Secrets of a successful website. It's not what you think!

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Learn how to make your website 'do the talking' for you.

Most people start their website journey by surfing the net and finding things they like the look of. They then ask around and do some more research to find out who should build their site or perhaps whether to build it themselves. But the real secret behind a successful website is not how it looks, or who builds it for you. It's not even anything to do with you.

Well it is, and it isn’t. Let me explain.

First and foremost, an effective website is one which can convey clearly and instantly, how it solves your prospective client's problem.

The Fundamentals

There are many elements which need to be considered for an effective website which will not be the focus of this report.

These include -

a professional design correct structure and navigation fast loading pages well written code optimised for search engines optimised for all devices (mobile, tablet etc).

You may wonder what is web accessibility and how to write privacy policies. There are many more.

The reason I’m not focusing on these elements here is that they should be taken care of by your web professional.

Make sure that they are.

SO WHERE TO START?

The place you need to start is with the things that only you can know. It is these things which are are critical to the success of your website. There are three main things you need to be clear about and these are key to everything else.

ONE. WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF YOUR WEBSITE?

Here are some examples -

lead generation - capturing new prospective client leads direct sales selling products, your services or events online establishing you as an authority and leader in your field an online brochure - when you don’t need more leads, but still need to prove you exist, show people where to find you etc provide after sales support, service (eg. membership site) and ongoing client engagement.

When you discuss your goals with your web professional, they may also recommend other possibilities which you may not have even thought of! Be open to that as well (you can't know, what you don't know).

TWO. WHO IS YOUR CLIENT/ CUSTOMER?

When the message on your website is for ‘everyone’, no one will relate to it.

Think about it.

In face to face situations when you talk to someone, you adapt the language you use, and what you say, to the person are talking to. You need to do exactly the same online. Only more so. At least in a face to face conversation you have a chance to recover and try again if you see people not relating to what you are saying. Online, they just click away from your site and you will never see them again.

You may not just have just the one customer type, you may have many - but you need to be clear about who those customer segments are, and how they find what they are looking for on your website - fast.

LET ME GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE

I recently ran a workshop on planning a website and went through this exact exercise with participants. One business owner was selling cosmetics and skin care products. I asked her who her customers were, and she answered ‘every woman aged 18-80’.

Now it took some time for her to understand that a ‘skin care’ message to an 18 year old will be very different to a conversation about skin care to someone in their 80’s. This may seem obvious to you, but in a way we often have a blind spot when it comes to our own products and customers.

Your message needs to connect. Fast. Attention span is not what it used to be.

The second major factor in how to successfully present your message is your ability to show the benefits of your product/service as opposed to its 'features'. As the business owner, we get so wrapped up in the how and why we do things, or the fabulous features of our products, that we forget that the client is only interested in what benefit/result they get. Here is another example from the same training session.

Someone had just started a 3D printing business. She spent quite some time explaining to us how good her product was. Good quality, affordable consumables for a state of the art 3D printer.

We all listened intently, but still didn’t really get it. 3D is a relatively new technology and very impressive at that, but pretty much everyone in the room didn’t understand how it related to them. It was when someone asked whether a 3D printer would be able to print designer Italian shoes, when every woman in the room started paying attention. That is what you need to convey to your prospects.

Your benefit statement is your online version of the ’30 second elevator pitch’.

THREE. YOU WILL NEED A CALL TO ACTION (CTA)

Have you ever been to a website, really engaged with it, found it interesting and then gone off never to return again? This is what you need to avoid happening to you.

Your website visitor needs to know exactly what you want them to do next. “Download your 5 steps to weight loss here” “Start your fitness journey here” “Call us now for a free quote”

CORNY?

It works.

Do. What. Works.

There is a book on web design simply called ‘Don’t Make Me Think’, and this is its core message. Make it clear what your visitor needs to do next in order to get the benefit of your promise.

The best way to do this is by offering of something of value. What could this ‘something of value’ be? It could be a resource, a sample, a checklist, a template …

Your call to action itself could be :

to phone you to sign up to receive a white paper on something relevant to them to download a checklist which will help them do something without having to think to sign up for a free ‘how to’ mini course on a topic interest

Your imagination is the limit.

Whenever possible your call to action should capture your prospect's details. This can be a fine balance, as people get tired of entering email addresses, so this needs to be thought out and implemented carefully.

Now if this all sounds a little daunting, don't worry grasshopper.

My next resource for you is a worksheet to help you work through these three points. It can be used as a starting point for a conversation with your website professional, or as a help if you are building your own site.

A truly successful website utilises a wide range of expertise and skills.

Planning, design, photography and other media, copywriting, and client enquiry / lead capture and workflow automation. All of this needs to be planned before a build even starts. But it's worth the time investment. For every hour you spend planning, you save 8 in development, so don't skip this part.

SO WHAT'S NEXT?

Email ursh@onlineiq.biz to receive a worksheet which walks you through the three areas discussed above.