Fast moving trends in online marketing can make it difficult to keep your online presence up to date. We’ve just redeveloped our own site and are seeing results already, and as our main goal is to help our clients grow, we’ve decided to share.

Websites are a powerful thing – get it right, and you can improve the way your company is perceived, engage with your target audience and ultimately, convert more sales. Get it wrong and potential customers navigate away (and land straight onto your competitor’s website!).

So how can you improve your site? Well, the fact is that a good website is a complex integration of communication, design and technological skill. While you may not be a specialist in these areas, there are a few key rules, which if you follow, will make a huge difference.

1.       Build it for your visitors – not yourself.

You’re proud of your company and want to showcase your achievements in the best possible light. And so you should – but remember, your website is, ultimately, not about you. It’s about your target audience and what they want. So while you may be tempted to detail your exemplary company history on your homepage, ask yourself whether that’s really what your customer wants – or whether actually, they are just looking for the quickest way to find specific information or advice on a product or service.

If you can give them what they want (‘relevant’ is the golden term), and quickly, it’s likely they’ll be more interested in the content of your site, and take the time to find out about your company history and credentials, etc. 

2.       Add value

At CBHC we pride ourselves on our added value offering, however there are several companies making similar claims. In order to stand out, this value needs to be quickly and effectively communicated on the website.

This is where features such as downloadable fact sheets, case studies and videos come into their own, by demonstrating your superior proposition and business approach.  A blog is also an excellent idea – as an expert in your field, you’ll possess a mine of knowledge which could be used to evidence your credentials and win over visitors.

3.       Make it easy to find.

A sure-fire way to frustrate visitors to your site is to make it difficult for them to find the information they want.  Simple ways to overcome this include:

  • Provide lots of information on your homepage (but only in a succinct, concise form – not reams and reams of text) so that visitors have quick access.
  • Make sure that all of the important pages can be navigated to from the home page within two clicks.
  • Ensure your site is easy to navigate, so that valuable information doesn’t get buried.
  • Use images to help ‘visual’ readers navigate the site more quickly.
  • Don’t over clutter – keep titles and introductions brief and to the point.

4.       Design

Design should reflect the individual nature of a company, however there are a few basic principles that apply to all sites:

  • Make it relevant. There’s always a temptation for flashy graphics and stock photography as they suggest a very slick image. But don’t get carried away. Most visitors are looking for information, plus they are more likely to engage with a brand they can relate to – so your firm’s individual identity is important.
  • Ensure it loads quickly. Few seasoned surfers will wait for a page to load, which is another reason to avoid large image files and graphics which may require visitors to upload software.
  • Is it easy on the eye? Sounds obvious, but your first reaction to something is usually correct. If you look at your website and feel that it’s a little busy or bland, your visitors will too. If in doubt, keep it simple.

Clearly this is a huge topic, and as mere accountants we don’t profess to web expertise, but we have experienced a surge in traffic to our site as a result of recent updates. For us it’s about creating a genuinely useful resource for clients – new and existing – and sharing some of our expertise to help others to grow. For more information about our site and how our experiences could benefit your business, please contact our Business Development Director, Gary White.