There are millions of websites all vying for a top spot on the search engines to get noticed and attract new visitors. However with only 10 spots available for any given topic, the competition is steep.
5 Essential Website Development Tools
1. Consistent Design. A consistent design throughout each page is a reflection of the image of the company. The overall color scheme, font style and color as well as the overall placement of graphics and text play a role in the time spent by customers on the site. A site that has a simple layout and guides the eyes to hot spots will have less click off rates.
2. Aesthetically pleasing but functional. A pretty website is nice to look most consumers to do purchase or enlist the services of a company because their website was pretty. Avoid too many flash elements and photos (except in the case of an e-commerce site). Be sure to name and also alt tag the photos so the search engines can identify them.
3. Fast, Easy Navigation. Fumbling through a website navigation menu bar to find information is extremely frustrating. Customers want to access information immediately and not have to go through 5 layers to get to the page they are seeking. Test the functionality of the site prior to going live and make the necessary adjustments as if it is hard to find for you, it will be hard to find for customers.
4. Relevant and Fresh Content. The overall design of the site is important however the content is the single most important factor to customers. Relevant content greatly increases the confidence in your company as well as return visits. Solving a problem for the customer through information or a product will increase return visits as well as word-of-mouth to attract new visitors.
5. Keyword Research. Research keywords prior to writing and posting content. Ultimately you want customers to find your site and doing a bit of homework is essential in having your site rank on the search engines. There is almost no point in creating or redesigning a website and writing content to then find out that the site will not achieve high search engine rankings.
Your website many times that first impression of your company whether you are selling a product or offering a service and asking them to seek more information by inviting them to contact you, via telephone, email or contact form on your website.
