Website design

Designing an effective website

Getting the most out of your website is relatively straightforward, which makes it all the more amazing that most companies, indeed most web developers, seem to get it so wrong.

IF YOU HAVE NOT GOT A GOOD WEBSITE YOU ARE IN TROUBLE!

YOU ARE SENDING BUSINESS TO YOUR COMPETITORS WITHOUT EVEN KNOWING IT!

A few statistics in case you were worried.

Did you know that at the end of 2005 there were over 4.3 million businesses in the UK and nearly 50% had no website?

Surprised? It gets worse. Many of the 2 million or so businesses that are statistically recorded as having a website don’t actually have a website. They have a domain name, and space on a server somewhere, but their actual website is ‘under construction’ or ‘Site Cannot Be Found’.

So let us say there are circa 1.5 million companies in the UK with actual websites (that leaves a staggering number with no website, nearly 3 million in total). It would be reasonable to assume that the lucky 1.5 million are ‘making hay whilst the sun shines’. Surely they are picking up all the new business coming to them via the web whilst the rest lose out? Maybe not…

What happens when you visit a website and it is terrible?

What do we mean be terrible? Well this can be many things, for example:

• It is slow to load, or does not load at all
• It has old or out of date content
• There is nothing to really grab your interest
• You cannot actually work out what they do
• You click on a link and it all seems to stop.

Does this sound familiar? Unfortunately about 75% of websites could be described as poor, and for their owners this is bad news…

Think about it: first impressions count. Every salesperson knows that if they turn up in a scruffy looking car or they are dressed in an untidy, unkempt manner it will not increase their chances of making a sale.

If you walk up to a shop and it is dirty and unappealing you are forming opinions of the store before you even walk through the door. Are those opinions positive? No, and what are your expectations, not high…!

On the other hand, if you see an exclusive, expensive looking retail outlet or a smart, well presented salesperson, your first impressions are probably positive, and therefore, the business has a better chance of making a sale. Does this make sense?

It’s the same with your website, in fact even more so. Whilst you might actually take the time to walk in if you have driven half way across town to check out a particular retail outlet, with the internet all you have to do is ‘click’ and you have moved on to check out the competition.

Your site has to look good, it has to be ‘sticky’, (i.e. visitors want to stay a while), and most important it should work. People should find the information they need, find the telephone number, leave their contact details, sign up for your newsletter etc.

Workshops are run on rotation every Wednesday at 4pm 

Places are reserved on a first come first served basis.

To find out more or to reserve your place on the next Website Design Workshop click here and one of our team will contact you, or call 01865 920 003 now.