Beautiful design makes an appealing website. Well-crafted words make it compelling. But for us the mark of a great website is great results.

So the first rule of web design is:

Start with the outcome in mind.

What does this mean? Well, there are still plenty of websites around where it isn’t at all clear what to do and where to go. And that can be reflected in high bounce-rates where web visitors take a look and then go elsewhere. Or find so much information they no longer need the web owners help.

Now amongst all the advice on the art of selling is this key mantra: “Ask for the order.”

So when creating a website it should be the same. Ask for what you want.

That might be:

  • The contact details – “Register for the latest updates”
  • The enquiry – “Call for more help”
  • The sale – “Add to basket”
In other words, make sure the website is built for action.

See how customers are encouraged to take action with these websites created by Marketing Zone.

 

Measure and fine-tune to take results to the max.

Once you’ve got your website, don’t stop until you’re achieving the outcomes you need.

A website is the results of your company’s and your web agency’s knowledge, which is the best current theory of what is required, applied to your situation. Like all theories it requires testing. So once launched review web analytics to see what is happening. Pages with high bounce rates or high exit figures will suggest where there is an issue that can be fixed. There’s a great deal that can be done to make existing websites perform to the max. It’s all part of on-page optimisation and improving usability.

By starting with the outcome in mind and optimising web performance Marketing Zone helped our client DMG Delta to double its new business and achieve an ROI of £17 for every £1 spent.