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Often when a business or individual is ready to have a new or updated website designed the first and often times only thought is geared toward the look of the website. Although the look and feel are crucially important considering most web visitors do not spend more than a couple of seconds on a web page, having pre-determined goals and objectives fused throughout your website design will surely maximize your potential to get noticed in the search engine results, keep your site visitors interested and ultimately increase your overall R.O.I.

The following are some practical goals that can be implemented into your website design. These tips can be useful if you are the webmaster of a website or to better equip you in asking your web designer the right questions to ensure a successful site for your business or project.

PURPOSE

The first thing to consider about your website is the overall purpose of your website existing on the internet. Does your website serve a purpose? Do you have a new product or service that you want to expose? Is your website geared toward providing relevant information only? Do you know who your target customers or audience is? 

These are just some of the things that should be running through your mind before you even begin the design process. If you don’t know the direction and purpose of your site, guess what? Your designer and web visitor will not know either!

FUNCTIONALITY

Sometimes you’ll come across a website that has an awesome design and really catches your eye, but when it comes to finding what you were originally looking for you simply cannot find it. Designing a website to be user-friendly should be at the very top of your website checklist. Whether you set goals for your website or not could be the very thing that keeps or detracts someone from doing business with you.

Your website should provide a simple navigation experience so that each visitor never gets lost, stays interested and ultimately finds what they want. This also means creating your page structure in a way that will prevent customers from getting lost within your site, get frustrated and end up leaving.

PERCEPTION

Wisdom doesn't come from only seeing through your own eyes, but by having the ability to see through the eyes of many. Why would anyone be interested in your website if it only looks good to you? Having a successful website means you have taken the time to put yourself in the shoes of the people you desire to reach. If you can imagine ahead of time how you would want people to view or think of your company and then incorporate that particular image, style and information into your website will significantly increase your C.T.R (Click-Through-Ratio). 

BUDGET

Nothing in life is absolutely free we all know that however you don’t have to spend a fortune to have a quality website with a clean and professional design. You should know ahead of time that there are some up front and recurring fees that you should prepare for i.e. Domain name which is less than $10 per year and Web Hosting is a few dollars per month. Next is the design and maintenance of your site which can be super expensive similar to how certain household name brands will over charge because they can, or you can search and find the good web designers out there who can produce high quality web design options without all the hefty fees.

C.T.A - Call to Action

The last element you should focus on after putting yourself in your customers shoes is to direct them into clicking, responding, calling or making a purchase to you. This is done by implementing effective Call to Actions in the right places throughout your website. Believe it or not your customers want you or will unconsciously expect you to tell them what actions to take, so why not lead your visitors into performing the actions that best coincide with your goals?

Open 365 24/7

It’s always available. A website is a 24/7, 365 days a year storefront; and it’s accessible from anywhere in the world. That means you are free to take off for vacation while your business is still running smoothly.

Flexibility

Having a website for your business keeps your audience informed. You can update your customers in real-time, announce new products, services and sales. You can add fresh content, a new video, product or service the same day it becomes available.

Builds Brand Awareness

By using the power of the internet to market your company, you can reach more people more often. A website is the perfect place for you to showcase a new product line and increase people’s awareness of your company.

Increase your Sales and Profit Margins

By increasing your reach and your customer base, a website can also increase your sales and profit margins. The bloodline of all businesses alike is the ability to produce new and repeat customers, having a well-designed website will better position you to be on the receiving end with your mitt in hand ready to catch.

Get Found in the Search Engines

There is a good possibility that you found this website through a search engine such as Google or Bing. Between 80-95 percent of all website traffic usually comes from search engines. Your website will be optimized to target visitors who are actively looking for you, your product, your service, and your information. A website is an extremely cost effective way to advertise to those who are already interested in what your business has to offer.

Target each Visitor Specifically

Providing effective solutions for your customer’s needs can be met with an effective website design. With proper targeting, you have their attention because they are already interested. By strategically planning your website, you can customize each area for a specific type of visitor who can benefit from it.