If your navigation changes from
page to page, it will be difficult for visitors to find their way
around the site – they can't tell where they've already been
easily.
Function
The average small-business website is designed as just an online
brochure. But the ideal website will do something else as well,
such as:
1. Growing your contact list: Collecting the names of the people
who visit your website and are interested in your services is a
great way to create a list of contacts for your follow-up
marketing (such as sending a newsletter).
2. Answering visitors' questions: Including answers to their
most commonly asked questions can help visitors to get instant
gratification from your site. Also, having a contact form can
encourage hesitant buyers to ask the questions that will help
them to overcome their buying doubts and fears.
3. Converting prospects into clients: Using calls to action
throughout the site can help convert prospects into paying
clients, as will giving visitors clear instructions on what to do
next, paired with great benefits to compel them to do so.
If you address all of these main issues, then your website will
be more successful than the average website. Instead of just
being another ineffective marketing tool, your website will
produce results, attract your target customers, and help you to
close more sales. Using calls to action throughout the site can
help convert prospects into paying clients, as will giving
visitors clear instructions on what to do next, paired with great
benefits to compel them to do so.
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Erin Ferree, Founder and Lead Designer of elf design, is a
brand identity and marketing design strategist who creates big
visibility for small businesses. Erin helps her clients discover
their brand differentiators, then designs logos, business cards,
and other collateral materials and websites to reflect that
differentiation, as well as to increase credibility and
memorability. To learn more about defining your difference, check
out our eBook, Stand Out, at
http://www.stand-out-branding.com .
For more information about elf design, please visit: Logo design
at
http://www.elf-design.com
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