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Tips for owning a website
A website, like owning a dog, isn't something you can take lightly. It may seem easy, but to run a successful website takes dedication, and effort, here are a few tips to follow.
How many hats do I need to wear?
There are many things to consider when becoming a website owner. It’s not just what colours, pictures and words you want to appear, and it’s even more than how many sales you want to try and get over the next 12 months. A website, particularly a business or ecommerce website, should have a plan. A strategy laid out that gives you clear goals, and ways to achieve these goals. It needs constant nurturing and attention in order to grow.
Don’t worry, you needn’t be technically minded or even a designer. What you do need to have though, is a complete understanding of your customer base and what they require in order to maximise the potential of the site.
TIP 1: Tell people about you!
It’s the understanding of many people that by simply putting together a beautiful website with lots of great pictures and information about you, it will mean instant showers of enquiries and rampant turn of business.
This is not true.
A website should almost be treated as it were a new business of its own if it is to become a success.
You wouldn’t consider opening a new shop in a town and not put any effort into promoting it. Banking on foot fall alone to bring in the business will usually take forever so, you need to get out there.
If you want your website to help generate new business for you, it’s vital that you know and understand how to attract and retain audiences, as well as know what works and doesn’t work on the web.
Social media is a current buzz phrase, and for many businesses it’s absolutely the right option, and it may be for yours. But before launching into a huge Facebook, Twitter and YouTube campaign, ask yourself if it’s right for your business.
TIP 2: K. I .S (Keep It Simple)
One of the hardest things to do in the design of both information and layout is to make something simple, whereas it’s easy to make something complicated. It sounds bizarre, but it’s true. If you think of everyday items you find easy to use; your TV remote, your mobile phone or your car, there’s a reason it’s easy – and that’s time spent by the creators to ensure it ended up that way.
The exact same principle should be applied to your website. If it’s hard to use, if a visitor can’t find the information they came to find quickly and easily, they’ll leave.
One of the main pitfalls is misunderstanding the needs of a visitor. It’s so easy when involved in the development of your own website to somehow think that everything has to be different and new to be engaging. There are times when it’s good to push boundaries and set yourself apart from the competition, but it’s equally as important to pay attention to the standard tried and trusted techniques many sites adopt.
TIP 3: Frequency
If you've decided to start a blog or a twitter account with a view to it improving your business reach online, one of most important things is to bear in mind the amount of time you can dedicate to it.
Blogging, if done successfully should be done with regularity. You may decide to update your blog once a month or once a week, but however often you chose to do it, you should aim to stick to this target in order to build up a loyal base of followers. People subscribe to magazines and expect to see the latest edition land on their doorstep or desk the same time month, of course they are paying for this whereas your blog is free for them to read, but should it matter? The aim is the same, to build up readership and establish you and your business as a regular contributor to industry.
Too many people start off blogging with the best intentions, but if they don't see any form of return within a couple of months the tendency is to give up, when they should be doing more. Recognition takes time on the internet, the competition is enormous, but the good news is the playing field is level for everyone. Google's blog strictly speaking should have no greater advantage over yours other than their website is more well known. It's not about money, it's about time and effort you are willing to put in.
TIP 4: Engage and listen
The final point of advice is that it's vital to engage with your audience and accept any feedback they provide.
If several people write to you claiming they struggled to find something on your website, as opposed to just sending a reply with the same answer you gave the last person, why not look at how it can be improved? It maybe something relatively small to fix and could make all the difference to your business.
Providing it's suitable, having a forum or way for your visitors to communicate and share information through you is an ideal opportunity to ensure repeat visits to your website. Begin to think of your website as not just a marketing tool for your business, but also as a reference tool for your customers and potential customers, free community contributions go along way to install customer loyalty.
