Website Creation and Design
How to
Choose the Best Website Design for Your Business:
Whether your business has been established offline for years or whether it
is a new business altogether, the design of your website must coincide with
your overall brand image and sales goals.
Evaluate the Purpose of your Website:
The first obstacle in determining your website design is to evaluate its
purpose. If you are a retail business, you most likely will need a shopping
cart feature. However, if you are a consulting firm, you may only want to
list your contact information or an application for service. Evaluating the
purpose of your website will help determine the features you need and those
you can live without.
Determine the Complexity of your Site:
Again, if your business sells many different kinds of widgets, then you
will need a shopping cart. If your widgets are self-explanatory, (i.e.
impulse items), then perhaps you simply need a page for each category of widget.
The page can list each item, a short desc, and a link to add it to the
customer’s shopping cart.
However, if your business is selling widgets which need more explanation,
perhaps bigger ticket items, then you might need a single page for each
widget. You may even need several pages for each widget’s
specifications.
If your business is informational services, for example consulting, then
perhaps your site can remain fairly simple. There is no need for a shopping
cart of hundreds of pages showcasing each item. You may have a few different
consulting packages, information on each, a sales letter, a contact us page,
and about us page, and a home page. Perhaps a testimonial page for added
persuasion. Although it may contain a significant amount of text, this would
be a fairly simple website design compared to other businesses. Choose a
Theme If you don’t already have a brand image, logo, and colors, then you
need to decide what your website will actually look like. When choosing a
visual theme, be sure to make it match your business, but also try to make
your site stand out from the crowd. For example, moving companies all tend to
have a picture of a moving truck/van and a happy family next to a nice
suburban house. That’s fine, if it in fact works to persuade your customers
to buy. But also consider the power of standing apart from the crowd by
presenting a more clever visual display on your website. It could work well
to draw customers to your site.
Design your Website:
You are now ready to design your website! Use your chosen theme to create
cohesion within your website, whether it has a simple or complex design. And
of course, remember to always design with the intent to carry out the purpose
of your website as it pertains to your business.