A website deserves the same approach as any other aspect of your business and should not be seen as a necessary evil, especially for start-ups.

A start-up website has the advantage of being able to learn from its existing competitors, improving on what they have done and even leaping ahead of them in terms of presence.  Now you can begin to understand how analysing the success and shortcomings of the websites your business is up against can help significantly improve your businesses overall marketing success and reduce your long-term costs.

It would be futile to think that any website will do. A successful website doesn’t have to be expensive, but it does need to have clear thinking behind it that will ensure maximum exposure and effectiveness.

As with any of our clients Think will work with you and provide digital marketing advice starting with the basics, often overlooked:

• What is the purpose of the website?
• What is the desired look and feel of the website?
• Who is the website going to attract?
• What are the keyphrases they will search for to find you (other than your business/website name)?
• What do you want the website visitors to do when reaching the site?
• Who are your competitors on and off-line?
• What content do you want the website have?
• What content will your visitors want to see?
• Are there any technical requirements of the website?

With these answers we will have a clear picture of to which direction to take the website, including its look, style and interactivity.  We will also be able to plan to post launch marketing to help get targeted visitors to your site.

Complimenting any promotion off-line, being found readily through search engines is critical to visitor, lead and sales generation.  Please read our article about Search Engine Marketing or it is well advised to arrange a meeting to discuss this area of your site’s marketing in depth as there is plenty to learn and consider.

In terms of the design and content Think’s next stage is to build a profile of your visitors and understand what information they are looking for and therefore construct the site’s structure, navigation and content layout.

At Think we pride ourselves on our approach to website design. It is vital that all aspects work alongside one another and therefore are considered and documented before the design and build begins.

The design and build of a successful website requires a holistic approach and, even though cost may prohibit the addition of all desired features at the beginning, the fact that the website has been planned for growth and sustainability should put your online business presence on the front foot.

Before you make any decisions on your website talk to us and see how we can help start, build and grow your business.