Why having a website strategy matters
New year, new site?
I’m not normally one for the narrative of a new-year refresh but when it comes to building a website that will actually help you meet your business goals, this is a resolution I can get behind!
If you haven’t given much thought to the strategy behind your website, it’s one to add to the resolution list. A website strategy may not be as exciting as your promise to start jogging or cut back on your evening glass of wine, but it will have a huge impact on your business.
So, why exactly do you need a website strategy and what can it do for your business?
While it’s tempting to think about your website as an extension of your aesthetic and perfectly-curated IG feed, your website needs to take a much more strategic approach to communicate with your audience.
A website strategy is essentially your plan to create a website that does what you want it to do - which might be connecting with your audience, providing valuable information about your business, improving your credibility, becoming a space for discovery and inspiration, or increasing conversions.
Essentially, there’s one big question you need to ask yourself when you’re creating your website strategy and it’s pretty simple:
What do you want your website to do?
Having a clear website strategy in place will help you achieve your business goals and create a great online experience for your user.
According to Digileads, 94% of first impressions are design-related. A major part of a successful website is of course how it looks, but before you begin designing the visuals, you need to start with the foundational elements.
Once you’ve hooked your audience, how will you keep them on the site? Here are some pointers for you to think about.
What are your website goals?
Your website can pretty much do whatever you want it to: it’s your unique space in the online stratosphere, and it’s up to you to decide what purpose it will serve.
Start by thinking about your wider 2022 business goals to make sure your website is playing into your bigger-picture strategy.
Let’s say your business goal in 2022 is to boost your sales. We’d then want to think about how we could design your website to help you reach that goal. The same goes for giving your audience more trust in your business: we’d then focus on transparent web content. If you want to increase conversions, we’d want to look at the journey the user takes through your website and ensure there’s a clear path from discovery to purchase.
Think about what you want to achieve in your business, and then look at ways your website can support you in reaching these goals.
Who is your target audience?
If you’ve built a following on social media, then you’ll already know a fair amount about your audience, like what content they find interesting, what they find valuable, and what generates the most engagement or discussion.
A successful website strategy is built around great user experience (UX), so use what you currently know about your target audience to create a site they’re going to enjoy using. One way you could do this is to take a look at other sites your target audience loves, and see if you can see any patterns in UX that you could implement on your own site.
UX is all about strategically creating a website that takes the customer on a journey. This can mean creating a clearer user pathway, refining the way you direct your user through your website, or even adapting the design elements to make it more user-friendly. Top testing tip: ask a friend to visit your website and watch how they interact with it.
Which pages should your website cover?
There are a few standard practices when it comes to the pages that people expect to see when they land on your site. Usually, when people visit your website it’s to do one or two of the following things: to find out more about your business, to get in touch with you, or to buy from you. For the majority of websites, this is a pretty solid foundation:
A ‘Home’ page
An ‘About’ page
A ‘Services / Products’ page
A ‘Contact’ page
There are many other pages you could add to your website but try to be intentional when adding content to your site. I’m all about quality over quantity, and the last thing you want to do is overwhelm your visitors. Clarity is a really important aspect of a successful website, so make sure you’ve condensed your info down into clear sections. At every stage, ask yourself: is this going to help me towards my goals? If yes, then go for it! If not, think about what might be a better use of your precious time and energy.
Need a hand figuring out your website strategy?
That’s what I’m here for! My Website Clarity Sessions are 60-minute co-creative sessions where we can hash out your website challenges together, answer any burning questions you have or untangle pieces of your website strategy.
