Why Isn't Your Website Working Well?
Copyright © 2006 elf design, All Rights Reserved
Written by: Erin Ferree
Elf Design
http://www.elf-design.com/
One of the biggest problems that small businesses face is
ineffective websites. A website is often one of the largest
start-up marketing expenses for a small business; unfortunately,
many small businesses never see a return on that investment.
Why do most websites have this problem? The average starter
website typically:
1. Is not well designed. Sometimes websites don't match the rest
of your designed materials or, worse yet, are designed using a
template that looks nothing like any of your other materials.
2. Tries to accomplish too many things on each page.
3. Has little or no information of value to your potential
clients. Most websites are written all about you and your
business – not them and their needs and concerns.
4. Lacks calls to action. You have to give your visitors clear
instructions on what to do and how to proceed.
A small business's website should perform a few basic jobs. It
should:
1. Extend your brand.
2. Answer your prospects' most-asked questions.
3. Help you to grow your prospect or contact list.
4. Convert your prospects into clients.
Your site can easily do all of this and more. To get started,
there are three main elements of the website that you have to
address:
Content
Overall, the content, or text, on your website is the single most
important element of your website. This content gives:
1. Interested prospects a place to learn more about your services
and to get their burning questions answered.
2. Current and past clients a resource for at-their-fingertips
contact information and in-depth information about your
offerings.
3. Internet search engines some content to index. The search
engines read only the text part of your website, not the
graphics. So choose a few keyword phrases, and use those
throughout the text on your site. Hopefully, your keywords will
help your site to rank well!
Design
The design of your website should be consistent with the rest of
your brand identity and marketing materials, so that it can
extend your brand identity into the online forum. Be sure to
include, at the very least:
1. Your Logo: This should tell the story of who you are, what you
do, and what makes you different.
2. Your Visual Vocabulary: This is all of the visual elements, in
addition to your logo, that make up your business's look and
feel. This includes the fonts, color schemes, photography,
shapes, backgrounds, and other elements that you use.
It's important that your Logo and your Visual Vocabulary be used
consistently throughout all of your marketing materials. If your
website looks markedly different from your other materials, then
people who have your printed marketing materials might feel like
they've landed in the wrong place when they call up your
website.
Your site should also have:
1. Appealing information design: Having text content on a site is
key, but your text has to be designed and laid out in such a way
that it's understandable, easily readable, and compelling.
Laying the information in quick bursts, such as bulleted lists,
helps people to read your site quickly. And using headlines,
subheads, and bold text to break up the copy can also keep
visitors interested enough to read all of the text.
2. Consistent navigation design: If your navigation changes from
page to page, it will be difficult for visitors to find their way
around the site – they can't tell where they've already been
easily.
Function
The average small-business website is designed as just an online
brochure. But the ideal website will do something else as well,
such as:
1. Growing your contact list: Collecting the names of the people
who visit your website and are interested in your services is a
great way to create a list of contacts for your follow-up
marketing (such as sending a newsletter).
2. Answering visitors' questions: Including answers to their
most commonly asked questions can help visitors to get instant
gratification from your site. Also, having a contact form can
encourage hesitant buyers to ask the questions that will help
them to overcome their buying doubts and fears.
3. Converting prospects into clients: Using calls to action
throughout the site can help convert prospects into paying
clients, as will giving visitors clear instructions on what to do
next, paired with great benefits to compel them to do so.
If you address all of these main issues, then your website will
be more successful than the average website. Instead of just
being another ineffective marketing tool, your website will
produce results, attract your target customers, and help you to
close more sales. Using calls to action throughout the site can
help convert prospects into paying clients, as will giving
visitors clear instructions on what to do next, paired with great
benefits to compel them to do so.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Erin Ferree, Founder and Lead Designer of elf design, is a
brand identity and marketing design strategist who creates big
visibility for small businesses. Erin helps her clients discover
their brand differentiators, then designs logos, business cards,
and other collateral materials and websites to reflect that
differentiation, as well as to increase credibility and
memorability. To learn more about defining your difference, check
out our eBook, Stand Out, at http://www.stand-out-branding.com .
For more information about elf design, please visit: Logo design
at http://www.elf-design.com
If you don't have a website now, or would like to get your current website into top shape, visit: www.jeremyfive.com/pips.html
Full support!
For complete website-building information from an expert marketer, send a blank e-mail to jeremyfive@getresponse.com (This info is sent via autoresponder--you'll need to confirm your request in a separate e-mail which will be sent to you).
