Reading time: 6 minutes Summary Researching web design companies require “trusting your gut” and cultivating empathy for your market Find a trustworthy outside opinion to confirm or clarify your research Creating an easy-to-maintain system to track your research is essential A priority list will guide your research to ensure you receive the best value on […]
What Do a Meal and a Website Have in Common?
Written by:
Chris Jamison - Director
Published on:
September 7, 2021
Reading time: 3 minutes
Summary
The primary functions of your website include describing your product or service and shuffling its visitors towards conversion.
Your website has two primary goals.
- Describe the product or service your business provides or your organizationʼs mission
- Provide easy access for conversion
Think of a website as a meal. The primary reason for eating a meal is to absorb calories and nutrients for your body.
Visitors to your website want to learn about your organization's services or products. The website serves as an online maître d.
A maître d pleasantly guides you around the restaurant, subtly prompting you to buy another drink or dessert.
Your website should provide easy access to take a further step towards conversion.
Conversion describes the moment a visitor completes a specific action that that contributes to your businessʼ growth. Conversions can include actions that you may already be familiar with, like purchasing a product. But conversions can also include signing up for a newsletter or using a contact form. The link in this paragraph explains the concept very well.
Websites also allow your business to communicate your brand to your clients or patrons. The layout decisions, choices of fonts, images, and videos, and the emotion your copy shares are tools to communicate with website visitors.
Often the skill a company or non-profit displays as it accomplishes the primary function takes care of the secondary function to brand a company. More on that a little later in this series.
Conversions are the point of a website
A website that converts is a website that allows your customers easy access to your products and customer service. If you’re a non-profit, it will mean your membership increases and donations are at a healthy level.
Setting up your website to allow for easy conversions by your customers or clients is essential.
Many visitors will leave your website if it is not visually appealing. But high-quality design incorporates more than visual elements to accomplish the website’s intent. Layout decisions, fonts, photos, and the emotion your copy projects are part of design. Navigation that shoots visitors easily from one part of your website to another is key as well.
It is worth imagining how your business plans to connect with your clients or customers in this pre-planning phase.
Conversions and Content Strategy
You’ll likely want to answer clients’ questions. But do you want a Frequently Asked Questions page? Or do you want a contact form to allow for one-on-one interaction to give a personal touch?
Suppose you sell products in an e-commerce store. What type of content do you think is necessary to excite your customers into making more sales?
And for non-profits, defining conversion could come in the form of sign-ups for volunteers. Consider how to explain your non-profit to hopeful volunteers to motivate them to complete an online form?
If you don’t think how your business' operation relates to the way your customers use your website, that’s fine.
Be sure when you begin to talk to web design companies to develop a content strategy with them. In that meeting, present any marketing materials available to the web design representative. Speak in detail about your organization, e.g. its mission, its products or services, and your goals.
If you are considering hiring a web design company and want to talk about a content strategy for your own business, I want to help. Please reach out and I will get back to you within the next business day.
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