While many of us can still remember the day, computers were first installed in our offices, we are well past the age of their induction. In 2020, a business or school that does not have computers is unheard of. According to the world-wide statistics site, Stastia, more than 1.5 billion computers were used in 2019. This number does not reflect all of the computers in businesses. It is fair to say, computers are used in massive numbers and many countries globally.
Of course, you are not going to target billions of computer users when you design your website.
Your first order of business is to target your current client base and territory. Your website will help build customer relationships, improve sales, and advance marketing programs. Having a quality computer system with the right design is valuable to businesses of every size.
What your website should have.
1. Modern and fresh design
- Hire a professional to design your website or create your own. Free website builders that are easy to use. WordPress is a popular choice. With WordPress, you have the skills needed to update when you want to.
2. Contact Information
- You need an active email
- Click to call (many people will not call if they have to write down your number and call you by dialing the number from their phones)
- List your physical address
3. Have interesting and meaningful content on your website
- The homepage is the first stop for your web page visitors. According to Forbes, neglecting this page is a critical mistake that small business owners often make.
4. Give people a voice
- Have an FAQ area with the questions and answers. Have a “Reviews” section. Do not let questions go unanswered.
5. Have social media tags
- Everyone uses them so get them on your site. This allows your visitor easy access to share your site.
Fresh content is life or death!
This may sound melodramatic but read on and you will understand. Most webmasters are all about keeping interesting and current content on their website. Their goal is to keep their clients coming back. This is not an easy job, but they do it week after week and it works.
Every business owner understands the need to excite their clients with their homepage. They know this is their first impression and if done incorrectly, it could be their last impression. But that is only a small part of the value your homepage affords you.
When your homepage is written and maintenanced it is rich in keywords and SEO optimized. Therefore, it is Google and search engine friendly. In other words, it allows you to be on Google’s radar. When you update and change your content using content that is SEO optimized and keyword-rich, it tells Google that your website is “Live” with activity and well written. Google then raises your site on their search engine results page. This allows you more chances to be seen by people and websites like yours. That brings in more activity. This begins a cycle of events that continues to keep your website near the top of search engines. When you neglect your site and never change your site, it appears your site is “dead”. There is no movement. No one has touched the site in months. It continues to fall lower and lower down into the search engine pit. Few people will bother with a dead site. They have doubts if the information is current and they certainly will not trust a dead site with their business.
Be Cutting Edge
As we mentioned above, you need fresh content. We challenge you to go a step beyond for homepage articles. When a new “thing” is introduced, everyone jumps on it. You can visit 50 websites and see 45 articles on the same topic. The goal seems to be how to announce that single new thing with different words. The true visionary will step out of that box. They will research what the concept was that brought this new thing about. They will look at today’s product and the goal of the manufacturer for the future. They will look to industry leaders and find out how it is working for them or if they are even trying it yet. Is the new thing the beginning of something great? If so what? What are we going to see in the future?
This does not mean you are expected to turn into a first-class investigator or a reviewer of every product. It means you can wait until you have some good facts and write unique and honest articles that are worth reading instead of trying to put a spin on the same article every other site owner is publishing. It means to take the time to stand out.
Things you should avoid on your website
Slow download
Sometimes we get carried away. If you are building your site, the graphics, and automation available can be so much fun, you want to use more than you should. But a cluttered site looks unprofessional, and it can slow down your page. A slow page download is the number one consumer complaint. People will click off your site rather than wait for the download.
Who are you?
There are websites on the internet that are beautifully made, but they are anything but clear about who they are. You can visit their “About Us” page and see the owners, the employees, and read about how long they have been in business. There is a page to contact them and even pictures of their company picnics. But, there is no mention of what kind of business they are. Most of the time, this is a well-known business in a small town or city. They may be a second or third-generation business. In their world, they are very popular. They do not get the concept of the internet taking their brand around the world.
Spam!
You got the message about the importance of keywords. You need keywords in your content. Google’s algorithms crawl the web and identify the keywords and the positioning and count of each. Using them properly gives you a proper place on Google’s search engines. Using them improperly causes problems like the following:
- Your sentences are unnatural and hard to read.
- The excessive use of keywords is considered spam which could result in the loss of your website temporarily or permanently.
- Your penalty can affect everyone who has linked to you. This could be a big blow to your business.
There are three directions your website can take you. Each of these directions is guided by you.
- Given the attention and effort required, your website is the most powerful marketing, sales, and customer service tool you will ever have.
- If left to stagnate, your website will float like a dead site on the internet, neither giving or taking from your company. The only money lost is the money you would have earned by becoming part of the virtual economy.
- Trying to use the internet improperly may get you in for a while, but your success will be short-lived. There are always people who think they can outsmart Google. There are black hat SEO providers. There are backdoor links and hackers. There are always people who try to beat Google. But Google will and does catch them. If you are one of the users who bought in with them thinking you were getting a great deal? You will be wiped out just like they are when they are caught.
Creating a great website is not that hard to do. There are companies everywhere that have do-it-yourself platforms that are as simple as click and drag. Once you get it set up, you must keep it up to date. Just like preparing for a visit from a good customer to your physical office, you prepare for a visit from your client to your virtual office. Keep everything nice and make sure you put out the latest information to show him. Your website is an extension of you. Put your best foot forward, and let your homepage do the work for you.
