In the past a business’ shop front or office building was the face of the organization. For this reason businesses made a significant investment to ensure that their premises reflected their success and status. Through architecture, interior design and decorating, premises were transformed from dull to sophisticated. In the age of web 2.0 this attitude has not changed. The only thing that has changed is the ‘shop front’ and there is still no room for compromise.
With scores of consumers shopping online for goods and services in many instances your customers may never set foot on your premises and instead opt for an online experience. Therefore a company’s website has become the face of the organization and it must reflect every facet of your business in the best possible way. It is imperative that your website is professionally done and accurately communicates your organization’s personality.
There are five elements that make a professional website, these include: an original, quality design with professional content; optimization for search engines; the latest functionality; and finally keeping the website regularly updated and current.
1. The first step is the design. A professional website designer and developer will ensure the following:
Space - A well-spaced website looks clean, organized and is easy on the eye. Cramming too much information onto your site looks untidy and makes it more difficult to read.
Pixel Perfect Detail – Borders, lines and edges with added detail create areas of emphasis. Attention to detail is the difference between a commonplace, boring site and one that is striking.
Font Usage – Well thought out fonts not only look better, they make copy easier to read and differentiated. Your choice of font should reflect the theme and the design of the site. This combined with space can make the difference between an average design and one that is eye-catching.
Layout – The layout of your site should reflect the purpose of the site, prioritizing information according to the needs of visitors. Make less important information simple and place emphasis on the important stuff.
Less is more – Subtle effects create a bigger impact than you think and make the site look more professional. Very busy sites can overload the senses, making it difficult for the visitor to make sense of the information available.
Colour – Colours should be chosen according to your brand and the purpose of the site so that it sets the right mood. A variety of colours or a variety of shades of similar colours can look professional while making your site look interesting.
Something unique – By adding something unique you will not only impress your visitors, you will make an impression and will ensure that your site sticks in their mind.
2. The next step is the content. It is of the utmost importance that content is professional, carefully planned and relevant to your site. Content must be concise, scan able and objective. Remember that most people don’t read websites, they scan them.
To ensure a well-visited and well-used site it is imperative that content is not only informative and interesting but easy to read. To make your site more reader-friendly:
• The information must be well laid out, easy to find and easy to read.
• Use meaningful sub-headings.
• Summarise points with bulleted lists rather than long paragraphs.
• Less is more – Make your point in the most concise way using the fewest possible words.
The use and repetition of key words is imperative. You must write to be found. Browsers search using familiar words so use words that you know will be used on search engines. Commonplace, short words are best. Avoid jargon that might be unknown or unfamiliar to the user, for example use the word blind rather than visually challenged. This increases the likelihood of your site being found.
3. This brings us to Search Engine Optimization or SEO. SEO is defined by Wikipedia as the process of improving the volume and quality of traffic to a website from search engines via "natural" ("organic" or "algorithmic") search results. Based on the fact that the earlier your site appears on the list the more hits it will generate. You need to repeat keywords and phrases so that search engine’s robots detect the high relevance of your site. Many people don’t realise that in order for a website to be completely optimized for search engines, you have to make special adaptations to the coding. The art of SEO is in the combination of coding and keyword content.
4. Visitors are also impressed by functionality. It is the nature of the modern consumer to seek something novel and innovative. Companies are constantly striving to get ahead of competitors by offering the ultimate product. What better way to communicate the idea that your organization is dynamic and is the most advanced than to create this impression through your website. The Chillies website design & development team constantly monitors website trends to ensure that our clients have the most advanced website functionality making our sites some of the best and most advanced sites on the web.
5. Lastly, a good website is always kept up-to-date and carries the latest information about the company and its products. A site that is left to slip backwards with old news creates the perception that the company is not serious about their business. Visitors must feel that they have arrived at a dynamic and sophisticated site and therefore the services or products the company offers must be of the same high standard. If you don't have the time or manpower to do this then employee the services of a webmaster who will do this for you - it makes all the difference.
Everybody has a website but not all companies have an exceptional website. An exceptional site will set you apart from your competitors.
By Melissa Combrinck - Daheim Communications |