Do you need to spend tens of thousands of dollars to make your website right? Maybe.
Can your website successfully bring you business? It depends…
Even if you are a small business or organization, not having a website will result in lost customers. Your website creates your public identity and establishes your credibility. What your website looks like affects how people perceive you. You wouldn’t dream of showing up to an important meeting in an old, stained t-shirt, would you? A poorly designed website can give an equally bad impression.
Design and visual layout are more important than you may think, but ease of navigation is the leading factor in website success or failure. On the most basic level, the site needs to work and display the content the user expects. Run a user test to find out if your website is user friendly: find an honest friend and watch how they explore your site. What you think is intuitive and simple might be totally missed by someone else.
When it comes to site text, there are two ditches to avoid falling into: overly technical language that will leave your customer confused, and strong marketing language that glazes over product specifics and leaves your customer wondering what you're really trying to sell. Good marketing writing is a unique skill–it may be worthwhile to hire someone to write your website copy.
Many websites lack a good layout. You have to develop trust and credibility with potential customers quickly. Too much information too fast will scare people away, but most users want information–that's why they are on your website to begin with. It's all about how you lay it out. Clearly identify who you are and what you do; display your information in "bite size" chunks, and use real photos of people, buildings, and equipment if applicable. As you address these issues, you will be surprised to see how effective your website can be.
All sites evolve over time--just be sure you are moving forward. And then check out the Way Back Machine (www.archive.org). They have been archiving snapshots of websites since 1996–you’ll be surprised to see what the web used to look like.
