We met with a lady who had spent considerable money having a website designed and developed with an end result that had a lot to be desired.
The website was poorly designed with no focus being placed on search engines or usability which would have resulted in poor rankings and frustrated users.
The website had a comprehensive shopping cart but this had bugs and worst of all it had no security meaning any potential customer could have their transaction intercepted leading to unscrupulous individuals making additional transactions against their card and opening up this business to potential lawsuits.
Some of you may be thinking that you get what you pay for and this is true in some cases, however as web companies it is our responsibility to guide a customer through the process so that we make you feel comfortable but we educate you along the way.
Our clients are not expected to know everything about designing and building a website, nor are we expected to know everything about their industry but if we hold their hand we not only deliver what they are expecting but we have a happy customer who will refer us to their friends.
Communication is the key
To most people internet language is confusing and can be very off putting. A good web designer will communicate with you in a way that you can understand ‘in plain english’ and if lingo is used they will tell you what it means and the importance of it. If you are in discussions with a web company that uses lingo, stop them and ask for clarification it will help everyone in the long run and remember you are not expected to know everything and it is nothing to feel bad about.
Website Standards
Like most industries we have to design and build websites that meet industry standards. When we design and build websites we focus on usability and accessibility. When a website is designed and developed to standards people of all walks of life will be able to access the website through all types of browsers and communication software. A website should be able to be viewed by everyone including people with disabilities who use devices like screen readers.
If a website is built to standards, search engines will be able to index your website and the chances of a higher ranking increase and higher return on investment.
Usability of a website is very important if not the most important feature of your website. If usability is implemented correctly a user should be able to access most parts of your website within 3 clicks.
If a visitor is not able to find what they are looking for quickly and easily they will soon become frustrated and go elsewhere often resulting in a loss of sale.
When you are talking to a potential web company look through their showcase of work, can you navigate easily through their site of their existing customers sites, if not that you have a high chance your website will act in the same way.
The importance of search engines
With everyone seeking a high ranking within the most popular search engines you need to be confident that a web company knows how to build your website that will lead to a return on investment.
We cannot emphasis enough how important it is for your website to be built properly so that search engines index and rank your website. With search engines accounting for up to 70 per cent of all internet traffic to your website it is vital that your website is search engine friendly.
It is relatively easy to build any website that is search engine friendly and any web company should be able to tell you in plain English how search engines index and rank your website.
Converting a visitor into a customer
You have a great looking website but you are not converting the visitor into a customer. To convert any potential visitor into a customer you must have the right call to actions throughout your website. You also need to tell the potential web company that you want to see a return on investment and what you expect the return on investment to be after a period of time. It is easy for web companies to pull a number out of the air and say we will get this return on investment in 12 months.
A good company will understand what you are seeking to achieve and will work with you to put in place the right strategies to meet the targets and convert visitors into customers.
Make sure the web company understand the importance of making money from your website, if they understand properly the design of your site will incorporate key call to actions, be easy to use and if you sell online the shopping cart will be easy to use enabling the user to review the product but most importantly they will have the best opportunity to buy from you because they will not have to go looking for that ‘Buy Now’ button.
Making the decision to work with a web company and parting with your well earned cash is often a hard decision but if you understand the process we go through and feel comfortable that the web company will treat you with respect. Obtain as much information from the potential web company so that you can make the right choice for you business.
Seeclear Systems is about building partnerships, when you work with us we will guide you through the process to ensure that at every stage of the project you are well informed and educated allowing you to concentrate on what you do best – your business.