A recent study1 found that 52 percent of small businesses in the U.S. do not have a website while 56 percent of these businesses do not measure the effectiveness of their marketing programs. There are 28 million small businesses according2 to the Small Business Administration, accounting for 54 percent of annual sales. 15 million small businesses are missing out on an estimated 58 percent of users who go online for shopping information and to make a purchase. It’s time to consider incorporating a high-end web design for your website; here are some reasons why and steps to consider for improving your online presence.

A high-quality website can bring more potential customers which translate in the potential conversion of that individual into a loyal and satisfied customer. This process, known as your online conversion rate3, is just one of the things an exceptional web design for your website can bring to your business. How customers see you is related to your branding4 efforts or the image you project to the public of which your website plays an important role.

The steps that you need to consider for creating a high quality web design include: commitment to the process; creating or incorporating the design into your marketing plan; considering the structure or architecture of your web design; designing the website; programming and coding your web design to meet your desired look; measuring the quality of the design before release; promoting your website; measuring the success of your design in relationship to your Key Performance Indicators (KPIs); maintaining your web design; and, engaging in a quality assurance program. Here is more information on your checklist5 of steps.

REASONS FOR A HIGH-QUALITY LEVEL WEB DESIGN

WHAT TO CONSIDER WHEN CREATING YOUR WEB DESIGN

I. COMMITMENT TO THE PROCESS

Before you engage in the process of acquiring assistance in creating your web design as part of your branding efforts, you need to create a plan. Incorporate the web design into your overall marketing plan, accounting for how your web design will be used to market, promote and bring customers to your doorstep and create a competitive advantage for your business.

The first step in your high quality web design checklist is determining your commitment to having a strong and effective website. If you’re not committed to the idea of having a website as part of your overall marketing effort, do not invest the time, money or effort in building one; however understand the tradeoff well in terms of lost potential sales opportunities.

II. CREATING OR INCORPORATING THE DESIGN INTO YOUR MARKETING PLAN

III. CONSIDER THE STRUCTURE OR ARCHITECTURE OF YOUR WEB DESIGN

You want to make sure that all of the design considerations for your website are functional and make sense to the end user. This includes plotting out the architecture or structure of your web design to include only those elements that will effectively promote your brand and enhance the end user experience.

IV. DESIGN THE WEBSITE

The web design6 aspect allows you to create a space that meets the expectations and needs of your customers. You need to take into account the way in which users will interact with the website. You also need to think about the types of actions that you want of those who visit the website in order to increase your online conversion rate.

V. PROGRAM AND CODE YOUR WEB DESIGN TO MEET YOUR DESIRED LOOK

The programming and coding part of your web design should be performed by a highly experienced team of web page designers. You need to ask about their experience with creating websites specific to your industry as well as their understanding of the type of designs that stand out among your competitors.

VI. MEASURE THE QUALITY OF THE DESIGN BEFORE RELEASE

Once the website has been built and prior to launch, you need to have in place a rigorous testing program designed to troubleshoot any potential problems before you release the design to your potential customers.

VII. PROMOTE YOUR WEBSITE

Having an excellent web design that promotes your business, product and service offerings is only part of the process. One item to keep on your checklist for a high quality web design is the promotional aspect.

VIII. MEASURE THE SUCCESS OF YOUR DESIGN (KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS)

Part of your initial planning process included the establishment of measurements for success, which are known as key performance indicators or KPIs. Certain Measures7 such as conversion rate, prospect rate (the number of individuals who view your pages for the first time) and abandonment rate (individuals who filled out a form but did not submit) should be incorporated in your website analytics in order to determine the success of the design.

IX. MAINTAIN YOUR WEB DESIGN

A crucial aspect of your web design process is the maintenance of the web pages for functionality and user acceptance. Using your performance measures (KPIs) as a guideline, be sure that you have in place a process for reviewing underperforming design elements and making changes where needed to improve your overall performance and conversion rate.

X. ENGAGE IN A QUALITY ASSURANCE PROGRAM

Quality assurance is an ongoing process that should be taking place before, during and after the web design process. A high quality web design will put you in the best competitive situation possible; a poorly designed website can put you at a disadvantage relative to the marketplace.

Sources :

1. http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikaandersen/2013/10/07/how-small-business-owners-are-wrecking-their-own-chances-of-success/ 2. http://www.sba.gov/sites/default/files/files/_All%20States%2013.pdf 3. http://www.forbes.com/sites/davelavinsky/2014/03/18/how-to-increase-conversion-rates/ 4. http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/77408 5. http://moz.com/blog/holygrail-of-ecommerce-conversion-optimization-91-points-checklist 6. http://www.nathan.com/thoughts/unified/index.html 7. http://www.thinkmetrics.com/thebasics.php

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