beginners guide to website development

The beginners guide to website development.

© Copyright FINAO Pty Ltd. December 2009

FiNAO: Web design, development, online marketing & consulting.



Introduction

• The first question should be … What do you want to achieve through your website? What are your objectives?

• There will be a variety of answers;

- To be found by potential consumers.

- Provide information about the services provided

- Build credibility and trust with consumers through the content.

- Provide a ‘call-to-action’, engage & interact with users.

- Differentiate yourself from competitors

• Before the design phase commences you will need a clearset of clear objectives.


Measurement

• Before we build a website will need to decide how will the success of the site be measured?

• What are the KPI’s?

- The number of enquiries or the number of sales?

- The number of registrations or members?

- Site analytics; the bounce rate, unique visits, page-views, time on site etc.

- Or simply, how good it looks, the compliments and feedback you receive.

• The KPI’s you set will dictate how it is designed and built.


Budget

• Websites are like cars, you get exactly what you pay for!

• As well as the initial build, there is the on-going management and maintenance plus the addition of new components to consider.

• Do you want the Hyundai or Aston Martin?


Some basic website rules

• Use an address [a URL] that is easy to remember and that is easy to type in!

• The site has to look good, it needs to grab the users attention within seconds.

• Navigation should be clear and simple.

• Tell them up front who you are and what you do.

• Place most information ‘above-the-fold’.

• The site should be intuitive and not confusing!


Basic rules contd.

• Content is key - it should be developed and written with your users in mind, use a language they will understand.

• Content that is good [and regularly updated] will encourage return traffic and will affect your search ranking.

• It should be credible, persuasive and engaging.

• Allow browsers to provide feedback ... and ensure you respond to this feedback (once again this will affect your search ranking).

• eCommerce, if available, should be simple and secure


Some common design mistakes

• Confusing or unclear navigation.

• Using language or words that your users do not understand.

• Content that never changes - outdated information or articles.

• User incompatibility - test across all browsers!

• Graphics that take too long to download.

• Broken links.

• Having a website that is not scalable to meet your future business requirements.

Remember that it is hard enough to get a user to you site in the first

place without giving them a reason to close the page!


Update your existing site?

• Do you have a website that does not meet your objectives?

• If so it may be time for a facelift … there are a few questions to consider;

- Is your website professional and appealing?

- What do you want users to take away from the visit?- What is the ‘call-to-action’?- What is your competitive advantage? - Do you have eCommerce capabilities?- How are you measuring its effectiveness?

Consider building a new site …


Developing a new website

• Choose a domain that is easy to remember and is available.

• Decide on the site objectives?

• Decide what content you want on your site?

• Will you update the site or will you engage a developer - you may require a content management system (CMS).

• Write a brief that clearly articulates your requirements, find other sites that you like (and don’t like) as reference.

• How will you measure the success?


Search

• Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is the practice of making a web site rank higher in the search results of major search engines.

• Search Engine Marketing (SEM) is paying for your site to feature top in the search results.

• Search is the primary way users find web-sites today.

• Consider how search engines work, eg. home page copy, page descriptions, tags, content in flash versus HTML etc.

• Your website must be designed using basic SEO techniques.


Legislation

• If you are collecting consumer data on your website then you must comply with the relevant Codes of Practice (The Spam Act, Privacy Act as well as industry guidelines).

• Permission-based marketing is key to establishing a direct relationship between consumers and brands.

• Get advice on the best method of capturing permission-based information that can be used for future marketing activities.


Conclusion

• Building a website is very simple - building an effective website that is easily found is a little more complicated.

• Ensure you clearly identify your business & marketing objectives and have clear measurement criteria

• Once your site is developed ensure you are meeting your objectives, continue to measure and optimise.

• An effective website will look good, be functional, engaging, interactive and be easily found.


More information?

• Contact Terry Down

mobile 0413 481070

email [email protected]

web www.finao.com.au

beginners guide to website development

Business

site objectives

new site

new website

site analytics

existing site

website development

website professional

basic website rules