Business Website Strategy
Planning a business website strategy and getting your website set up is an important part of developing your Internet business. However, it is only half of the battle. There is still a way to go in developing your overall website strategy.
It is important to understand what your website strategy is before you actually design it. Otherwise, you may find that the design doesn’t suit your needs.
There are basically two types of business websites – content sites and sales sites. A content site includes information and resources related to your niche while advertising your products. A sales site focuses completely on your product or service.
Content sites and sales sites can be successful, as long as you’re using a good strategy and they look professional.
Content Business Websites
Let’s first look at content sites. A content site may include articles, ebooks, tutorials, and videos all designed to inform and educate. People visit these sites because they want to learn more about the topic, and they like to take advantage of the free resources that are found on these sites.
Content sites can earn revenue in a number of ways, including selling your own products and services, promoting related affiliate products, and even displaying Google ads.
Content sites go a long way toward building trust with your customers and potential customers. They help to promote you as an expert in your field, and people start turning to you for answers. Once you’ve established trust and credibility, people are more willing to purchase your products or products that you recommend.
A quality content website strategy will identify a specific problem which focuses on your niche, provide assistance in solving the problem, and promote your products and/or services as the solution.
With a content site, you are essentially pre-selling your customers through your content.
Business Sales Sites
Sales sites are the exact opposite of content sites. Content sites are full of content, and sales sites don’t generally have what is considered content at all. A sales site may not be much longer than one or two web pages, and the entire focus of the site is on your products or service. A sales site is basically nothing more than a sales letter for the product.
Sales sites are generally designed using standard HTML and very plain, as you want the focus to be on your text. They contain very few graphics, plug-ins, or any other glorified elements that are often used to spice up a content site. In addition, sales sites almost never include any links to other websites, as outside links will lead the visitors away from the site.
While content sites are often directed toward a wider market – those who want to educate themselves – sales sites are more tightly targeted to people who are ready to make a purchase, and the site just essentially tells them why they should purchase this particular product or service over others.
Designing Your Business Website
Regardless of the website that you design, your website is usually the first impression that your prospects have of you and your business. This is why designing a clean, nice looking site is so essential. You must think of it like a brick and mortar store. If a customer walked into a brick and mortar store that was a huge mess, they would be heading toward the door – without buying anything – fairly quickly. Your website must be clean and professional, and the site should have one purpose – to make sales.
When it comes to website design, every part of the site will play a role in your success. The colors, font face, size of the font, graphics, navigation, scanability, ease of ordering, and the sales copy will play a part.
Overall, your business website should have all of the following:
* Your own domain name (no sub-domain names)
* Dependable web hosting
* Effective sales copy
* Opt-in form to capture the email addresses of your visitors
* Directly target your potential customers
* Offer quality products and services
* Optimized for the Search Engines
* Professional, clean appearance
* Links and scripts should all function properly
* Well organized
* Easy to navigate
* Load quickly
Before you start designing your website, make sure you take the time to develop your website strategy. Understand who your target market is, and exactly what it is that you want your visitors to do when they arrive at your site. If you want to capture their email address, your site should focus on getting them to give you their information. If you want them to purchase your product, your site should focus on getting them to make a purchase.
No matter what you want your visitors to do, your website strategy should focus on just one thing – getting your visitors to take action.