Website design is arguably the key factor in whether your business will become a successful organisation or gently perish with the many other businesses that fail every year. However, look on the bright side: if you get your website design right, you can seriously go places. What do you need to consider?
In-house or outsource?
Unless you are an IT genius (and you may be), there are two options to pursue. Even if you are that IT genius, you’ve still got an awful lot of other things to deal with when you’re running your business. