4 TIPS TO BUILDING A SUCCESSFUL STRATEGIC WEBSITE
I remember in High School I was obsessed with wearing Timberland boots. I had the original constructions, powder blue, and the Macaroni and Cheese, to name a few. Unfortunately, growing up in upstate New York whenever those temperatures hit the single digits, those “Tims” just weren’t keeping my feet warm. They were cute but didn’t serve the purpose for me, so I had to move on.
Strategy. We hear that word a lot.
What is strategy? What does it mean to think strategically?
A strategy is a detailed plan to achieve a goal. When it comes to building your website, looking at trends, colors, all that cool stuff like my Tims, is ok. You’d want to know what’s getting the hype in the design world and attracting your ideal audience's eyes.
The catch is ensuring after the glitz and the glam that your website actually serves a purpose for them.
The easiest way is to build a strategy before designing the website. Take a look below at 4 easy tips to get you started.
1. DETERMINE YOUR GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
Prior to getting into the designing portion, take the time to map out your website goals and list the objectives. The goals are what you’d like to achieve whereas the objective provides the “how, what, why, when”.
For Example:
The Purpose: The purpose of my website is to sell cosmetics.
The Goal: I’d like to increase sales, and make $5k/month.
The How: Make sure the website is optimized for search - photos are named efficiently for Google Image searches.
Make sure my website is user-friendly - no lag time with pictures loading, able to filter by a category
Professional vibrant pictures.
An effective call to action.
After writing down the goals and objectives for your overall website, I’d also suggest writing down the ideal amount of pages for your website, what that page should consist of, and go through the Goal/Objective listing method as well.
For Example:
Page#2 - The About Me Page
The Purpose: Showcase my expertise
The Goal: Develop trust from the visitor
The How: Offer a freebie download such as a guide book or checklist, list logos of companies I’ve supported, show testimonials of people I’ve worked with.
2. KNOW YOUR IDEAL VISITOR
You have to think about the visitor’s experience when they visit the website. Who your audience is will play a part in how your website will look and function. For a more serious toned website, such as a non-profit or Law Firm, the audience may not care for overly transitional images, such as spinning pictures or flying words across the screen, etc. Also if your ideal visitor is a senior citizen the font size may play a part in the design also.
3. BUILD YOUR BRAND IDENTITY AND BE CONSISTENT
Have your mission/vision written out so that this could be easily found on the website. You’d want your audience to know what your brand represents.
After that ensure you have clear, cohesive brand visuals, such as your logo and your brand colors. Determine your brand colors are the correct color scheme for your market and would attract the ideal visitor. Remain consistent across different pages of the website to ensure you’re staying in theme to your color palette and typography.
4. ANALYTICS - MEASURE YOUR SUCCESS
As a business owner, analytics is key. Part of your strategic plan should include how you’d measure your success. If you’re not meeting up to your goals, then you’d want to review your analytics to see where changes are needed to be made. If you do make any changes, you’d also want to review how those changes reflect in your analytics.
IN SUMMARY:
Longevity success involves strategy. Do not fall into the trap of following trends without listing what the sole purpose of your website is. You’re always want to refer back to your list to ensure that when designing your website you’re staying on purpose to the overall goals for your business.
Until next time lovelies!
BRAND STRATEGIST + SQUARESPACE WEB DESIGNER
Here I share brand strategy, Squarespace web design tips, and resources to grow a successful online business.
