You probably think your website is fine as it is, or you think you could do more with it. Both are fine. I spoke to a contractor who said, "My order book is completely full". I just asked, "With only nice orders?". Always keep looking for a better website.
You can optimise your website for any audience you want; for any job you want. Especially with the luxury of 'plenty of work', it is highly recommended to take a look at what else is out there.
If you are only bricklaying walls and would like to build an entire house one day, then it is highly recommended to take a critical look at your website.
We will tackle that in 9 steps.
Step 1: Taking stock
In step one, we don't even open your website. With a sheet of paper in hand, we take stock of what the main purpose for your website is. Maybe you currently have your website only as a brochure; if a client asks for it, you can refer to it. Oh, and maybe the link to your website is on your business card, or your company car.
A website can have multiple purposes, for example:
- Gathering leads
- Selling products
- Background information
- Maintaining contact with (potential) customers
Top of the iceberg. But have you really thought about it? That's what we do in step 1.
Step 2: Analysis
Now that we've established the goal, let's look at how that goal is currently incorporated into your website, Are we happy with it? What is still missing? Are there things that could be better?
Together with you or your team, we will look at how we can come up with a better website. And for that, we will first have to sort out the old ones. I had been running fine for five years on the running shoes I had, until an expert told me after analysis that the strain placed on my ankles by the shoes was dangerous. I really needed different shoes. Same brand, but a different construction.
You will probably also get a much better website if we tweak a few crucial things. Which ones they are, we'll find out at this stage.
If you are looking for a to-do list for your web builder or webmaster, steps 1 & 2, including a 30-minute wrap-up call, would suffice. Cost estimate: 950 euros (6.5 hours).
Step 3: Zero measurement
No change if we don't know where we are coming from. Now that we have analysed the website, we need to establish what the current numbers are:
- Visitor numbers
- Number of people completing form x
- On which pages do people drop out
- Number of products sold
- Interactions with the chat box
- Messages to customer service
You name it. Very dependent on the type of website. For a blog, even the number of comments is interesting. If we want to see an improvement, we need to identify where we are now.
Step 4: Prioritisation
Not everything from the step 2 analysis is equally important, or needs the same amount of time. With the set goal in mind, we will look at prioritising the work appropriately.
What is really important? And how much time does that take? In this phase, we discover that some things are so logical that they should have been done long ago: they only take five minutes! And you were so looking forward to that. If only you had known that earlier.
With the right prioritisation, we have a stepping stone to set the stage for a better website.
Step 5: Responsibilities
Then, to achieve a sustainable improvement of your website, we will look at where what change should lie. If this is a simple change, then we just need to assign someone. If, on the other hand, it is a behavioural change, then we will probably need a bit more time for that. That won't be a 66 days are, if we have the goal clear and can motivate that person or team.
We are talking about "team x provides an article for the website/newsletter once every fortnight". Those changes that get watered down, to the point where no one remembers why it was agreed. Keep reminding is perhaps the role of the webmaster at your company, or the marketing team. Then you already have two places where a lasting change needs to be realised.
Step four is all about placing responsibilities in the right place. This can be done, for example, by filling in the matrix in the RACI model.
Step 6: Motivate
Now that everyone knows what to do, we can get to work on that better website! Right? You'll see, people quickly get bogged down in their daily worries and forget for a moment that we were also going to work on the website. In the first week after the agreed change goes well, but after that, the delusion of the day swallows up the time again.
Change is also tricky. We know what we are doing it for, but had also established in Step 2: Analysis, that the website was already fine in many ways. Surely we can get on with that for a while? These changes are not in that much of a hurry, and that one deadline is looming again.
We are going to make sure that people stay motivated for their part of the work in the process towards a better website. And yes, that may also mean that that unmotivated employee has to hand over his/her work to someone else. We guarantee continuity, and a chain is only as strong as its weakest link.
Step 7: Periodic evaluation
All sorts of things are running now. Things are happening everywhere and it is up to us to monitor that changes and adjustments do not bite each other. If Jantje has been waiting for Marietje for a fortnight, we need to see that in time. Motivation also stands and falls with attention, with progress.
This is why it is essential to periodically evaluate where we stand. For one company, this will have to be weekly, for another monthly or eventually once a quarter. But if you don't look at your website every quarter, you might as well quit. You don't buy a €3,000 watch to never look at it either!
Step 8: Ready?
All the changes have been made, the boss is happy and the website is running like clockwork and so we can now rest on our laurels.
Of course not! The hardest part comes now. Remember how we ended up here? Right, because we weren't doing anything more with that website, couldn't see the wood for the trees and so didn't pick up anything.
The key at this stage is to make a plan for the future. You want a better website, and to keep improving that better website.
That means making someone responsible for this progress. That is a role, not a person. Because otherwise that person will leave and we'll be stuck with the mess again. That also means giving someone or a team hours to work on this. That could be your content department that has to write articles, your social team that has to share it on Twitter and Instagram and in your newsletter, the webmaster that has to tie it all together and your marketing team that brings that website to the attention of (potential) customers and suppliers once and for all.
It is an ongoing process towards an even better website.
Step 9: Evaluate and adjust.
The final step is not a snapshot. The final step is a process in itself: evaluation and adjustment. Depending on the type of website, we will plan an evaluation. Each evaluation concerns a number of important points of the website for your organisation. We choose the tools we can use to evaluate and also look at who is responsible for what.
Based on the periodic results of these evaluations, we set up a plan for effective adjustment. Is everyone still actively involved? What about the person with final responsibility? Is the ratio of time investment to results still correct?
Only by continuing to do this on an ongoing basis will you have and keep that website that is better than your competitor's. Which is better than what you have now. And which you will enjoy for years to come!
Depending on the choices we make in these steps, the estimated cost of my guidance in your total journey is about 4,500 euros (30 hours).
Need help?
Please do not hesitate to contact me - I am happy to come and guide you through this journey.