Over the past few weeks, I have often heard that someone has created a website needed. If I then asked further, my interlocutors found it difficult to explain why they needed a website. By defining five must-haves for your website, I created a checklist of things you should be able to complete if you feel you need a website.
1. A clear product
If you want to set up a website, you do so with an expectation:
- You want people to contact you.
- You want people to buy a product from your webshop.
- Or you want people to buy a service or service.
Setting up a website just for the sake of setting up a website is, of course, completely unnecessary. Just to establish contact, the whole of professional Holland has a Linkedin account created!
Basically, you should be able to describe your product or service in two lines. "I help you move forward with your website in terms of being found in Google and getting more sales or enquiries". Don't lose yourself in writing down all your product features, don't use too much language that is only used in your industry. Try to write down why your product solves the customer's problem.
Of course, this is described in detail and in clear language on your homepage.
2. Establish the sections of your website.
Before creating, or having your website created, try writing down clearly for yourself what you want to include on your website. Think about:
- A section introducing yourself,
- clear product pages,
- maybe even a shop,
- some background or history,
- a contact page.
But maybe you have also thought about a blog?
By writing down these sections in advance, you create the coat hanger you can hang your website on. This way, your designer can also determine how many different pages you are going to offer. Don't think that every section needs a different design, often only the part that contains your text changes.
3. A so-called content management system.
Once you have a website, you obviously want to be able to modify it without interference from your site builder. I'm not talking about changing the subject, you should leave that up to your site builder. But of course I am talking about texts, images, or your address, for example.
You can edit things like that in a content management system. There, you click on the page you want to change, and in a kind of Word document, you can add your texts and images.
Obviously, I am a big fan of WordPress, but like WordPress, there are several. Choose the management system that suits you.
Other examples of content management system are:
- TYPO3 (for larger websites with lots of pages)
- Shopify (an easy shop solution)
- Wix (simple make your own website, for simpler sites)
Incidentally, your LinkedIn profile is also fine if you are a self-employed person and only offer services, for example. But make no mistake: with LinkedIn, too, you need to ensure dynamic content. Keep your profile up-to-date and make sure you fill in all possible sections. Need help with Linkedin? Take a look at BlickfÄng And give my regards to Arjan.
4. A house style.
Don't panic right away! Big companies often have whole corporate identity books, which you may not need at all. But since you want your website to exude what your company exudes, you should give some thought to the design and colour scheme of your website.
A website can be almost serene, and a website can scream. A website can look crafty, or a website is very slick. There is something to be said for everything. It's more about what you want to radiate.
For example, consider Victorinox, the Swiss pocket knife. It is solid, always at hand, practical and stands for quality. The website exudes that too. Now think of a shop like the Wibra, who doesn't want to look too expensive. Also, the house style, as incorporated in the website, is easily accessible and also exudes some "goodness". Fits perfectly!
5. Ease of use.
I cannot say this often enough. Above all, a website should be easy to use. The moment your customer, or your potential customer, gets completely lost on your website, and you are not YouTube, something may not be going right. This starts in the design phase of your site.
At the bottom line, you want the customer to come to your website, find what they need to find, buy that or take that action (contact you, for example), and leave again. You want to help him or her as quickly and as well as possible.
Note: professional deformation is your enemy here. Maybe you think everything on your website makes perfect sense, and you can find what you need within a second, but you ask truly I wonder whether this is also true for someone who doesn't know your website. If you want to spar about that, you know where to find me.
Conclusion
This article is called "5 must haves before your website". The focus is on for. If you have these things in place first, then feel free to have a conversation with your site builder.
English (UK)