In my last blog, I talked about some preliminary steps you should take before meeting with your web designer:
- Have a clear business vision
- Identify your objectives
- Know your target audience
The next challenge in website development is to define your style.
Show your human side
Don’t be afraid to demonstrate your passion and originality and to present your personal and business vision. Who makes a bigger impression—someone who comes across as stoically competent or someone who is passionately engaged? Obviously, there is a line you shouldn’t cross on the spectrum between personal and professional but most people don’t even get CLOSE to that threshold, and THAT’S a lost opportunity to differentiate yourself from your competitors.
Keep it simple
With webpage layouts, the goal is to present a comfortable mix of images, white space, and text. Don’t overwhelm your viewers with dense pages and lots of moving parts. For example, you should think twice about intermixing audio and “busy” imaging. When both happen simultaneously, neither one makes an impact. Don’t get me wrong, an audio clip on a website CAN be great—I just recommend presenting it on a relatively simple page and/or setting it up with something like “Click Here to Hear our Story” so visitors can listen on THEIR terms.
Link it with your marketing strategy and brand
This last point often goes by the wayside. Everything on your website—the graphics, audio, written content, even subliminal impressions, should support your brand and your marketing strategy in terms of target audience and message. I’ve come across too many websites that have succumbed to “mission creep” and lose message continuity.
Websites are a critical marketing tool. Unfortunately, the vast majority of them do not make a good first impression and the user quickly moves on. Blue Zenith can make your website the exception.