In lots of ways, building a successful website is like baking a cake. If you start off with terrible ingredients then the cake is unlikely to taste great – even if you followed the recipe and method to the letter. A website is only as good as its content and components – and without quality ingredients, your site is unlikely to produce the results you need it to. Here we cover a few key elements that when neglected often cause great websites to fail. These components come together and work in harmony, combining to make your online presence powerful and profitable. In the latest blog from our Beginner’s Guide to the Web series we explore these key elements and explain why each has valuable benefits and important implications for your website.
Quality visual content
Photographs and images help your customers to form a mental and emotional impression of your business before they even step foot through your door. Therefore high quality visual content is incredibly important. Nothing screams ‘unprofessional’ or ‘slapdash’ like low-resolution, fuzzy imagery or amateurish shots of products or business interiors. Make sure you invest in plenty of great photography and graphic design elements (such as logos and branded promotional shots) so that your web design team can incorporate images throughout for maximum effect.
Killer copy
Whether you only have a few lines or ten paragraphs of copy per page, the written content you share with visitors needs to be of the best quality. Most importantly it needs to convey your brand values effectively, whilst providing key information about your company, products or services. Poorly written copy with no sense of direction or appreciation of the tone customers will engage with is a sure-fire way to lose the interest of potential clients.
If words aren’t your strong point, it’s worth getting a professional copywriter to help you transform your business offering into great copy. Alternatively you can write it yourself and have an editor look over it and tweak it in line with your target audience and objectives.
Excellent functionality and a user-friendly interface
User-friendliness and functionality are incredibly important. Even if your website looks amazing, if it doesn’t work very well or is difficult to navigate and operate, your customers are likely to go elsewhere. Users are impatient – they don’t have the time or inclination to learn how to use something or stick it out whilst a page takes minutes to load. Don’t forget that your website also needs to be Google-friendly – achieving the perfect balance between user-friendliness and SEO best practice.
Need your web presence to start making money for your business? Intrigued about marketing your company online? Speak to the experts at Search and More today.
