A website is the cornerstone to the marketing, branding and communications of your business. It is a vital link between you and your prospects and customers.

That is why it behooves your business to create a website that fuels and not impedes the growth of your business.

Too many entrepreneurs and small business owners sabotage their own marketing goals by taking shortcuts with their websites and by not thinking through the ideal website for their business.

Here are 5 essential features to every web development project:

Have an Objective

The very first thing you should do when planning your website is to define the objective of the website. Ask yourself:

1. What do you want people to do on your website?
2. How will you define and measure success?
3. What will you offer people on yours site? Products? Information? Subscriptions?

Know what factors will drive your visitors to do prior to designing your new website, and the design process should progress more smoothly and more in line with your business needs.

Have a Plan

Just as you start with blueprints when building a new house, you need a plan when creating your new website. Some people go into a site design process by looking at designs, colors, templates and imagery. Although the look and feel of your website is important and should align with your identity, it’s critical to start with your marketing strategy. Consider:

1. Who is the target audience?
2. What are their main problems?
3. How will your website help them solve these problems?
4. If you were your own customer, how would the ideal website be organized and what would it deliver?

Create a Differentiation Strategy

Online, it’s super easy to jump from one website to another. Therefore, expect that your prospective customers will check out the competition. With that in mind, it’s surprising how many people do not think through a well-defined differentiation strategy for their website. Consider:

1. Will your site offer unique, amazing value?
2. Will your site focus on building a unique community?
3. Will your site be clearly unique from your competition?
4. Why should a customer choose you?

Do Not Sacrifice Professionalism

Whether you use a designer, agency or template, look at your site with a critical eye and make absolutely sure that it’s professional in appearance.

Just because your next door neighbor’s kid can program HTML and PHP doesn’t mean that he understands marketing and can create a website that will fuel your growth.

Remember, trying to save a few dollars in the wrong way now may wind up costing you tens of thousands of dollars in revenue down the road.

This is not to say that you necessarily need to spend lots of money on your site design — rather, you just need to ensure that whatever direction you go in results in a website that represents you effectively.

Do Not Go Ga Ga Over Technology

Some people go into a site design process thinking that they “need” a Flash website. Or they “need” the latest feature du jour. The reality is that technology comes and goes. Instead, focus on providing your visitors with real solutions to their real problems. Focus on making:

1. The navigation intuitive.
2. The site easy-to-use.
3. The content of great value.
4. The user experience fulfilling.

Then, apply the appropriate technology to support these aspects of your site.

Is all this just a little too much to take in? Do you need someone who can tell you if you’re on the wrong course? Alphabetix can help with all your web development needs.

Tags: cms, content managment system, keywords, marketing, Web 2.0

This entry was posted on Friday, June 12th, 2009 at 6:12 pm and is filed under cms, design, internet, web design. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.