There are only two purposes of a business website. Don’t let anyone convince you otherwise. Firstly, a website serves as an online space to provide general information about your company. Secondly, it serves as a platform for e-commerce. First & foremost, you need to know whether you need one or both services. The process of building or revising a website starts with this consideration. Once you know what you need, the rest falls into place. It becomes a process of following the important website construction fundamentals & principles. Most importantly, it requires an understanding of these fundamentals & principles.
A great website is more than a static homepage. You want to create multiple pages dedicated to different aspects of your business. You may include a detailed catalogue of your products or services. A regular blog section keeps you relevant and provides for company updates. As for your overall website, make sure each page supports the site’s primary goal. Each page must have a clear purpose and a subtle or direct call to action. A contact page, as your customers’ direct link to you, is one of the most important sections of a website. It must include as much information about your company as it can. The minimum info should be your business’s phone number, email address and physical location (if you have one). Basically, you must see your website as an online marketing tool.
“For many billion-dollar businesses, a website is their only source of business. Think Google, Amazon & Uber! If your website is done right, it can become a major part of yours too.
The Marketing Guru
There’s a blueprint, with foundation, bricks & mortar too
It may sound like a cliché, but it does all start with a plan. You can consider website construction just like any other construction project. You need a blueprint showing you what it will look like and specs to ensure you get what you want. At the same time, think about your mobile strategy too. You should have an idea of the percentage of your visitors that are likely to use mobile devices to access your site. If you think it’s high, you may want to build a separate mobile version of your site. Perhaps even an app! If it’s relatively low, just make sure your website works properly on smart phones.
There are three aspects to building a website:
Design = Foundation
Firstly our design team considers what your website will look like. We create an eye-pleasing impact around your logo, identity and/or tagline. Developing a colour palette is developed around your brand / logo is usually our starting point. The brand identity and message influences the fonts and images we select. The design team also lay out the pages to create a smooth and seamless user experience. This includes menu styles & layouts, button & form locations and text & image positions. We ‘wire-frame’ your pages to ensure that the information flow is both logical and seamless. For us, your website must look like a professional, online profile & catalogue for your business.
Copy Content = Bricks
Secondly, we build web copy content that says exactly who you are and what you are. A lot of research goes into content and brand presentation, target markets and online user behaviour & expectations. Trend analyses (medium & long-term) also contributes to the content creation process. Further, product, service & market research is also done with similar businesses in your sector. We then draft the various pieces that make up the pages of your site. Text readability scores and SEO rating both then together round up the copy creation process. All of this finally come together in the words that you & (more importantly) your customers see on your website.
Development = Mortar
Finally, the development team pieces it all together. This is the team that works with the 1s & 0s. The code is written up for each page, as well as for linking the pages together. They also write the code for buttons, banners, calls-to-action etc. Bot development for help functions and lead generation is also incorporated where required. These are the smart guys who sit in the corner, closes to the kitchen, wearing ear buds and bopping their heads all day. In all honesty, we really don’t know what web developers really do. But at Creative Sanctum, they make magic happen, creating almost anything the designers dream up.
You do you…
You need to ask yourself, “Who do I trust with presenting my brand to the world?” There’s a huge number of web designers out there. Many will tell you that they’re experts in website construction as well! There’s also dozens of great free web building & publishing tools too. With all that said, here’s a number of things that you need to think about:
- Don’t skimp or DIY: We’re a web design firm, so of course we’re going to say this. But seriously, your website is often where your customers first experience your brand. If it looks or sounds amateur and homemade, they’re going to make assumptions about your business that you want to avoid. Work with experienced web professionals who will create the business image that you want.
- Have a plan: Your website is part of an investment in your company’s online space. Build your social media platforms around your website. Let them work together, with a medium to long term plan to achieve your online marketing objective and business goals. Lose the “if you build it, they will come” thinking. Simply putting up your site will not result in any visitors. Work with a team that can make all of this happen.
- Add a blog. Well-written blogs show your expertise and knowledge of your field. It also maintains your relevance in your market sector. Furthermore, regular, relevant blog posts boost your SEO & online presence. A website with an outdated blog can create the perception that your company is really small or even out of business. Work with a team that’s not afraid to show you their own blog scores.
…we do website construction
Trust the web design team at Creative Sanctum. Truth be told, we see the worst end results with customers who come in with a “I know what I want, just do what I tell you” attitude. You hire experts because they know more than you, right? Let us do what we do best and it’s more likely not just to meet, but more often exceed your expectations too.
[Disclaimer: The Creative Sanctum copy & marketing teams vehemently objected to the last paragraph. After all, isn’t the customer is always right?]