Creating an effective website design is much more involved than it used to be. Business websites have come a long way over the last two decades. Websites are now the heart of many business models. Your website needs to be more than a few generic pages built around a stock template.
To be truly effective, having an internet marketing company develop your strategy is the best way to start. They will not just build you a brochure website but will ensure that it is the hub of every marketing effort. To develop a truly effective online presence, you need to draw on the expertise of these seven skill sets.
1) UX Designer
The UX, or user experience, is key to a successful site. UX should be aligned with each business’ marketing strategy. Confused and frustrated visitors don’t turn easily into customers. The UX designer is responsible for making the conversion route as easy and logical as possible. Strong UX Design is vital for studying visitor behavior to smooth out any bumps in the road.
Web users have small attention spans these days. Your website should cater to the behavior of a modern user to improve conversion rates. Visitors need simplicity and direction.
2) Visual or Graphic Website Design Specialist
An easy to use website is vital, but so is making the website look great. It needn’t be a work of art, but an unattractive site looks amateurish and doesn’t inspire the customer confidence that’s vital for conversion. Every design should intend to make your business look like a billion dollar company.
A visual website design specialist is responsible for putting the aesthetic polish on the underlying experience so that your site exudes quality, professionalism, and credibility.
3) Information Architect
Modern websites covering large topics can quickly sprawl out of control. It’s the information architect’s job to make all the site’s content accessible. This is done by laying it out in an easily consumable way. There’s little point in your site containing valuable content if the visitor is too overwhelmed by options to find what they need.
Your information architecture should be developed by your web design company of choice and should be in complete alignment with your online marketing goals. It is important to understand how each page, post, and online resource will integrate with each communication channel such as social media, SEO, paid advertising and brand strategy.
4) Copywriter
A copywriter produces the text content that helps turn a visitor into a customer. You only have a few seconds to convince a new arrival that they’ve found the website they need, so concise and compelling copy is a must.
Many digital marketing agencies and website design agencies overlook important factors that small businesses shouldn’t ignore. Regardless of your business’ size, a full service design and marketing agency should look to your business objectives and positioning strategy before developing the copy. Your website’s copy is the heart of your website’s content. It will make or break the effectiveness of your website.
5) Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Optimizing a site for search engine visibility is no longer a separate process that can be tacked on after a site has been completed. Sites need to be developed from the ground up with SEO considerations in mind, and it takes expert input every step of the way to lay the groundwork for high rankings.
For strong SEO, especially when creating custom websites from the ground up, the SEO foundation is the most important step. Would you build a house on a weak foundation? Developing your website with SEO in mind is vital. In fact, your SEO planning should start at the beginning of the website planning process. Not at the end.
In some cases, it can be smart to hire an SEO company who specifically specializes in SEO. Not all web design or marketing agencies have a firm understanding of SEO concepts, but that is a choice you will have to make as a business owner. Fortunately, SEO is our specialty.
6) Web Developer
Off-the-shelf web design software can achieve a lot, but it takes someone with a solid technical understanding to get the most out of the packages. And for truly bespoke websites, a developer is needed to draw together the visual design, customer-facing features, and back-end tech in a seamless and fully functional way.
7) Project Manager
Lastly, these disciplines won’t magically come together without someone being in overall control. A project manager is essential to keep the development effort on track, and to keep the team members working together effectively.
A project manager should have a deep understanding of the web as a marketing and business medium, good management and people skills, and a clear vision of what the finished website should mean for the business.
The days when a simple, brochureware website was sufficient for an online presence are over. A modern website takes the input of many skill sets, and expertise across all these seven areas is needed to see the returns your web investment demands.
Joshua Belland SEO is a full service digital marketing and Houston web design agency. Based in Houston, TX, please feel free to give us a shout or visit. Stop shopping around and call us today. We are exactly what you are looking for!
