Your company’s website should be more than a digital billboard. Modern best-in-class websites tell a brand’s story, convey emotion and inspire visitors to take action. Even more, it should directly contribute to your marketing and sales efforts.
That’s the very definition of a great website, and where the bar should be set. If your site isn’t adding to your bottom line, it’s holding you back. Time to get it working as hard as you do!
The leadership team at Atlas Rose Marketing has a fantastic mid-week tradition called “Wine, Whiskey & Websites.” It’s a live CDC-friendly Zoom call where up to six senior team members shoot from the hip and offer constructive criticism for any company interested in tuning up their digital presence. It’s free to apply and comes with no obligation.
The “whiskey” theme comes from Atlas Rose’s playful tagline – “Fueled by bourbon (whiskey), coffee, and Jesus.” President Branden O’Neil points out, “The whiskey part is optional, but the theme is really to convey a message of no judgments and honest feedback, all in a relaxed atmosphere with friends.”
All web review sessions follow the same format, seven criteria, and scored by the team.
- Be Clear
The home page should clearly communicate what value the business brings within just 7 seconds. If it takes longer than that for the web visitor to learn what you do and how you make their life better, they’re going to bounce. And not be back.
- Be Relevant
Having a firm understanding of your target audience is important. Pictures matter. Avoid stock images if you can, and pay particular attention to the people on your pages. Do they look like the audience you are trying to attract? Never forget your web visitors are people too and they want to feel comfortable and safe using your company’s product or service. In the end, people buy from people, not faceless corporations.
- Be Generous
Look for ways to keep your online visitors coming back. Being generous means having your site full of useful information and tools. Take the opportunity to lead your industry through education and help someone on the path to solving their problem. This includes white papers, how-to videos, and downloadable reports. Not only will it help lower your bounce rate, but it will also earn the trust and respect of your audience.
- Be Simple
A good exercise is to read your web copy and challenge yourself to communicate the same message – in fewer words. If your toolbar presents too many options, it can be overwhelming. When visitors get too much information too soon, they get confused and X-out. Overwhelmed users get paralyzed and don’t make online purchases and inquiries.
- Be Consistent
Make sure your pages, sales collateral, business cards, and even t-shirts are all consistent with your brand standards. This means using the same colors, message tone, logo, and taglines throughout your communication. Never let a user wonder if they’ve left your company pages.
- Be Beautiful
Yes, in the competitive online world, beauty matters. Your website is battling for attention 24/7, so give it the scrutiny it needs. Invest in top quality photographs, make sure it renders properly on a mobile device and look for ways to continually approve and adapt with market conditions. After all, your website is a representation of your entire company. Does it reflect your reality?
- Be Findable
Even a beautiful, well-written website with great photos can go unnoticed. Someone on your team needs to pay attention to relevant keywords, and other technical must-haves so that Google and the other search engines display your site. Site speed, security, font choices, and site structure are just some of the details that require your attention. If Google doesn’t display your site on the first page, it’s like advertising on a billboard in the desert.
If you would like to have your website professionally reviewed, you can apply here to learn what you need to get your website to perform like the asset it should be.
