With Halloween on our minds today, we can’t help to think of some of the frightening, unfriendly and downright ugly websites that exist today. We want to make sure you are on the right track to creating a successful website so you don’t end up on this nightmarish list.
You might be dealing with a tight budget, a time crunch, or lack any web development experience,which makes it easy to skimp on the amount of time and money you choose to invest on developing your website. That doesn’t mean it’s the right thing to do. If you neglect to give the design and development of your company’s website the attention it deserves from the beginning, you may end up with a website that Google deems irrelevant and leaves to collect cobwebs and dust. It may even be worse, it could lead you down a dark path where terrible websites are laid to rest and we don't want that.
We’ve come up with a bag of tricks to help you create a terrifyingly awesome website for your startup that doesn’t spook your visitors, (or Google’s web crawlers).
6 Website Tips for Your Startup
1. Develop an Inviting (and Practical) Design
Your design should be inviting – not scary. You want your business to stand out, so having a unique design and layout is a great start. Make sure you don’t make anything too complicated for your user, or you might just scare them away for good. Keep it simple, at least in the beginning. You can always expand later on if needed.
2. Leave the Lights On
Your website should incorporate a responsive design and the navigation should be intuitive and easy to follow. Otherwise, your potential customers may get lost on their way to find the information they’re looking for. If you don’t make it easy for them to navigate their way through your website, odds are they are going to bounce and may never, ever, come back.
3. Fear the Unknown
Before you get too deep into your website development project, it’s important that you have a strong understanding of your industry from top to bottom. The less you know about your industry, the scarier your overall results may be. Doing a competitive analysis is always a great place to start. If you can’t find out everything you need to know in a reasonable about of time, you may also look to the experts, attend seminars and networking events and keep your finger on the pulse.
4. Stand Out from the Rest
If you’re competing in a Halloween costume contest, you probably know that being a witch or a goblin is not going to get you first place. In order to stand out, you need to think outside the box. If your website looks like everyone else’s on the block, it isn’t likely to get as much attention, or provide the results you’re looking to accomplish. Take the time to think about what makes your business unique, and flaunt it.
5. Give Them What They Want
When trick-or-treaters show up at your door, they are expecting to receive those chocolaty, sugary, and tasty treats, like Snickers, Kit Kats, Reeses’s Peanut Butter Cups, Skittles, Starbursts and so on. If you’re the household that hands out fruit, toothbrushes, stickers or other less than savory items, you may not get as many visitors next year. If you want more visitors, you need to understand what your audience wants, and then give it to them – consistently.
6. Don’t Be Afraid to Invest
It’s tough for startups to allow themselves to invest a significant amount of money on building a website in the beginning stages. We understand that spending a lot of money on something that has no guarantee is all kinds of scary. The alternative, however, may be even more frightening. You may spend less money on building a website that doesn’t do what you need it to. Eeeeek!
These are just a few tips to get help get you pointed in the right direction when building a website for your startup. Take your time, do your research, and don’t hold back. Your website is one the most important marketing tools you have, so it’s worth doing it right the first time.
