Many of your clients or customers are likely to be very busy people so if they’re going to take the time out of their day to write you a review you need to make it as easy for them as possible. The best way you can do this is by giving them a simple link to click on that will take them straight to your Google My Business page. There used to be a really simple way to do this but with the recent updates Google has made to Google My Business this is now slightly more convoluted.
Welcome to a new series of blog posts from 2020Media.com on planning, building, marketing and selling the best possible website for your business.
Part 1 – Planning
Planning – the road ahead
Who is your website for?
Websites can do a lot of things, and some of the ones you’ve looked at for inspiration probably do very different things. However take some time to think about your website will help you achieve your business goals.
Plan and Prioritise
Ask questions like: Where are you now? Where do you want to be? How can a website help you get there? Basic questions like these can really help focus your aims from the start. They will reveal what you want from your website, what is unnecessary and that your expectations are realistic.
Looking for Funding?
Grant and fund managers will look at your website. “We find a well crafted website is a good indicator of quality and professionalism” says Elliot Fry of iwoca.co.uk. So having a good website could even improve you chances of getting funding.
Your website is the public face of your business.
Choose the right Domain Name
Picking a domain name (website address) gives your website and email address legitimacy, inspires trust in your customers and will help people find you online. A good choice is a maximum of two or three words, so that it’s more likely people will remember it, and more importantly pass it on to their friends and colleagues.
Stay Focused
Don’t forget your core idea and get carried away creating hundreds of additional features. Extra ideas added during the process can easily end with your website becoming as confused as your train of thought. But a website is a continual process – tech changes, your brand evolves and so do the people using it. Stay in touch with people who can help you keep it up to date and relevant.
Stand Out
What is your USP? The internet is huge – think how you will stand out from the competition. If you sell product online, you might not be able to offer free delivery like Amazon, with their huge volumes, but having a personal touch and fast replies to queries will make you noticeably different and bring repeat business.
Start with a Niche
It’s great to think big, but sometimes it’s better to focus on a niche, and grow over time. Designing, building and optimising a highly targeted website helps focus every aspect of your business, and lets you cut through the noise to reach the exact people you are looking for.
Paper and Pen
Give your ideas some structure
Before you spend money on a fancy web development agency, or while away the hours playing with an online website design tool, start with a design on an A4 sheet of paper. Draw a spider diagram of your site showing how evrey page links to another. Look at the ways visitors will navigate through your site to reach the goals you want them to. Shuffle your paper around until you reach a point where you are confident to reach for the computer mouse.
Look at other sites to see how they optimise their navigation to reach their goals. You can benefit from the work they’ve already done in “User Experience” optimisation.
Remote participation and live streaming is also available. If you’re unable to join us but would like to join us via the live stream, you can sign up here.
TomcatCon London is the place for all users of Tomcat to expand their Tomcat knowledge in areas such as networking, security, performance and deployment. It also offers an opportunity to discuss the current Tomcat roadmap and help inform future development.
JoomlaDay UK 2017 will be at the Ilec Conference Centre in Fulham, London on Saturday the 8th of July.
The full programme is available here. Tickets cost from £50.
Some highlights from the programme:
High Traffic websites with Joomla!
Communicating with the Internet of Things (IoT)
How to sell Joomla! to your clients
Advanced SEO in Joomla!
JoomlaDays are a great way to meet community members and learn new skills, there is a huge a range of sessions and workshops to suit all skill levels.
You can find out more at www.joomla-day.uk
Read more: How To Ask Your Clients For Google + Business Reviews
