Is your website working? This is adressed to those of you who already have a website or considering using a template instead of using a design firm (like Cordie INC) to customize a site for you needs. These are my thoughts on why your website might not be working or a template won’t work for you.
– Cordie Walker
SEO friendly
How many consumers browse through to the second or third page of Google, much less the 8th or 9th where you might be ranked? Getting on that first page of google search for the keywords your targeting and is difficult for someone who understands it and near impossible for someone who doesn’t have the time or resources to research and understand this complicated subject.
User Friendly
Once getting on the first page of Google can those first 5-10 seconds captivate the average customer enough to make them read the bulk of your content and come to understand why you do what you do? They need a call to action that motivates them to take some kind of action whether that is purchasing from an online store, signing up for a email list, or finding the content they are looking for.
Easy to Navigate
If you can retain the consumer after the first 5-10 seconds will they be able to find the information they are looking for? If they can’t quickly find the menu option they are looking for and zip over to the content they’re looking for they’ll leave even if they are interested. It is such a crucial first 10 seconds that having a unified plan to draw the customer in is crucial.
Content Oriented
So you’ve drawn the customer to look into the site further. What will they find? Repetitious material they knew from the home page? Or Valuable content that brings them knowledge and benefit (not just your product/service)? Users will get extremely frustrated if they can’t find the material they’re looking for or they find no value in the 2-5 minutes they have been clicking around your website.
Up to Date
Your site follows the first 5 keys however your last update was the summer of 2008. How many customers will stay at a site seeing the business doesn’t place priority in keeping its customers up to date informing on the latest news or pricing. I see this all to often and feel that as a user it makes me less apt to take the call to action because of the lack of updates.
