Why you should have a website

A website is an online presence that let’s everyone one know you are there. Having a physical shop front or office space is one thing but you are not there 24-7. A website gives your customers access to you all day, every day, at any time.

Your website is an asset

A lot of people underestimate the value of a well designed website. Your business website is an asset and it is simply not good enough to ask your friend’s son who studied computers one semester to whip up a sloppy website for you.

In fact, an ugly and poorly designed site will give potential customers the impression you are unprofessional and amateur. In our opinion, have no website is preferable a dodgy hack job with lazy graphics, mismatched typefaces and no cohesive brand.

Like any business asset, you need to invest in the planning, development and design of your website. A website doesn’t have to be expensive but it needs to be done by a professional. Take time to look at your options, make the right decision first and save the headache later.

Nature of businesses

Different businesses will have different requirements on their website because of the way you run your business, the service/product you provide, your location and your target customers.

For service providers like doctors, accountants, hair dressers etc a website allows your customers to find out your services, opening hours, map your location and share your website with friends and family.

If you run a cafe or restaurant etc, you will want a website to promote your menu, weekly specials and allow customers to book functions or catering.

If you own a bookshop, cosmetic shop, tool shop etc you might want a website that has an online store, a gallery of your products, a space to announce promotions, and a system that allows customers to review the products.

We could go on with examples, the point is – your business is unique, you need a website that reflects your needs and your customer’s needs.

Don’t follow trends, just because…

Depending on the nature of your business, your website may only need a page of content with contact details, opening hours and a few images. For businesses that are based online, then you definitely need an online shop or quoting service, gallery of products and services.

But if you think your business websites needs a blog, forum, facebook, Twitter just because everyone else has one, then you are very mistaken.

Social media and networking outlets are good for driving traffic but takes a lot of time and effort on your part to maintain fresh regular content. Before taking the plunge with add-on features to your website, speak to your designer or developer about how they can help you.

The worse thing you could do is pay for a service you won’t use.

Questions you need to ask

• How will a website benefit my business?
• Who can deliver my website both professionally and meet my budget?
• What is it costing me if I don’t have a website?
• If any, how much time do I have to dedicate to my website
• How can I grow my business with my website asset?

If you are looking to get a website or would like some help with your existing website, give us Giggle Media call on 1800 288 096 or drop us an email.

If a user lands on your website and cannot find the information they need within seconds, he/she will likely leave and move onto a another site.

So how can you give your website a fighting chance?

The usability litmus test

According to the renown usability expert Jakob Nielsen, there are three key questions a user must be able to answer within the first thirty seconds of viewing your website:

• Who are you (the business)?
• What do you (the business) do?
• Where do I (the user) go next?

If a user cannot answer these three questions in thirty seconds or less, it’s time for a website redesign.

Who are you?

Eye tracking studies show that the first place a user looks at is at the top left area of a website. This is why most websites have their company logo positioned there. The placement of the logo in the top left also helps orient the user while building brand awareness.

What do you do?

Do you cut hair? Do you offer advice? Do you plan events? Tell the user what you do or can offer simply and immediately, they do not want to decipher it from tag lines or jargon. If your business sells tangible products, an image captures more than words.

What do I go next?

In the seconds it takes a user to collect the above two pieces of information, the next thing a user wants to do is achieve their goal – whether it be browsing your products, reading advice or making an appointment. This calls for a clear navigation menu, well organised information and call to action items that catch a user’s attention.

User expectations

For more complex websites, issues such as security, accessibility, interactivity and compatibility will also need to be addressed. Your business type and target audience need to be considered alongside usability.

Users visiting ACME Property Lawyers website will have different expectations to when visiting ACME Fashion Label. The former is expected to have a lot of text based content that should be easily found, the fashion label website has the luxury of heavy image content, some Flash animation and the associated longer load time.

Of course, a as a web designer we want to challenge these expectations and standards. If done in the right way, the result is outstanding; however, a lot of the time we must remind ourselves that the standards exist for a reason and have come about from other people’s failed trials and pushing of boundaries.

What you should do to improve usability:

• Ensure your navigation is clear and consistent across all pages.

• Declare a title for all of your web pages.

The page title is the headline for the webpage in a search results listing – the more specific it is, the more likely it will be clicked-through e.g. our page title for the Blog section is “Giggle Media: Websites and Web Design for Small Businesses | Blog – The Buzz”

• Write the right way for the web. Organise and break your content into proper headings, subheadings, lists and paragraphs. This ensures your content can be easily skimmed.

• Use images where relevant to convey a message but do not over do it.