What does it mean to have an effective website?
The first two adjectives we use to describe our the websites we build are "effective" and "beautiful". I think "beautiful" is relatively self explanatory, but what does an effective website mean?
Most people would answer this question something like "it generates sales and inquiries", which is true, but it's only part of the picture.
Effective website design isn't as simple as generating leads. An effective website is one that executes its role within your overall marketing and digital strategy.
This can often be much more complex that simply generating leads, and although that is almost certainly part of it, there is a much bigger picture to consider. To give you an example, if you're an ecommerce retailer, and part of your digital strategy is to make your entire product range available on Facebook, how does your website support this, in combination with your social management tools?
Understanding how to get the most out of your website is all about understanding the role it plays within your broader strategy, and it's your broader strategy that will define what it is you need your website to do. For some organisations, their digital strategy is so heavily focused around social media that for them, they don't even NEED a website. And that's a perfect acceptable outcome! But you need to be making these decisions based on a considered, long term marketing strategy.
When we sit down with a new client to discuss their website, one of the first things we discuss is exactly this - what are the strategic goals you are trying to achieve, how are you planning on achieving them, and what role does the website play in all this? Once we understand the strategic reasoning behind your website, we can craft a truly effective solution, one that does more than just generate a few leads, but operates as the integral part of your overall strategy that you need.
Assembler is a web design agency based in Perth, Western Australia. This blog is intended to be an informal, behind the scenes look into the web design and development industry. If you like our content, please follow us on LinkedIn or Facebook!