Objectives

What is the purpose of a website?

What purpose is very dependent on who you are (an individual, a group of like minded individuals or an organisation/business either profit or non-profit). For individuals or groups who wish to share their interests, whatever they may be, the format of a site is clearly of very personal taste and no one should urge any specific disciplines on the design. But for organisations/businesses it is extremely important to implement a design that achieves key objectives.

Consider a website as your company's Curriculum Vitae. If you were going after a job your CV should be designed to get you "that" interview. Your personal CV usually only receives ten seconds of the recruiter's time and if you don't grab their attention in that period then you can forget the interview. The interview is where you sell your capabilities and either pass or fail.

So your website should be designed to get the prospective purchaser sufficiently interested in your company to make contact. It's only upon contact that you have the opportunity to sell. You'll only get an initial ten seconds of a prospective purchaser's time and if your site doesn't grab their attention in that period they'll soon find a site that does - your competitor's.

People searching for information, services or products, want details fast, they do not want to be bewildered. Remember that they have arrived at your site because they have searched for your product or service so they want to make quick value-judgments on what is on offer. Their time is their money and they don't want your site wasting it.

This doesn't mean that a website has to be boring (like this one) but it must achieve key objectives! If it doesn't you are wasting your time and your money!

So what are the key objectives?

Grab the attention
Deliver key information accurately & fast

Demonstrate your company as efficient and professional
Create a willingness in the prospective purchaser to contact
Keep your prospective purchaser interested

Have you ever searched for products or services on the internet? If yes, try answering these questions about the sites you visited:

Did the site load quickly?
Was it obvious what the organisation/company did?
Was it easy and intuitive to navigate?
Was it visually (and audibly) relaxing?
Did you get to the information you were looking for?
Would you go back to the site to check details/prices?
Were you able to easily find out how to contact?

If you answered yes to all these questions then that site achieved these key objectives. If you want their product you will contact and whether you buy will probably only depend on your price-performance analysis.

So in my opinion, the key points to business-effective website design are:

Keep it simple
Make it relevant to your market
Deliver accurate information
Keep to a consistent format
Ensure it is straightforward to navigate
Make it easy on the eyes
Never make your page(s) too busy or too long

Your Company is a quality organisation so present it so. Present it how you wish to do business - professionally.

Lastly, a website must be an integral part of your overall corporate image that should permeate throughout your organisation. If you have already established an image then a website should possess the same “look and feel” rather than be a separate entity. See your image in your website.

If you agree then I can help!