Like any great marketing campaign or ad, a beautifully crafted website will draw in prospects like bees to honey. The following designs are reflective of the products they sell – fresh, crisp, serene and resplendent. One glance at these pages and a prospect can easily see the aspects of health and nature these businesses are intending to convey.
Which design is your favorite?
With today’s consumer market hinging largely on the Internet, most companies utilize websites to draw the attention of new business opportunities. And with so much opportunity residing within each organization’s URL, a website’s content and impact are of the essence. That being said, there is little room for error.The following website mistakes are common errors that companies can easily avoid.
1. Too Much Flash, Not Enough Substance - Sure Flash may look cool, but a website overflowing with Flash is impractical. For one, flash requires a lot of bandwidth. Two, Flash is not mobile friendly. A big mistake considering Smart Phones are only increasing in popularity. And last but not least, Search Engines invest absolutely no value. Without a plentiful bounty of substance, a website’s SEO goes right out the window.
2. Not optimizing your optimization – In terms of SEO, optimizing your home page is just the beginning. Each and every page should be strategically composed, from utilization of keywords to meta tags, optimized titles and strong content. The more you optimize, the better your chances of being spotlighted by search engines. But on a cautionary note, don’t over-optimize your webpage either. Cramming in as many keywords as possible and focusing more on the strategy than the actual content will prove counter effective.
3. Not understanding the need for speed – In today’s fast paced world, slow websites are no longer acceptable. Prospects are interested in quick and easy service, meaning very little patience for a sluggish page. If you’re suffering from a practically comatose URL, check out this slow website checklist to determine possible culprits.
4. Being a Browser Snob – While a majority of users may use Internet Explorer, many others will surf via Firefox, Opera, Safari and Chrome. If your website doesn’t work for the prospect’s browser of choice, consider the lead lost.
5. Missing What It’s About- With a plethora of competitors and options vying for the same business, consumers have a lot from which to choose. Oftentimes, they’ll try to grasp the personality or the vibe of a business, opting to go with the organization that most closely reflects their ideals. Without an about page to really establish what the website is all about, an organization will remain faceless.
For companies looking to strengthen the visibility of their websites, SEO efforts must be ongoing. Search engines “crawling” websites, for example, value fresh and informative content. Pages that hold older, static, possibly outdated information are not graded as well. Therefore, businesses looking to rank high on results pages should seriously consider website redesigns every so often.
If you’re looking into giving your domain a face lift, here are 5 key elements that will please prospects and search engines alike.
What important elements do you consider when redesigning your website?
Every day, business professionals are overwhelmed by countless e-mails, links and websites. Often times, organizations competing for the same business use similar wording to describe their services. So how does a company stand out from the countless corporations all vying for the same business? The answer is undoubtedly branding that is both fresh and appealing. With websites, blogs, collateral and even business cards, companies should pursue a professional look that is immediately eye catching. Still skeptical about the importance of design? Today, I’d like to use resumes to prove my point.
Regardless of template or source, most resumes consist of a heading, objective, education summary, experience summary and list of technical expertise. But check out the immediate impact of these visually stunning resumes.
These resumes teach us that a professional design paired with creativity can really push a company from the middle to the front. In addition to creating a lasting impression, unique and appealing branding can also show off an organization’s company. And anytime a brand can make a prospect laugh or smile, chances are they’ve just earned a client.
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