Claim a free gift here: www.jeremyfive.com/optin.html
Written by: Erin Ferree
Elf Design
http://www.elf-design.com/
One of the biggest problems that small businesses face is
ineffective websites. A website is often one of the largest
start-up marketing expenses for a small business; unfortunately,
many small businesses never see a return on that investment.
Why do most websites have this problem? The average starter
website typically:
1. Is not well designed. Sometimes websites don't match the rest
of your designed materials or, worse yet, are designed using a
template that looks nothing like any of your other materials.
2. Tries to accomplish too many things on each page.
3. Has little or no information of value to your potential
clients. Most websites are written all about you and your
business – not them and their needs and concerns.
4. Lacks calls to action. You have to give your visitors clear
instructions on what to do and how to proceed.
A small business's website should perform a few basic jobs. It
should:
1. Extend your brand.
2. Answer your prospects' most-asked questions.
3. Help you to grow your prospect or contact list.
4. Convert your prospects into clients.
Your site can easily do all of this and more. To get started,
there are three main elements of the website that you have to
address:
Content
Overall, the content, or text, on your website is the single most
important element of your website. This content gives:
1. Interested prospects a place to learn more about your services
and to get their burning questions answered.
2. Current and past clients a resource for at-their-fingertips
contact information and in-depth information about your
offerings.
3. Internet search engines some content to index. The search
engines read only the text part of your website, not the
graphics. So choose a few keyword phrases, and use those
throughout the text on your site. Hopefully, your keywords will
help your site to rank well!
Design
The design of your website should be consistent with the rest of
your brand identity and marketing materials, so that it can
extend your brand identity into the online forum. Be sure to
include, at the very least:
1. Your Logo: This should tell the story of who you are, what you
do, and what makes you different.
2. Your Visual Vocabulary: This is all of the visual elements, in
addition to your logo, that make up your business's look and
feel. This includes the fonts, color schemes, photography,
shapes, backgrounds, and other elements that you use.
It's important that your Logo and your Visual Vocabulary be used
consistently throughout all of your marketing materials. If your
website looks markedly different from your other materials, then
people who have your printed marketing materials might feel like
they've landed in the wrong place when they call up your
website.
Your site should also have:
1. Appealing information design: Having text content on a site is
key, but your text has to be designed and laid out in such a way
that it's understandable, easily readable, and compelling.
Laying the information in quick bursts, such as bulleted lists,
helps people to read your site quickly. And using headlines,
subheads, and bold text to break up the copy can also keep
visitors interested enough to read all of the text.
2. Consistent navigation design: If your navigation changes from
page to page, it will be difficult for visitors to find their way
around the site – they can't tell where they've already been
easily.
Function
The average small-business website is designed as just an online
brochure. But the ideal website will do something else as well,
such as:
1. Growing your contact list: Collecting the names of the people
who visit your website and are interested in your services is a
great way to create a list of contacts for your follow-up
marketing (such as sending a newsletter).
2. Answering visitors' questions: Including answers to their
most commonly asked questions can help visitors to get instant
gratification from your site. Also, having a contact form can
encourage hesitant buyers to ask the questions that will help
them to overcome their buying doubts and fears.
3. Converting prospects into clients: Using calls to action
throughout the site can help convert prospects into paying
clients, as will giving visitors clear instructions on what to do
next, paired with great benefits to compel them to do so.
If you address all of these main issues, then your website will
be more successful than the average website. Instead of just
being another ineffective marketing tool, your website will
produce results, attract your target customers, and help you to
close more sales. Using calls to action throughout the site can
help convert prospects into paying clients, as will giving
visitors clear instructions on what to do next, paired with great
benefits to compel them to do so.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Erin Ferree, Founder and Lead Designer of elf design, is a
brand identity and marketing design strategist who creates big
visibility for small businesses. Erin helps her clients discover
their brand differentiators, then designs logos, business cards,
and other collateral materials and websites to reflect that
differentiation, as well as to increase credibility and
memorability. To learn more about defining your difference, check
out our eBook, Stand Out, at http://www.stand-out-branding.com .
For more information about elf design, please visit: Logo design
at http://www.elf-design.com
If you don't have a website now, or would like to get your current website into top shape, visit: www.jeremyfive.com/pips.html
Full support!
For complete website-building information from an expert marketer, send a blank e-mail to jeremyfive@getresponse.com (This info is sent via autoresponder--you'll need to confirm your request in a separate e-mail which will be sent to you).
Claim a free gift here: www.jeremyfive.com/optin.html
posted by Jeremy @ 3:33 PM
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