secondary goal<\/strong> for your website. These goals can be determined by your business objectives. Is your objective to bring in a certain amount of revenue? To build brand awareness? To become the leader in your industry? Consider what you’re striving for in business and think of how your website could assist in making that happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\nIf you want to make more money, your website\u2019s goal should be to book clients or sell your product. If you want to be seen as an authority in your field, focusing on resourceful content (like a blog or podcast) can be beneficial.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s common to have more than one objective in business, so it\u2019s possible both of these things can apply. That\u2019s why having a secondary goal for your website is so important.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s every business\u2019s objective to make money and so the primary goal of your website is usually pretty obvious – make more sales. Ideally, you want the user to buy your product, enroll in your course or book a consult call. But what if they\u2019re not quite ready to do that?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is where a secondary goal comes in. If your audience isn\u2019t ready to click Buy Now, how can you help make that decision easier for them? What else can you offer so they understand you\u2019re the best solution to their problem? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
A common secondary goal is signing up for your email list. This is a fantastic way to stay on top of mind, nurture warm leads, provide helpful resources and hopefully make the sale at a later time. Content, like a blog or podcast, is a great way to establish your expertise and credibility. By showing potential buyers you know your stuff, you can help an interested audience get off the fence and fill out your contact form. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
These website goals should be the foundation of your website strategy. They\u2019ll help you determine what your call-to-actions should be, where and how often you place them and how you can use design to lead user\u2019s to performing these actions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
2. Your target audience<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Your target audience is a crucial part of your website strategy – after all they\u2019re the ones you need to impress in order to make any sale. Consider the reasons they\u2019re coming to your website in the first place, what are they hoping to find? Make sure those things are easy to find and attractive to click on. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Understanding who your audience is helps determine what kind of content your website should include. If you\u2019re a business coach, user\u2019s are most likely coming to your website to find if you\u2019re the right coach for them. Information about the structure of your program and what\u2019s included will be key factors in their decision and therefore should be listed on your sales page. If you\u2019re selling luxury, hand-made soaps at a high price point, user\u2019s probably want to know why your soaps are worth the expense. A section highlighting your quality ingredients and the detailed manufacturing process will be important. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Your audience also helps with the kind of language you\u2019ll use throughout your site as well as what kind of images. If your target demographic is millennials, it won\u2019t make much sense to have images with people of an older generation – they won\u2019t resonate. If you\u2019re a real estate agent with an audience of \u201chomebuyers\u201d, photography centered around families will connect with them on an emotional level and help them visualize their future if they choose to work with you. This may seem pretty obvious, but it can sometimes be difficult to see beyond the thing you\u2019re selling and instead see who you\u2019re selling it to. With your target audience always in mind, you\u2019ll be able to make design decisions that connect with them and lead to more sales.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
3. User experience<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
A good user experience ensures that your website is easy and enjoyable to use. A confused user rarely turns into a buying customer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Consider the journey you want users to take through your website and use that to create a smooth experience. A good starting point in planning out the user journey is creating a site map. A site map is an organizational chart of all your website\u2019s pages. This will help you see what information should have its own page vs just a section of a page, group related pages together and prioritize the pages that are most important to the user. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
You can then map out a journey that makes the most sense for your audience. For example, learning about who you are and your credentials could be a necessary first step to gaining trust with your audience and engaging them in the services you sell. So, make sure your About page has a call-to-action leading to your Services page. If you offer creative services or a result-driven service you probably have a portfolio of work or case-studies to show. This kind of \u201cproof\u201d could be a key factor in a purchasing decision, so it would make sense to link to a relevant case study after introducing your service. It\u2019s also possible a user would check out your work before your sales page to see if your style is a good fit for them. So having a call-to-action leading to your Services page from your portfolio makes that transition easy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Your website\u2019s navigation should be straightforward and contain 5 links or less. Again, think about what your audience is coming to your website to find and make sure the top 3 things are listed in your main menu. Utilize drop down menus to organize related pages while simplifying your menu.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Always have a Contact button easy to find in case a user wants to reach you with any questions. If your business has a physical location, that address should be impossible to miss. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hierarchical content is another aspect of user experience. No one is going to read a long paragraph of small text. No one. Make your copy short and easy to digest. Utilize headings and subheadings to organize content and make it skimmable. Make buttons clearly clickable and attractive. Ease of use is the name of the game. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Your target audience should be top of mind in user experience (understanding your audience is huge!). Think of ways you can make their time on your website easier, smoother and more enjoyable. If you know your audience comes to your site often looking for your latest sale, include sale items at the top of the page or a link to \u201csale\u201d in an announcement bar or pop up. If your blog has many categories, consider implementing a filter system that makes it easy to sort through content. \u201cFeatured category\u201d sections can also be helpful in promoting popular or seasonal posts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
4. Your competitors<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Analyzing your competitor\u2019s websites is beneficial in several ways. By seeing what areas your competitors are doing well in, you can gain insight into what elements your website should definitely include. You don\u2019t want competitors having an advantage because they include information that you don\u2019t, or offer resourceful content that you don\u2019t or have a more modern design aesthetic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s also important to note where your competitors may be falling short and find ways in which you can do something \u201cbetter\u201d. You can take advantage of the areas where they might be lacking. Like if your competitors aren\u2019t promoting their email list, that\u2019s something you can do to stand out. Create a free download users can access in exchange for their email address. You\u2019ll be providing value, establishing your authority and growing your own list for future marketing efforts. Maybe you notice a similar product-based company has a clunky checkout process. By implementing a quicker, smoother process of your own you\u2019ll create a better user experience and keep customers coming back to your site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You also want to notice ways in which you can differentiate yourself from others in your industry. Use different design layouts, font sizes, buttons styles, etc. to guarantee your site can\u2019t be confused with someone else\u2019s. It can be easy to fall into design trends, but try to think of ways that you can do things differently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
5. Design style<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Design style is last on the list because it\u2019s helpful to work through the other 4 components first. Your audience, competitors and user experience will offer guidance in the design direction you should take with your site. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
What styles will resonate with the users on your site? This will differ for a younger audience vs an older one, a female audience vs male. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
How can user experience be applied to design? The most important content should be the easiest to find and easiest to read. These sections should use simplified layouts and images or graphics to draw attention to them. A feature like a slider or accordion could be useful in displaying lots of content in a smaller space. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
When thinking about design style, notice what\u2019s trending, but be careful. Modern design is key to looking current and professional, but you don\u2019t want to fall into the trend trap. Using design elements that are trendy run the risk of looking like everyone else. It\u2019s also very possible you\u2019ll find yourself needing to redesign your website next year because you now look outdated. Try to stick to a clean, timeless design foundation and think of ways you can sprinkle more trendy elements in here and there. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Website strategy ensures the design and functionality of your site align with your goals, connect with your audience and help you stand out in the sea of competition. It also guides the design process, ensuring each design decision has a clear intention behind it. A successful website starts with a successful website strategy.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"There are 5 components that should be considered when developing your website strategy: Your goals, your target audience, user experience, your competition and design style.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5257,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"iawp_total_views":21,"footnotes":""},"categories":[50,3],"tags":[55,56,58],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
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