Think of your website as a resume cover letter. Candidates who send you a generic cover letter aren’t showing the imitative to explain why they believe their skills are a good match for your company. This is not as effective as a custom cover letter that makes a direct appeal and uses an individual’s experience, education and affiliation to explain how they will augment your company.
Websites that take the time to directly appeal to their demographic and understand the difference between features and benefits have a better chance of success. After all, the more targeted the message the better it’s received. A good idea is to design the website you think your customers want. However, it’s equally important to be able to separate your belief from the reality of what web users want. An experienced web design team is essential in helping align your usage belief and the reality of the web.

4. Make Usability a Top Priority

Navigation, which includes both the menu and link handling, is a primary consideration of any web site design. Fantastic products and services have not been sold simply because website visitors could not find them easily. This is not the time for a company to show their individuality.

Business websites should also make web standards and best practices guide a priority. Standardization ensures that your website will continue to function as the web matures. Best standard guides ensure that your customer is familiar with the basic concepts of your web presentation.

If a user has to think, you’ve lost a customer.
Search Engine Optimization is also an issue to be considered in designing business websites. While there are many reference books available on the topic, it’s essential you work with a web design team who has the experience and knowledge to implement SEO from the ground up.

5. Utilize the Right Technology

"If technology not improving the performance and user experience, skip it."

Make sure all your technology choices bring value to the product. Just because your competitor uses a flash splash page or flash headers doesn’t mean you should. While there are many “cool” things you can do on website, stick to the maxim “Just because you can doesn’t mean you should.”  If it’s not improving the performance and user experience, skip it.

Updating and maintenance are other issues when choosing technology. If you choose to use flash, how you will update it? Or, on a more basic level, how will your edit your website?

When discussing your website with a design team be realistic about how often you intend to make changes.
The easier it is to update and maintain your website the more likely you will do so. Fresh and relevant content is extremely appealing to both your customers and search engines and is therefore an added value.

A key ingredient to any success is planning. Don’t let a rush to market force you to make poor decisions or band-aid approaches. It’s important that your company consider a website as seriously as any other product launch. Assign a team but make sure there is one clear point of contact. Research your goals, competition and demographic and be able to share this information with your web design team.

Realize that your web design team is just that . . . a team member. Successful website launches can only occur when a client is available to discuss choices, make decisions, give feedback and make timely delivery of content. Set aside time to consider questions posed by your web design team. Once your answer is given, it creates a waterfall effect of design and content choices so it’s best not to answer off the cuff or in dashed off emails. It’s extremely difficult to maintain deadlines when a client decides to follow their own timeline.

Again, your website cannot be everything to everyone. Website content and design should be streamlined and in support of your goals.  When in doubt, cut it out.