In order to help companies set the right priorities when developing or redesigning a site, we will tell you about the common mistakes made when developing the site and the the approach we use to achieve our clients’ business aims.
Ineffective work on the site results from the mistakes made by web design agencies multiplied by the clients’ mistakes and complemented with the chaotic development process.
● Superficial development: web studios do not key into the business, product or service.
● The site demonstrates what is already known: it is worth discovering and showing something unobvious, yet necessary for every customer segment.
● The site is not integrated into the company business processes: web design agencies take no interest in that.
● Marketing and sales are not automated.
Clients’ mistakes result point-blank from the errors of web design agencies, which further complicates the problem with the site:
● Clients are confident in their knowledge: all employees being top-managers or marketing specialists have their own view of how to best develop a site or they likes someone else’s site design due to its layout.
● The user interface dominates over business aims, research or common sense: the business aims to take a back seat.
● The basic aims of the site are not defined, so KPI is not performed.
● Site content creation time is not taken into account: behind the scenes, content creation makes up 60% of work
● Speculation on the cost in terms of “cheap” and “expensive”: only the site that makes a buck or not in the specified time is in business.
How is a site created? A web design agency and a client meet for 2-3 hours to have a cup of coffee. The client explains what he wants to the developers; the developers consider the client’s business fully explored. Then the terms of reference are developed as well as website design, coding, programming, testing etc. are carried out.
When the site is launched, out of a sudden the client members that something was left out – but this means extra work and may lead to a complete redesign of the site, which is not planned in the budget.
Client and web design agency expectations appear not to be aligned. In the end, the client does not get what they want.
Step 1. To realize that the site is not a product but a marketing process
The site is a process, which presupposes constant cash infusions and efforts made.
Along with developing the business, the site much undergoes changes and reorganization.
Be ready to participate in the development process, involve contractors and other employees of your company.
Step 2. Make the right choice of the web design agency
1. The agency involved in internet marketing besides web design, as a rule, is experienced in what is needed for a successful website and its promotion.
2. Portfolio of the agency comprises cases, in which business research and web design analytics were conducted with the findings presented in the form of the aims achieved.
3. The agency works on the project in separate teams and delegates tasks to various departments and specialists.
4. The agency performs the following tasks at the start of the project:
5. The website development process involves the following stages:
6. The agency has experience of business automation by ourselves or by reliable partners.
Step 3. Develop an internet marketing strategy
In order to develop a strategy, it is necessary to:
1. Analyze the business model of the company. To form the brief on the market, the business, the products and services and to analyze automation.
2. Set the aims and tasks for internet marketing
3. Understand the target audience
4. Analyze the site, online and offline advertising as well as the content and the data gathered on analytics.
5. Study the demand formed in the internet
6. Study the competitors, offline as well
7. Forecast return on investments in the site development
Step 4. Ace in the site structure
The site structure is a marketing, demand, and audience segment-based grid, not a mere collection of pages as viewed by the developer. It combines:
The structure covers all queries on the subject. For every audience segment, a number of pages and sections are developed to encourage the client to buy.
Step 5. Don’t create a landing page instead of a site. Create a site from landing pages and rip your competitors to shreds
All product pages of the site (better yet every page) must be designed as landing pages.
Every product, service or USP are presented in detail and accompanied with information graphic, video, instructions, and cases.
Step 6. Work on the convincing and inbound marketing capacity of the site
On the basis of research, all the functionality spotted on the competitors’’ sites as well as demanded by the market, is implemented: collators, calculators, task schedulers.
This is the way product filtering as required by customers is conducted.
Step 7. Rationalize marketing automation
Introduction of marketing automation enables to increase the conversion rate. The advantage of marketing automation is a chance to automatically generate leads, push up sales as well as increase the average basket. Marketing automation also enables to cut costs on canvassing one customer.
Website structure development demands to take into account the automation strategy.
Automation has to be integrated correctly in your business processes and then it will produce a considerable effect. Check how the implementation of marketing automation on a florist website helped push up sales by 55,5%.
Step 8. Adaptability to mobile devices
You may think that some projects do not demand a focus on mobile design. In 2015, mobile traffic was 20%, however, by 2016 it reached 50%.
Thus, do not launch your site without the design and layout for mobile devices for no well-grounded reason.
Step 9. Linking the site with the Sales Department and analytics
What is customized analytics:
Step 10. Site maintenance
As a rule, the client lacks competences to maintain their site and the site demands monthly maintenance and support.
The agency must eliminate bugs, upgrade the services, make regular changes and adjustments following the analysis and customize the site to business events.
Time limit: 2-3 months minimum
But the development of the basic version is more likely to take up to 4-6 months. Then, it is further developed as to additional content and SEO, and it is adjusted based on the behavior of the real audience and changes in the business environment and market in the following 6-9 months.
The costs either payback or not.
As we have already mentioned at the beginning of the article, the site either pays back within a certain time period, or it doesn’t. Most often, short-term (one-year) payback is negative, however, in two years the dynamics becomes positive.
1. We calculate the cost of site development
2. We settle on the business factors:
3. We form a revenue and expenditure schedule using various marketing tools.
Site payback forecast is not itself a guarantee but a benchmark to be regularly checked with.
If you made all the above-mentioned steps, there is a chance that your site will become a genuine business tool, but not a beautiful image telling about your company.
