Here at Websites Wanted our first step is always to perform a full audit of an existing website before we suggest ways to improve it. But if it’s a new project, you can help us by thinking about some of the following things:
Content: For business or e-commerce websites, your site should reflect the offer and the conversion process. Display your products or services in appopriately-labelled channels and sections. Potential customers should be able to navigate your site as if they were in a familiar environment. You should aim to convert intention (or non-intention) into a purchase, return visit, or feedback form.
Know your place: The first step to attracting new customers is to research the marketplace thoroughly. Take a look at competitor sites. What do they do well and what don’t they do so well? Can you tell what sort of audience they are aiming for? Are you going to be in direct competition or are you providing niche information, service or product? How will your site’s design reflect that difference?
Know your audience: How are your potential customers using the internet? Are they likely to need their hands holding through a sequence of directions, or are you happy for them to browse? If so, how will you capture them and ensure that they stay or turn into loyal returning readers or clients?
How do people find your website? From outside the web (for example from a QR code or marketing) or from web-search? In the latter case, what search terms are bringing them to a specific landing page? How does that feed back into what you write on that page and the pages around it?
Answering these questions is a significant start on your journey with Websites Wanted and informs our initial audit of improvements to any site – old or new.