Web Design – What’s A Website For

Web Design seems like such a basic concept right? Just design a website that looks good and tells what your company is about. Or if you have product to sell then include some pages for that. What more could there be? I mean if the site looks great then people will come to your site and buy from you. Or is there more to website design?

Think of your website like you would the retail location of your business. No matter what you sell, your business location needs to reflect your company image. People should get of feel of what to expect when doing business with you from the atmosphere of your place of business. Just like a website. But we all know that there if far more taken into consideration when planning an office or store, and so it should be when designing a website.

Location, location, location. We all know what a vital role location plays in your physical place of business, but how does it come into play with your website? Think of it this way: 86% of all buying decisions are Googled as part of the decision. Regardless of how they have found out about you, they will Google you before they decide to buy from you. This becomes your first impression, just like someone pulling into your parking lot. I am not talking about clicking on your site yet, I am talking about the actual search results. People will form an opinion of your business first from your Google positioning. They may or may not actually click on your website.

Current stats show that 1^st position on Google has a click-through rate of 40%. 2^nd position drops to 20%, 3^rd to 10 % and 10^th position is also 10%. The rest of the page gets 2%. Anyone that drinks milk knows that whole milk tastes better than 2%. I suggest that your first impression should be not just one position but several. Think website, video, press release, Pay Per Click, Social Media and blog posts. Odds are that they may not click on anything, but if they do they will only click on your stuff. Why is this so? Because you are not just on the page, but you are seen as the expert in the field. That makes it really easy to finalize that buying decision, but it has very little to do with what your website looks like.

So what role does website design have in this picture? Well, more of a behind the scenes role. Google want to show what is popular, and you need a website that can serve as the foundation for all of your online activity. I find that WordPress provides the best framework for this. Easy to build, easy to update, but most importantly WordPress is easy to use for providing a constant stream of online content.

Stepping on my soapbox for a minute, I have a real problem with Web Design firms that build small business websites in HTML. I get that from a design standpoint it is the easiest way to go, but with an HTML website you hold the business hostage for ongoing online success. Website maintenance is so simple these days that it should be the business owner’s choice as to whether or not they want to pay for regular updates. WordPress provides that solution. If you focus on helping other people succeed, you will succeed in the process. You don’t need to force your success on your clients.

Ok, now that I have stepped on some toes, let’s wrap this up. Bottom line, you should still design a great looking website. All I am saying is that you should first focus on designing a website that is easy to update on an ongoing basis. Second, make sure that you have an ongoing Website Marketing plan in place. Then you can think about what your site will look like. Does it matter how nice your Website looks if no one ever sees it?

I should also say, that there are other content management systems besides WordPress. Your choice should be based on what YOU are comfortable with. Try poking around under the hood of a few website. Find out what system is easiest for you, then you can design for success!