As a web design company and web designer myself of over ten years, I would like to explain what is involved in delivering web design services to a customer. Although every designer might be a little different, web design services require pretty much the same approach across companies. I believe that to understand web design, it is most important first to understand the purpose of a business website. For the sake of this article, I'm not going to speak on eCommerce websites but instead focus on lead driven sites. When approaching your company's website, you must put yourself in the mindset of both Google and your target customer.
Google will rank your website based on the relevance of your content because they know this is what your customer is looking to see. Your customer does not want generic content about your business, because they are on a mission to find the most trusted company to deliver the services they are looking to purchase. You may wonder why this is important when explaining web design services, but it is an essential aspect of building a great website. Below I have listed what I feel are the critical services involved when designing a great business website.
A Secure Website That You Own
Every website designed is built typically using a platform like WIX, Word Press, Weebly, Square Space, etc. Many designers use programs like Photoshop to create graphic elements that they import into the development platforms above to build a website. These platforms are merely tools to help a designer build and develop the site. None of these are drastically better than the other, and all offer pros and cons. Web designers tend to find the platform they are most comfortable with and promote that to their customers.
The SEO Contractor chooses to build many of our websites using WIX, and we have a laundry list of pros as to why we do this. We believe that if another designer chooses a different platform, there is nothing wrong with that if they are more comfortable. We suggest that the most critical aspect of choosing your web platform should ensure security as well as ownership access. One of the reasons we choose WIX is because of the protection they offer, and we have never had a site of ours hacked. The second reason we use WIX is for our customers, so they feel comfortable that they can access and own their website. We have had many customers come to us with sites that their previous designer owns and will not give them access. With WIX, it is so easy for a non-designer to access and understand in the worst case that they have too.
Wow Factor Design & User Experience
We could easily argue that design and experience is an essential aspect of a great website. Although content and search engine rankings are significant, it's the design and the call to actions that drive customer conversion. Great design is what taps into the psychology of people, and when we refer to experience, we mean the behavior that we can control with the site visitor. If your customer is visiting your site to learn about you, trust you, and make contact, we have to control it. Our jobs as designers are to give your customer a wow factor that drives them to choose you. The design must capture them immediately and drive them around the website in a precise way that informs them, helps them, and excites them.
I feel it is easy for some business owners to devalue the importance of design as well as to laugh at phrases like user experience. I hope this is not the case, but I have seen it before. I would suggest for you, the business owner, to think about yourself and your own experiences. I know that I search the internet every day, and I am always on websites and social media platforms. Sometimes I'm on a website for just a few minutes, and I don't get excited about anything I'm looking for, so I leave to search elsewhere. Sometimes, I find myself staying on a website reading this and clicking that, and next thing you know, I feel like I have to have whatever this site is selling me. So much so, that I feel like if I leave this site, I might never be able to get this awesome thing and lose out forever. This website design captured me, took me on a journey, and gave me an experience that I had to have.
Relevant Content That is Personal
Relevance is one of Google's main words to help people understand what type of content to put on the internet. Think about it; if someone searches the web, they expect the most relevant content to display as a result of their search. It is annoying when you search for something and can't find it, and Google's job is to make sure you see what is relevant to your search. Think about yourself, and let's assume you want to find a local service company to come to fix your house. Let's say you search, and the first few companies you find have ugly websites with generic content. You end up learning nothing about them, so you keep searching. These ugly websites sent you running to their competition. You keep searching for more options because you need to find a company that you can trust.
We all know this is the process when vetting companies that we search on the internet, yet so many business owners don't consider it with their website. Many business owners don't invest in the design or content of their website, and they don't seem to care. The truth is that your company website is where you should pour your heart out to your customers. Tell them everything you can about your company and your services. Let them see who you are personally, and don't be afraid to wear your heart on your sleeve. We are people who choose a company, but often are selecting the people who make up that business. You might have a lot of competition in your industry, but there is only one you. Your company, your team, and you, as the owner, are unique. One of the best website services to deliver is relevant content about your business.
SEO Optimized and Fresh Content
Having your company found in search engines by someone who has never heard of you before is a power that your website has. Ranking in Google is where SEO comes into play, which means search engine optimization. SEO is when you take your site, and you optimize its ability to be found at the top when someone searches. SEO requires much work, and there are two main components: onsite and offsite. When discussing web design services, we are talking mainly about the build and implementation of a website. When building a website, we would then start with onsite SEO. Onsite SEO refers to making sure the site is optimized on the front and backend while building. The initial SEO starts the website off on the correct foot and includes URLs, title, description, htags, content, alt image tags, and anchor links.
When hiring web design services, we would also recommend fresh content added to the website. Fresh content can come in two forms. If the site is a new design from an existing site, then fresh content could be an update to the current content by giving it a refresher. Google loves current content, so it is vital to make sure that old, outdated content is updated periodically. Once you complete your new website, then fresh content means adding content to your site frequently. It does not make sense to change content; this is current, but it does make sense to deliver new additional content continually. Google will love this, your customers will love this, and your website will grow.
Web Design by The SEO Contractor
Web design services could seem very simple, and as though any designer could achieve this result. Although this may be the case, we recommend choosing a company that will approach your website design, including all the factors discussed in the above article. Over the past 10 + years, we have seen websites sit on the internet doing nothing for companies, and we have seen great sites deliver consistent results. We are The SEO Contractor, and our web design services bring your business customers. Contact us today to learn more!
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