Thankfully, competent business people no longer ask “Do I need a website?” That was a rough decade for CLC. Now anyone tasked with building business knows that whether you are selling a service or a product, locally or internationally, your website is the keystone in your marketing plan. (In fact, a growing number of individuals are also building personal websites to leverage the massive outreach possibilities of the web for their careers. But that’s a separate column.) Potential customers crave information 24/7 and a well-formed website helps them educate themselves while you focus on other things. Websites help consumers, in both B2B and B2C realms, to make a decision about you before you even have a chance to say hello. And that’s exactly why you need a good one. But what makes a website good?

Without boring technical details or writing a missive on great design, here are the broad strokes:

WORDSMITHED: Good websites are thoughtful ones. They know their target audiences and speak directly to them. They know the company they represent and focus on key differentiators that will sell specific products and services. They repeat or reprise messaging that is being delivered through other channels for brand consistency. And, of course, they do all of the above with creativity, flawless spelling, and good grammar.

RESPONSIVE: 2013 was heralded as the “Year of Responsive Design”. As 2014 comes to an end, it’s high time to know what that means. PEW research from early 2014 yielded some heavy numbers: the average American spends at least two hours a day looking at a mobile screen; one in four online searches are conducted on mobile devices; and 57% of users WON’T recommend companies with poor mobile sites. “Responsive Design” means that a website works on mobile devices… does yours?

FRESH: Making a great first impression is important, but your web dollars go farther when your site is viewed again and again. Theories of “Effective Frequency” claim different rates of how many times your info needs to be seen before the customer is ready to buy from you, but NONE of them claim that it’s just once or twice. So make sure to offer your target audience something that’s worth returning to see: education, connections, or freebies. Build a plan to “keep it fresh” into your site plan from the beginning.

If your website doesn’t set you up for success, connect with us now to see how we can propel it to the next level.