How To Develop A Great Web Site

Do:

Create clear & concise goals. And make sure they’re measurable. Here are some excellent ones: increase conversion rates, increase sales, generate more leads, reduce overhead, and improve brand awareness.
Place your phone number at the top in large numbers. 30% or more of web visits are for your phone number, make it easy to find.

Think about your mobile strategy simultaneously. Every day the percentage of your visitors that are likely to use mobile devices to access your site grows. Plan on building a separate mobile version of your site, or even an app.

Develop your content. Providing content, images, videos and product descriptions is a major hurdle in the Web development process. Gather as much of your content together before you start building your site—it will save you lots of time.

Write with key words in mind. Think about what words your potential customers/supporters will use to search for your products/services and include them on each page.

Provide key selling concepts. Clearly let your web site visitor know what action you want them to take. Keep it simple and don't ask for a lot of clicks to complete an action. Good calls to action allow visitors to quickly decide what they want to do next.

Always answer the question “why?”. If you want to generate conversions, such as liking your Facebook page, give a reason why they should take your desired action. Tell them why they should do it: “Follow us on Facebook to receive weekly specials.”

Add a blog. Google loves new and relevant content. A blog is a great way to add content.
Add Twitter and Facebook icons.

Install Google Analytics. Find out what is really happening on your site.
Always ask for an email to keep in touch.

Don’t:

Do it yourself. I know—I run a Web design firm, so of course I’m going to say this. But seriously, your website is often where your customers first experience your brand. Just as you dress for success, make sure your web site makes a great first impression. If it looks homemade or is poorly designed you will be fighting an uphill battle you cannot win.

Make people think. Keep it simple and easy to use. The less clicks you require the more results you will receive.

Expect visitors. Lose the “if you build it, they will come” mentality. Simply putting up your site will not result in any visitors.

Spend all your money. Don’t max out your entire budget on the website. You can always make improvements as your business grows. It’s far more important initially to have some money left over for a marketing budget so you can actually make a return on your investment.

Don't use Flash. Google can't read it and it appears blank on over a hundred million iPhones & iPads just in the US.

Expect a killer website overnight. Websites are dynamic and require continued attention. Review Google Analytics and look for ways to improve your site every day.

Author: Scott Shabot - SAS Digital