What’s the purpose of your website? Some might say ‘to sell our product’, others ‘to promote awareness of our brand’, still others ‘to be our online representative of our physical business.’
Each of these answers, although good, miss the mark in my opinion. Personally, I think that the purpose of any website is to interest, and then engage the attention of, its readers.
Yes, providing information is important. Yes, having that information logically organized, easily accessible, and coherent is important. But none of that matters if your visitors click away after only two or three seconds because of the poor choices made in your site design.
Which makes Hint Number One in ‘Successful Website Design’ : Keep your audience in mind!
Source: Uploaded by user via Ashley on Pinterest
It’s amazing how easy it is to forget this. How quickly we fall into the trap of thinking, “It’s *my* site, so I want it to look like this, and this; and show this, and this; and say this, and this.” All of which is fine, planning-wise, but it needs further development before your site goes live.
A little bit like ‘The customer is always right’, the online version should read ‘the needs of your website visitor trumps all’. If you’d like your business to grow, then you need attract new customers first and foremost, and (rating a very close second) keep meeting the needs of your existing customers. Both of these aspects need to be addressed by your website.
1. Attract new customers
Just like I asked you in “Is Your Website Layout Holding You Back?“, think about your own habits when you visit websites. What appeals? What frustrates you? Chances are, your likes and dislikes are fairly indicative of your own website visitors’ opinions. You probably appreciate a clean layout with easy to find navigation, and were annoyed by websites that included pop-ups, or highly animated banner ads in garish colours.
What is also absolutely crucial when you are designing for new customers? Make it obvious who you are, and what it is that you do! Is your business name and industry clear? How about where you’re located? Because if those facts aren’t immediately clear, then you’ve got quite a problem!
2. Meet the needs of existing customers
Existing customers range from those loyal people who have been coming back for ages, through to those who’ve just discovered you exist. Your website needs to clearly cater for the whole spectrum of existing customers. Perhaps you have new product releases? Or you are offering a new service? This information needs to be obvious – right on the homepage if possible – with links to more information for those customers who want to know more. A warning though – be wary of displaying too much information on your homepage, as clutter will turn away both new and existing customers.
So. Think, think, think. Forget about what it is YOU want to see, and step into the shoes of your customers. What do THEY need? How will you meet that need? Once you have the answers to those questions, then it’s time to look at Hint Number Two in Successful Website Design: Clear and Logical Navigation.
