Web Content Development Is Essential For Any Business
Posted by Thomas Padgett on Mon, Jul 11, 2011
When the World Wide Web became available to a mass audience in the mid-1990s, a company that had a web page was more the exception than the rule. Customers paid by mail or telephone. A web presence may have been desirable, but not required.
How times have changed
Fast-forward to 2011. In today's competitive business environment, a web page is not a luxury. To say a web presence is a requirement is an understatement. Just try thinking of a business without one.
From television commercials to advertisements in printed media, fast, safe and convenient ordering is only a click away. To not offer this option to potential customers would put a company at a tremendous disadvantage-as well as signaling they are hopelessly stuck in the previous century.
What this means for your business
With more than 255 million websites on the Internet as of December, 2010, your business faces the challenge of standing out from the crowd. This is where web content can make all the difference in the world.
Remember this--just because your written content is on a different medium, certain principals of writing and marketing still apply:
- Know your audience. A huge and often repeated mistake of many businesses is trying to be all things to all people. It usually doesn't work. Always ask yourself: Who am I trying to attract? What are their concerns? What is our solution to these concerns? What benefits can we offer our customers?
- Understand keywords and search engine optimization. Your website can look great, with all the latest bells and whistles. But if your potential customers can't find you, it is not going to bring in any business. If you don't understand keywords and search engine optimization, hire someone who does.
- Put yourself in the place of a potential customer who just discovered your website. Are your purpose and benefits stated clearly? What about ease of operation? With many other websites to choose from, making things difficult for a potential customer will often result in losing them--to a competitor with a more user-friendly website.
Website Specifics
There are a some areas that pertain only to websites rather than traditional media. Here are a few of them:
- Linking. There are times when linking is beneficial. There are also times when it is not. It is crucial to know when to link and when not to.
- How many words should be on each page.
- How to use text for optimal eye-tracking
- How to keep the potential customer flowing from page to page
All of these ideas are important. In fact, any one of them can make or break a successful website. As mentioned earlier, if you are unable to answer these questions, consider hiring professional help that can give you the answers-the easy way-before you learn them the hard way.
What not to do with your website
As hard as it is to believe, there are still websites that ignore some or all of these principals of success. From horrible graphic design to complex user/interface navigation and just plain old bad copywriting, a look at what some businesses are doing wrong can be a valuable learning experience for you-and it's free!
Continually monitor results and be prepared to make adjustments
Your website is up and running, you have been told by your designer that the graphics are perfect and the page is user-friendly. This does not mean that it is time to sit back and wait for the profits to come rolling in. The web is an around-the-clock, rapidly changing environment. Consumer's tastes change rapidly, and what worked yesterday may be obsolete today.
Therefore, all forward thinking businesses should encourage feedback from their customers. This means continually make sure your business is meeting their needs, as well as anticipating their new needs as much as possible.
Don't forget to stay aware of all new technology breakthroughs that may help you
service your customers more efficiently. Again, if you lack the technical background to stay on top of this, make sure you add someone to your team that can handle it.
Summary
There is only one chance to make a first impression. For many of your potential customers, their visit to your website will be this chance. The good news is this: what they see and experience is totally in your control. Therefore, all of the work and planning you put into your website will pay off many times over.