What is your website doing for you?
A business website can be many things. It can inform customers of operating hours, give advice for an ailment, sell a product or keep clients connected with your team. The possibilities are truly endless in the digital world. The site should be a reflection of your business. In essence, it is the digital representation of the physical business. Next time you are viewing your website, think of these.
What are my customers trying to find?
Imagine you are shopping for a new television. As you look around you notice that there is not a single sign of where to find what you are looking for. How long would you look until you left for another store? Now imagine arriving at a website and there not being any labels or categories to find anything. Incredibly frustrating for your customer and they will probably immediately leave. Planning a physical store and planning a website is no different. Can people find what they are looking for?
Build trust
We will stick with the television scenario. How does the physical store look at first glance? Is it clean? Are the staff more interested in talking among themselves? Has the place had any upkeep since the 1990s? Designs that were popular back when the website was first made might have been all the rage back in the day, but now there is a different aesthetic. All of these build into the trust with the customer. I guarantee you would not buy a television if it was sold in the alley off of a truck without a box and missing a cable. Make the website the absolute best representation of what you offer.
Is the communication interesting?
This one aspect of having a website that owners will overlook. Imagine you are having a conversation with someone that tends to say the same things over and over. Eventually, the conversation will run dry and there is no reason to continue to seek out their advice. Communication with another person is dynamic. There is the thrill of discovery of a new piece of information with every interaction. The website should also be a tool of communication where the content is periodically updated. This does not mean that the entire site needs to be done again. Just start with one item to update to keep the dialog going. Give them a reason to seek you out again.
