Key Website Ingredients

-


In this lesson we'll talk through some crucial early decisions you'll make about your website : choosing a website name, and planning how your site is structured. The goal is making it easy for customers to find their way around and get what they want - because a happy customer equals a more successful business, right ? Ready to go ?

First stop : your domain name. That's what people will type into a web browser to find you. When choosing a domain name, you first need to check if the one you want is available. There can only be one "tastybakery.com" on the web, for example, and if someone has already claimed it, you won't be able to use it. So how do you know if the name is taken ? Just do a search for "domain register" and click on one of the results. There should be a tool on the site that let's you see if someone is already using the name you want - and if they are, it may suggest another similar name that's available for you to use.

A good domain name is one that people can easily remember. Keep it as short, relevant and as to-the-point as possible. You may be able to get a variation of the name you want by choosing a different extension, which is a fancy name for the bit at the end. You're probably familiar with the ".com" or ".co.in" extensions, but you might find others that are available for a better fit. For example, non-profit organisations often use ".org". What this also means is that although tastybakery.com may be taken, tastybakery.net may still be available.

Let's have a look at some other common parts of the website, like the homepage. This is the first page people see after they type in your domain name and get to your website. The homepage is your shop window where you invite people in and explain what you're all about. A homepage also directs visitors to other pages of your website through what we call "navigation". Your navigation headings may run across the top of the page or down the side. Either way, it's menu that let's people travel from one part of the site to another.

How you organize your site is very important. Start by thinking about the websites you visit regularly. How are they organised ? Now decide what kind of content you want to offer and then group it together in ways that make sense. Incidentally, many websites-building tools offer business website templates that can help you get started. One easy place to start ? The pages and sections you see the most on most websites - things like "About" and "Contact" pages. Your website's Contact page might include your address, phone number, email and a map with directions.

The "About" page might tell the story of your business and include photos of some of your best offerings. There's no right or wrong way to organise a site, but you'll always want to put yourself in yours visitor's shoes. what's he or she looking for ? What are they trying to accomplish on the website? Now, you want to set things up so it's super easy for visitors to find the information they need, like bakery's working hours, or submitting an online order.

Let's check out what you'll see on the pages themselves. First, you'll notice those navigation signposts, like the About and contact headings. They should appear on every page of your site so that people can always get where they want to go or back to where they've been. Of course, there will also be words or text, headlines, paragraphs, bulleted lists. And you might also have things like images and video. Text and images can also be set up to link to other pages on the internet when they're clicked. These are knowns as "hyperlinks" or "shortcuts to other pages"-either on your site or elsewhere on the web.

Many websites also invite customers to interact with features like forms to submit questions, maps with turn-by-turn directions to your store or shopping baskets to buy products directly. Your website - your digital storefront - is a great opportunity to connect with customers. Choosing the right domain name, organising the site logically and including nifty features can help your visitors find exactly what they're looking for.
If you like it, then please follow me

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Digital Opportunity

-
It’s never been easier, cheaper or more beneficial for your business to get online. Don’t be intimidated by the breath of opportunities in digital in this blog we will look at. The core components of a digital presence How they relate to your business How to get started Let’s get started So you’ve seen how digital has transformed our daily lives in our last blog, now let’s get practical. What do the growing number of online opportunities actually look like for you ? In this blog, we’ll discuss the core components of digital, how they relate   to your business and how to get started. Let’s say you’re a retailer whose business has grown strictly through referrals and word of mouth. So far, you’ve not had any digital presence –but now you want to take your business to the next level. How will being online help your business succeed ? One of the biggest advantages to being online is reaping the benefits of search. Having a digital presence means you’ll be visible
Read more

Using goals to improve business performance

-
In this lesson, we’ll cover how setting and tracking specific goals can help you understand and improve business performance. You’ll also learn about Key Performance Indicators and how these can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of processes most important to achieving your goal. Let’s dive in: Key Performance Indicators, or KPIs, are quantifiable measurements used to focus attention on the metrics most important to meet business goals. They are also useful in helping a team understand how progress will be tracked and measured. There are many ways to construct KPIs, but they should all be measurable, practical, achievable, and provide direction. So what does a KPI look like in the real world? Meet Ryan. He owns a chain of fitness centres called ‘Fit Gym’. He needs to make sure that he has enough customers to keep the business growing. To do this, Ryan wants to sign up at least 50 new members per gym a month. This would be his goal. To help achieve this goal, Ryan now needs
Read more

How to stand out from competition

-
Healthy competition keeps us on our toes and increases our drive for success. In this lesson, we’ll explore how to identify what makes a business stand out online, why you should be checking out your competitors, and what tools can help you get ahead of the game.  Let’s start with this question: what makes you stand out? Imagine you own a basketball gear shop.  What would make your brand distinct compared to other sports shops selling basketball equipment? Maybe your shop’s exterior is painted in bright red, or you have an eye-catching window display, or perhaps you’ve even hired someone to shoot some hoops outside to grab people’s attention as they walk by.   As a physical store you need to stand out. The same is true in digital. When we identify what makes us different from the competition online, we call that our Unique Selling Point, or USP.  A Unique Selling Point is a clear statement that describes the benefits you offer, how you might solve your customer’s needs, and what d
Read more