Onsharp

Building a website for your business is an investment of time, money, and effort. It's essential, but it's not a small thing for a company to do.

And yet a surprising number of companies determine to get themselves a website with the same mental set they might have when ordering a box of business cards. They know they need it, they want it to look good, and that's it.

Your website is an essential element of your overall marketing and customer communication strategy.

Your website should present your unique selling proposition clearly. It should say to the most casual or hurried viewer exactly what you offer and how they can get it.

If you're using social media, email marketing and other methods well, then many of the people who come to your website will already be sold on your products and services before they arrive. They know you from LinkedIn, they've seen your special offers mentioned at Twitter, or they searched for your company by name. They should be able to buy right away.

If you're using search engine optimization well, another large segment of your visitors will never have heard of your company before they arrive. You, for example, might have come here to learn more about web strategy. You may only now be realizing that this blog belongs to Onsharp, a Fargo web design firm that specializes in strategy, among other things. Visitors who've reached you at the information-seeking stage of their user journey should be able to find the information they want, to find out about your company once they've arrived -- and to find their way back to your website easily when they think of you again.

What does this mean for your website? At the most basic, is means that your company name and logo should be right there in the upper left hand corner where people always look. Your contact information -- phone number, email link, or tab for Contact -- should be visible above the fold. The method for getting goods and services should be very obvious. 

Check your company website. Is the contact info down at the bottom of the page, only visible to people who scroll down there? Does your visitor have to search through the website and employ critical thinking to figure out how to hire you or buy your products? Is the average visitor still wondering what you do 30 seconds after arriving at your website?

If so, it's time to change your strategy.