5 Things

The task of designing a website (or redesigning) can be overwhelming. There are a lot of details to consider, and it’s easy to overlook some of them. Here is a list of things that are easily forgotten in the process.

1. What is the most important thing(s) you need to know about my company or product(s)?

Think about your elevator pitch. What do you say in the minute you have to introduce yourself and your company? This information should be easy to find on the homepage of your website.

2. Can you find information within two clicks?

Studies have shown that if someone searching for information on your website can’t find it by the time they’ve clicked on things twice, they will leave your site. This means that it is now more important than ever that your website is user-friendly and that your navigation is well thought out.

3. How am I going to use this website to promote my company/product?

Most people understand why it’s important to have a website but don’t use the website to its full marketing potential. Are you going to put your website address on your business cards and letterhead? Are you going to update information on a regular basis so people will return to the website? These are important things to think about while designing the site.

4. Is the look of the website consistent with my current promotional materials?

Having a consistent look with your postcards, flyers, letterhead, business cards, brochures, etc. is important to building your brand. The more people see a similarity in the pieces, the easier it will be for them to identify your brand at a later date.

5. How will the success of the website be measured?

This is something that most people skip over when designing a website.  Determining how the success of the website will be measured goes hand-in-hand with number 3. Maybe your goal is to get more people to register for your events online. So you create a plan to promote the events section of your website through social media and email blasts. To measure the success of this plan, your going to monitor the amount of people that visit the events section of your website and compare it to the number of online registrations you have in a month, per event, or week, etc.

[chrysta-hooper]