Our House – Our Castle & Our Keep

Your website is your business’s online home. Be visible. Be loud.

And, as the song from the 80’s band Madness, sang about the house in the middle of their street – they said, “Our house it has a crowd, there is always something happening and it’s usually quite loud.”

In terms of your website, your website is your online business’s home. It should be visible, always be kept updated and be loud if needed to draw a crowd.

In business today, it is extremely important to have a website.

Not having one is detrimental to your business, even if you have well designed printed materials or feel you do not generate your business from online sales.

In today’s world, a website validates to a potential customer that your brand is worthy of their business, and is not a hobby.

Your website must be visually appealing to your ideal client, giving them enough information about your business and your products and services to take action. With website viewers looking to find more about your company on their smart phones and tablets, it is also essential to have a website that is responsive, meaning it is designed to properly be viewed on all screens and types of devices.

A website validates to a potential customer that your brand is a real business

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Below are tips to creating the perfect website for your brand…

1. Choose The Right Tool For The Job
Do you want to blog? Do you want to sell things? Do you want to show videos? First you must determine what type of website should be designed to fit your brand’s needs. Blogging isn’t for every business, and updating your own website may not be for you. These are elements you will want to think about to create the best website for your needs.

2. Have A Client Attracting Home Page
Your website’s home page is typically the first page that a potential customer will land on when searching for your online or typing in your website’s address. Viewers have short attention spans these days and they are getting shorter every day. When a potential customer lands on your home page, be sure your website is clean and uncluttered. Remember that a confused mind says no. A clean, uncluttered look says to your viewers, welcome, come on in, let’s get to know each other.

3. Think In The Rule Of 3’s
With today’s viewers shorter attention span, you need to grab their attention fast. With this in mind, think in the rule of three.

• Within 3 seconds your viewers should know, Who You Are, What You Do and How You Can Help Them, … and not to click away.
• You have 30 seconds to convey your message. This is through visuals as well as a quick headline.
• You have 3 minutes to provide enough information to the viewer, your potential customer, to make a buying decision.

4. Easy Navigation
Provide consistent easy to use navigation on every web page. Don’t let the viewers guess where to click. Don’t leave your navigation off of a landing page – the viewer may want to see what other product or service they might like to buy. Hidden navigation shows to a potential customer – this is all we offer; if you don’t want to buy this from me, move onto my competitor.

5. Include An Irresistible Headline
When marketing your products or services, include a irresistible ET Headline. What is an ET Headline? It is a headline the reaches through the screen and touches your ideal client/target market’s pain point. It is the one that has the viewer saying “Hey, that’s me. You are my solution.”

6. Speak Directly
The text on your page, especially your sales page, should speak directly to the viewer as if you were having a conversation with them. If the viewer doesn’t feel that you are talking to them, they are likely to click away.

7. Include A Video
Videos are a wonderful way for a potential client to meet you before they pick up a phone to call. They are a more personal way of interacting with the viewer by telling them who you are. Video on your web page has an added benefit in Search Rankings by giving your site an added boost on the list from a competitor who may not have one. If including a video, be sure to keep it short and sweet. The maximum size the video should be is 3 minutes with the optimum length around 2 minutes.

Final Thoughts

Your web site is your company’s house, in the middle of your street. It often offers the greatest opportunity to give your company’s brand the differentiator it needs to help your ideal customer choose you and your company over the competition. Make sure that your customer’s experience on your web site convinces them that you and your company are the most credible and best fit to solve their problems and help them to succeed.