Newsletter Archive > What Makes a Business Website Successful?

Congratulations! You have decided that this is the year you will get your business online with a new website. Here are some tips to help you develop a successful website for your business.

Defining Your Website Goals - Draw a Clear Picture

If you are investing time and money into building your website, you are going to expect a return on investment. Before doing anything else define what your goals are for your website. What do you want your visitors to do? (Call you? Email you? Fill out a form?) How will you get them to do it? Draw a clear picture.

Website Structure – Where am I going? Where have I been?

One of the first things to do is organize your content. How many pages are going to make up your website? What information will be found on those pages? Is the information logically organized? Will your visitors be able to find their way through your website and then find their way back? Thinking through these questions and providing visitors with well organized content will help turn your website traffic into customers.

Home Page – Make a Good Impression on Your First Date

Of all the pages on your site, your home page is one of the most important because it needs to accomplish three things. It should establish who you are, what you do, and how you can help others with the services you provide. A well designed home page should entice people to learn more about your business by clicking through to the rest of your website. Keep the copy on your home page short and sweet so your visitors don’t have to scroll for important information.

Value Proposition – Why Me? This is why!

One of the first things to include on each page is your value proposition. What is the single most important thing you are offering to your customers? Your value proposition lets your visitors know why they should use your services instead of your competition.

Writing Copy for the Web – Short Attention Span Theatre

Writing copy for the web is very different than writing for print. When was the last time you read an eight page article online? Probably...never. Most people do not read the majority of copy on websites. Instead, they skim the content for the information they came looking for. Put all of the important details in your first paragraph then include the other information in the following paragraphs. Use bold titles to organize your paragraphs so that your visitors can quickly jump to the information they came looking for.

Legibility – Don’t Make Their Eyes Bleed

The majority of the copy on your website should be no smaller than the standard 12pt size. If visitors have clicked past your home page, they are trying to find out more about you. Make is as easy as possible for them to learn about you and your business.

Links should be a consistent color as should your copy. Don't use nonsensical, crazy-clown color schemes because it gives your website the appearance of being home-made.

Fast Loading Pages = Instant Gratification

The quicker people can find information on your website, the better. Avoid using graphics that take forever to download, especially if they are only for esthetic reasons. If you must use large graphics, make sure they are optimized for the web and have proper ALT tags to identify them as they download.

Give People Breathing Room – Learn to Love the White Space

White space is a good thing! It lets the visitor focus on the content. Filling up every single bit of space on the page not only makes it look cluttered, it can distract the reader and make them feel overwhelmed.

The Professional Kiss of Death – What to Avoid

Pop Up Windows – Pop up windows are rarely a good way to present  information, especially important details like your contact phone number, address or email. Most internet browsers block pop up windows as do most internet security programs.

Needless Animated Graphics - Yes, some people use animated graphics of mailboxes to entice their visitors to email them. Aside from being an outdated practice, animated graphics and blinking icons act as nothing more than a visual distraction to your visitor.

Visible Stat Counters – Another outdated practice which provides no real, useful information to your website’s visitors.

Playing Music – Nothing makes people run screaming from a website faster than playing “mood” music. Unless you are in the music business, it is best not to have music automatically play on your site. If done correctly, your content, design, and overall user experience should set the mood, not the music.

Flash Intros – Avoid using a Flash intro on your home page. Aside from it being an unnecessary barrier between your visitors and your website, search engines can’t index it and will move on.