If you’re getting ready to create your first website or refresh the web design for the one you have, here are some steps to think through and some concrete actions you can take.
#1 Goals
When it comes to creating or refreshing your business’ web design, your goals are a great starting point. What do you want to achieve in your small business or consultancy over the next 12 months to three years?
- Do you want to sell more?
- Gain credibility and authority in your industry or local area?
- Do you want to work fewer hours?
- Serve different customers to the ones you already have?
- Expand or reduce your line of products or services?
Answer this central question and that’s the first step taken.
Top tip: Try to choose the best answer, rather than all of the above. At a push, choose two. It’ll help you get clear about the future of your small business or consultancy.
#2 Your customer
Your customers are the reason you are in business. They love your product or service, think they’re getting great value for their money and tell all their friends and network about you. Who are they? Get clear about who you serve:
- what pain or challenge your product or service solves for them
- what other challenges they face
- where they spend their time and money
- what makes them happy
It’s the person who buys from you but it’s also someone who doesn’t know about you yet. When creating your web design, build it for them.
Top tip: Name them. Make them a real person. Visualise them visiting your website. What would they say about your business?
#3 Your unique selling point (USP)
It’s often a challenge to understand what’s truly unique about your business. Other people do what you do. If you’re lucky they do it far away from you or for a different customer.
Perhaps you can identify unique features of your product or service. Or even better, the unique benefits. But what about your business overall? Why should someone choose you?
To get closer to the answer, imagine your best customer, the one who raves about you to their network or friends. What three or four words or phrases do you want them to use to describe you and your service?
Top tip: Once you’ve decided on your words, make it visual. Display them where you’ll see them. Are you living them every day? How can you be more of that?
#4 Photography
Photography creates an immediate and visceral reaction in people, so getting your photography right is key for any website project.
Think about your customer and your USP. If you’re a service business, your expertise and your approach to your business should come across. If you’re a product business, your products should look their very best.
This can be done with:
- professional brand or product photography
- your own photos
- stock photography
- or a combination of these
Choosing your approach is a question of balancing cost, time and quality to achieve the best result overall.
Top tip: While getting photos done professionally might seem like an extra cost, it can save you time and effort, while really selling your business for you.
#5 A logo
A logo is a fantastic way to help people recognise and remember your business. Have a logo? Great!
If your business doesn’t have one or needs a refresh, are you ready to have one made? We always advise to have it done by a professional graphic designer. This is always a big step but with the right provider it can be an exciting and positive process.
If you aren’t ready yet, not to worry. In place of a logo, some of our clients have opted for ‘their name in a nice font’. It could be your business name or your own name, as appropriate, to feature on your website instead of a logo.
#6 Content
Mapping the content for a website can feel daunting but can best be done by answering the following question:
‘What do I need my site visitor to know so they’ll happily buy from me?’
They’ll want to know
- what you sell
- how it’ll change their lives
- why they should buy from you over others
- they’ll also want details like the price, but this is much less important if you’ve done a good job with the first three
If you can answer these, you have your content covered.
Top tip: Don’t put all your services on your website, unless you only have one. Where do you want to spend your time and energy? Where’s your biggest profit margin? What do you really need people to know? Start with one of these.
Getting your ducks in a row? Let’s have an informal chat.
We love helping people get organised as they prepare to launch their next website. Having those early conversations ensures clients end up with a site that fits their business and their goals.
We offer a no-commitment chat to share our ideas, ask questions and generally get you started on a plan for your website. If you’re thinking about a new or refreshed site for your small business or consultancy, please don’t hesitate to book in for a chat.