A couple of weeks ago, somebody said that having a website “doesn’t actually do anything”. And he could be right. You see, just having a website in the digital space doesn’t distinguish you from your competition. And so, if your website lacks direction or isn’t enticing to read, it’s just sitting there like a book in a library that never gets read.
How can you make sure your website works hard for your business? Quite simply, it needs to have a purpose.
And so, the first question you need to ask yourself is…
What's the purpose of my website?
A website that’s developed without any clear goals or strategies in mind isn’t likely to achieve much.
So, you need to understand why you need a website. Is it to generate leads from your ideal demographic? Build community engagement from your current audience? Or perhaps you want it to spread awareness about a certain issue or topic. Once you know why you want a website, only then can you begin to create the framework for everything else to fit into.
Now you’ve got a clear goal in mind, how do you build that into your website? What’s the next step? It’s knowing who your target audience is.
Who am I talking to?
Knowing and understanding your target audience is crucial to making your website effective. Why? Because people will be more interested if you talk about their experiences and interests and feel as though you’re speaking directly to them and relating to the issues and problems they’re facing. You can use helpful tools like survey data or user personas to understand your demographic, which we’ve touched on in a previous blog which you can find here.
When you stop and think about it, if you target your website content at a specific demographic, say, ethically conscious businesswomen, you can speak directly to the things they care about. Doing this will keep their eyes on your website for longer and ultimately increase leads. Simple, right?
But, how do I talk to them?
Two things really matter here; what you say and how you say it. The best way to connect with people is to talk about things they care about and are interested in and say it in a tone and style they relate to.
Now you know your target audience and their problems or issues (often called their pain points). You understand them, and your business has the product or service that’s the solution to their problem.
And that’s your content!
And by content, we mean pictures, articles, blog posts, newsletters, anything they’ll be interested in because it’s all about them! And that’s the big secret to writing great content.
The other thing you need to nail is your brand voice. What’s that? Well, your brand voice is the style you write in, the visuals you use, your attitude – does it come through strong, or is it quite reserved? So the secret is to match your brand with the people you wanna work with, and then you’ll find that your website really hits home.
How should my website look?
Here’s our hot tip… simple is best! Always keep your goal in mind and make it visually appealing and interesting to read. Here are a few super important things to consider:
People are time-poor, so they don’t have time to filter out information from a crowded page, so don’t overdo it. Keep the information concise, easily readable, and only include the essential parts as most people tend to skim rather than read.
White space is your friend! Leaving a lot of space free helps draw your readers’ eyes to the best parts. A busy looking website with large blocks of text or confusing images can scare people off.
A picture’s worth more than a thousand words. And images are much more reader-friendly than blocks of text because they convey emotions and help your reader relate to your brand. Don’t feel like you need to fill in every space, though.
Perfect is the enemy of good. As much as you want to maximise the effect of having a great website, having a good, well-planned live page is far better than one that never launches.
Am I a person? A team? A company?
You’ve got to own your space; if the shoe fits, wear it! The internet is a friendly place for people and small businesses, so express yourself honestly. If you’re quirky, let your weirdness shine through, and people will relate to it.
Consider including pictures of yourself and your team, a brief history of your company, and a statement of your goals and dreams because emotionally connecting with your audience is a huge advantage.
People love a success story, but it’s important not to brag; after all, you still want your reader to feel like the spotlight is on them and their needs. Remember, it’s all about them, not you.
Another hot tip is to have a “leave a message” or “talk to someone” button. It makes you feel present and approachable.
How do I get a website like that?
At Studio Sondar, we don’t make cookie-cutter template websites because we’ll take the time to get to know you and understand what you need to stand out from the crowd.
So, if you want to chat about where your website’s currently at and where you’d like it to be, we’d love to hear from you because we love helping businesses take their websites from pointless to out of this world.
