There are several things you have to consider when building your site. Linking it to socials, tracking website visitors, and making sure your website is coming up in Google search are just a few things you have to keep in mind. Before you deal with the nitty-gritty though, you have to think of the big picture. What’s the purpose of your site? Do you want to educate? Sell something? Showcase your portfolio? Deciding on site goals before you start your website ensures you’re moving in the right direction.
Knowing your site goal before you start building the actual site will help you build a vision for your website. Once you decide on a site goal you can make sure that everything you put into the site is working towards the overarching goal. So the first step is deciding what kind of site you want.
There are six goals that most websites have. They are:
A brand awareness website aims to bring as much attention to the brand and website as possible. It’s about getting the word out there! Brand awareness can create a buzz around the product you’re trying to sell or the message you want to get across. Brand awareness is important for many reasons. The most important being that it builds recognition. Once individuals recognize your brand, they are much more likely to engage with you.
If you decide that your site’s goal is brand awareness, your site should have aspects that optimize that goal. The first being strong content marketing. Content marketing means you are pulling from outside sources to bring your consumers the very best content. So let’s say you’re a design firm wanting to bring awareness about your services. While talking about those on your website is great, you should also supplement that with valuable information to your customers. For example, maybe it’s having a blog discussing the ten best sofa brands and how to use those sofas in your home.
Blogging is a great way to content market. You can bring valuable information to your consumers. Plus, blogs are a great way to develop lead generation. According to Neil Patel, having a blog can increase a company’s lead generation by 67%. This helps users find you organically on the internet. Another way to maximize your blogging efforts is to have guest content. To do this you can either feature content from other sites or have rotating writers. Not only does this give readers a fresh voice to listen to, but writers will want to link back to your website. Not only promoting their content but yours as well!
Let’s say, after careful reflection, you decide the purpose of your website is showcasing a gallery, portfolio, or resume. While these are all very different topics the end goal is the same: to show the user something. Whether that be images, a skillset, or anything else of the like, there are several types of sites that fall into this category. Online galleries, portfolios, and resumes are all projects that need to be showcased.
When putting together a gallery site, one functionality you need to have is an airy, clean design. Gallery sites are simplistic because users are supposed to focus on the art, not the website design. Keep in mind what an actual gallery looks like when building out the site. Art is not on top of each other; each piece stands on its own. Refrain from collages and any other design elements that could take away from the imagery.
When showcasing your portfolio, you want to follow the same elements. Don’t include anything that would distract a viewer from the purpose of your website. When building an online portfolio, the most common mistake is leaving out a contact page. You have all your work displayed, the website design is pristine, and your digital marketing efforts are on par. But where can a potential client contact you? So many forget the last piece to the puzzle. Prioritize a contact page when building your online presence so when potential customers try to reach you it’s seamless.
Alas, the most popular type of site–the kind that makes money! While online stores usually have various features, you need to make sure all those features are serving your website's purpose. Is the checkout process seamless? Is the user experience getting to the product page optimized? Are all calls to action towards selling the product or service? The goal of an e-commerce website is usually very clear. One can get lost with content marketing, fancy widgets, or other features that could easily take away from the ultimate selling goal. For example, while content marketing is great and featuring other brands or a topic that isn’t specifically relevant to your company can provide valuable information to your consumers, you don’t want to distract from the main message. Promote your own online sales while still bringing relevant information to your target audience. This can be a difficult marketing strategy to abide by but will result in great gains for your website in the long term!
The goal of an entertainment website is to get users to spend their free time with you on your website. Whether that be through games, quizzes, or modules. To make sure you are supporting that goal, make sure that a user’s experience is seamless and easy to understand. One common issue with entertainment websites is slow loading times or unresponsiveness due to website overload. Make sure everything on your site is relevant and useful. Filling your website with information that isn’t working for you not only takes away from the site goal but makes loading relevant information so much more difficult. This is so important to keep in mind when entertainment sites usually have heavier elements like gifs, games, and videos.
If you decide after analyzing the blueprint for your site that your goal is connection, you must differentiate what kind of connection you are aiming to display. Do you want to connect an individual to an individual? Or an individual to you? Be sure to maximize widgets in the website builder to strengthen the message you're trying to get across. Under this function, there are several options to connect you to others like:
Before you start building your website decide what your site goal is. Reflect on whether you want to display your portfolio or bring in more sales. Knowing your overarching goal will help you choose aspects that will work hard for your site. Sav caters to multiple types of websites and ensures that we have features that will help you accomplish your goals. If you're looking to create more brand awareness use our social media integrations. Wanting to drive in appoints? Connect your Google Calendar with our Google Calendar widget. Sav has several features that can help you support your overarching goal.