How to Bring Your Website’s Design Into 2014

So, you want to update your website? Perhaps your old site was thrown together quickly. Perhaps it isn’t serving your needs very well. It’s also possible that what was once a well-designed website is now tired and out-of-date.

No matter the reason driving you to create or redesign a website, the outcome should reflect the demands of today’s consumers—and ultimately meet your company’s needs.

Website design 101

These are some of the steps your business should follow during the design phase:

• Consider its purpose. The design of your website must serve the right purpose: your marketing goals. So, the first step in designing a website involves brainstorming and developing marketing goals. Then, you can work backwards, so to speak, designing the website around the consumers you want to target, and the actions you want them to take. Then, you can begin selecting the tools, like landing pages and calls to action, to support your marketing goals.
• Hire someone with the expertise to get the job done right. At Spire we say “everybody has a nephew who designs websites,” but in most cases, it’s best to work with a reputable expert who’s well-versed in new design technologies and effective marketing strategies. A well-designed website will serve your business well and have the potential to deliver a high ROI.
• Track the right stuff. You should track the right data on your website to fuel analytics. This is where an expert proves particularly useful. Small businesses often don’t have the resources or expertise to know what they should track. A design and marketing expert can identify data like unique visits or visits, new or returning users, and time spent on page that will serve your business and niche.
• Use SEO to your advantage. Website pages should optimize content to enhance search traffic. Work with your marketing expert to develop a keyword phrase strategy that weaves landing pages, blog post and social media together under the right “umbrella” of search terms to attract new customers. If, for some reason, you need to change the URL address for your website, make sure the old URL address redirects users to the new website.
• Don’t forget mobile. With more consumers using mobile devices, at the very least, you should include a mobile presence as part of your strategy. You also have the option to develop a fully responsive website, which maintains brand integrity and website features regardless of the device used to access it. However, the latter costs more to design, and may be more than your business needs right now.

The final steps

A successful website design doesn’t stop once the design phase is completed. Other components of a website redesign include a strategic plan for its launch. Incorporating social media tools on the site enhance its reach, and measurement tools help your business analyze data to gauge its performance.

Don’t invest in a website design only to have website-envy as you compare the end product to your competitors who’ve invested in high-quality design services. Do it right the first time, and invest business resources wisely.