If you’ve got a business, the first thing you need to focus on is your website. The first point of contact between your brand and customers, it’s key to getting sales and new business. You want a website that’s well-designed, easy to use and conveys your brand image. In this article we take a look at a business website checklist that should give you all you need to get your company off the ground in no time.
Get Planning and Devise a Strategy
The first thing you need to tick off your business website checklist is a plan and strategy. Identify the primary purpose of your website (e.g., generating leads, selling products, providing information) and ensure you understand your ideal customer and tailor your website to meet their needs. It’s a good idea to research competitors’ websites to identify best practices and areas for differentiation and plan the type of content you’ll need to engage your audience. Decide also how you’ll get your website built. It’s worth looking into an service which can help with this such as IONOS email hosting and website builder.
Consider The Design and User Experience (UX)
The design of your website is so important. You’ll need to ensure your website is mobile-friendly and works seamlessly across all devices. Use clear menus and logical page hierarchies to help users find information quickly. Use your brand’s colours, fonts, and logo consistently throughout the site and check your website is accessible to all users, including those with disabilities (e.g., alt text for images, readable fonts).
Focus On The Content
The content of your site is what will keep people on there and encourage them to make a purchase or work with you. Create a strong first impression with a clear value proposition, engaging visuals, and a call-to-action (CTA). You’ll also need an about page, a products or services page, blog, FAQs and contact information.
Check it’s functional
Add elements to help the function of your website such as a search bar, forms for lead generation, social media integration and live chat. These can all make the site easier for your customers to use and in turn, hopefully bring in more business for you.
Don’t forget the SEO!
SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) is what will help your site rank on search engines so you need to implement this. Use relevant keywords in your content, meta descriptions, and headers. Optimise title tags, meta descriptions, and alt text for better search engine visibility and don’t forget to create and submit a sitemap to search engines for easier indexing. Other tools you can use include Google Analytics to monitor website traffic, user behaviour, and conversions as well as Google Search Console.
Other things to consider:
- The security of your site
- Legal compliance
- Performance optimisation
- Testing before you launch
- Keeping it maintained and updated before launching
These are just a few things you need to add to your business website checklist to ensure it not only looks good, but is functional and helpful too. What are some top tips for getting a business website sorted? Let us know!
