How do you define website success? Are you a numbers person who views website success in terms of monthly website traffic statistics and increased calls to your business? Are you focused on concrete ROI figures, declaring your website successful only when verifiable income from your site can be established? Or do you take stock in less tangible measures when pronouncing your website successful, such as brand marketing and product differentiation? Most people are a mix of all of the above.
“Okay, got it?” Your website success hinges on how you define success. So, what are some guidelines for making your website successful? What benchmarks can you use to evaluate website success and improve your website results?
3 Key Components For Website Success
Website Content
Ask yourself, who visits my website and why? A lot of small businesses claim to be customer-centric, but in reality, haven’t the slightest clue how this translates to the web. To get more from your website, focus on the needs of your visitors — not what you think they should know about your products and services.
Website Traffic
Without putting an ear to the ground, you can’t possibly know where you stand. Tracking your site’s traffic is a vital component of website success — and traffic is the only way to identify what you’re doing right and where you’re failing. A review of your website stats will paint a clear picture on what needs to be fine-tuned to improve the functionality, keywords, search engine ranking and effectiveness of your site. Start by creating a benchmark of website traffic, so that future updates can accurately gauge website success, identify problem areas and trends.
Website Design And Layout
Is the design and layout of your website successful? You know the old saying, “it’s not what you say, but how you say it.” The same rings true for making a website successful. With only a precious few seconds to cement a positive first impression, the visual design of your website makes a bold statement about your business so you need to cover website basics when starting a website.
If you’re currently using a cheap template, a poorly constructed monstrosity from Microsoft FrontPage, or a site cobbled together by your neighbor’s 12 year old child — it’s time to grow up. These inferior stand-ins are no longer acceptable and will severely damage your image, professionalism, and credibility.
Beyond the visual design of your website, the structural design is central to your website success. You’ll want to review how content is structured. Is it logical? Does it move the prospect one step closer in the five stages of the consumer buying process? Is your website in line with how your visitors are actually using your website? Is site navigation simple to use? Each of these tips will go a long way towards making your website successful.
Is My Website Successful?
While there’s no clear cut answer for how you define website success, the above three criteria are a good starting block for making your website successful. Keep in mind that everyone views website success differently. A professional services company may view their website as a means to educate their target audience with a soft sell.
While a small business selling unique products may choose to focus on a very small niche market. And yet, another services business may focus on other benefits of a website and gear their website towards eliminating expenses related to client communications, document management and collaboration. All of which will color how and what makes your website successful.
Is anybody out there? Give us a sign! Leave us a comment or question about how to create a successful small business website. We’d be more than happy to respond, provide further insight or start a discussion. Thank you for reading and don’t be a stranger!
If you liked this article, you may also like:
{ 1 trackback }