Website or Web Solution – Which Will Profit You More?

Look, building a website is not rocket science. Just about anyone can do it themselves and there are plenty of software products and cheap and easy services to help you do it.

So why pay to hire a professional to design and build your website?

The answer is simple. Assuming you get a web surfer to look at your website (whether that comes from a well thought out search engine optimization program or just dumb luck) what is the chance that prospect will transform from a quick hit that leaves your site to a true visitor who visits several website pages over a period of minutes, not seconds?

Your website has a second, maybe two to make enough of a positive impression to keep your visitor. What that visitor looks at and how they react is crucial. It drives the ‘stay’ or ‘flee’ decision. Be honest, how often have you quickly left a site because it failed to interest you in that initial moment? And when you chose to flee, what impacted that decision? Wasn’t it website design?

The most important factor in website design is credibility. Fewer than one third of internet users say they trust websites that sell products or services 1. That starts with a professional design that projects a theme relevant to the search, coupled with other important factors such as site navigation, features, and functionality 2. In the end, you want your web visitors to conclude that you are honest and relevant. It is only after you have attained credibility that factors such as pricing come into play.

At New England Online, we direct those interested in professional and, ultimately profitable, website design to one of our partners. Within that organization we have access to the best resources to provide your company what it needs for success.

Our partners focus on the talents and technologies to bring you website success. Obviously a professional, relevant site design is the first focus. Then they will work with you to determine what ‘call to action’ you are trying to attain with your website design. This can be as simple as learning more about your products and services or as difficult as attempting to drive them to make a purchase. They will take the time to discuss how you envision a visitor moving through the website and help to make that the most likely visitor path.

When designing a website to focus on usability, you must keep a number of things in mind:

1) Consistency and quality of information on Web pages
2) Clean organization of information
3) Understandable and efficient navigational structure
4) User-friendly content
5) Logical conversion paths
6) Search engine prominence

Even though you may have done a good job creating a "user-friendly" website, it may not be as successful in motivating your visitors to take the actions you want them to take. Not only does your site have to be easy to use - it has to persuade your visitors to continue forward on their path until they reach that specific conversion action. The best web site for your business is one which:

• Can be found on all the major search engines within the top results pages.
• Shows off your content to best effect within your budget
• Convey's the proper marketing message
• Is easy to navigate and user friendly
• Is geared to your target market, and geographic location when appropriate.
• Informs and/ or has a "Call to Action"
• And ultimately if it's an E-commerce site, it generates revenue.