When you sit down to plan out your new website, you’re looking for guidance. You look for development, writing, and design guidance like we provide at Imagebox, as well as guidance on your business strategy. You might not realize it, but sometimes words of wisdom can come from unlikely places. Here are a few pieces of advice on your website from a few people who have never clicked a mouse.
The main goal of your website is to drive business and sales. It makes sense that the bottom line should be your top priority. But your website is also a great way for you to define the true characteristics of your company. While it may take a while for you to see profit from your new website, you will be able to clearly lay out your business’s goals and values clearly from day one through your site’s content and design. These values are what will truly bring customers back and build loyalty. Build a company that is worthy of recognition and the recognition will come soon.
“When people talk, listen completely. Most people never listen.”
– Ernest Hemingway
There are a lot of moving pieces working together when you are creating a new website. Development happens at the same time as content writing. Designers need to know where images will be placed and if they need captions. It’s easy for a communication break down to take places. That is why it’s important for website developers to listen to their clients and why it is important for clients to listen to web developers. Listening to the feedback of others helps to reduce the “oops” moments that are bound to happen before and after launch.
“All human actions have one or more of these seven causes: chance, nature, compulsions, habit, reason, passion, desire.”
– Aristotle
Listening to the people who are building your website isn’t enough – you also need to listen to the people who will be searching for and clicking through it. Find out what motivates your customers and define the problems they have that you can solve with your product or service. You can then design and write a website that appeals to their habits, passions, etc.
A launched website is not a completed project. You will need to see how your customers respond and make tweaks in order to improve your feedback. That is why it is important to look ahead and truly understand your business’s vision. Many of our clients look ahead and consider changes that they will need to make to their site in the future, even if it isn’t something that we will be implementing right away.
“There are four ways, and only four ways, in which we have contact with the world. We are evaluated and classified by these four contacts: what we do, how we look, what we say, and how we say it.”
– Dale Carnegie
Can you think of more important considerations than these four when building a new website? What you do, how you look, what you will say, and how you will say it are all big decisions in the planning stages for your site. This means that there are a lot of things you will have to consider that may not come to mind right away. What will your brand colors be? What will your writing tone be? How will you help your customers understand your business? Which communication channels will you use to promote your website and your business?
Luckily, we at Imagebox are here to help you out with all of this. We have the experience (and some wise words from some surprising sources) to help you build the best website for your customers, your brand, and your bottom line.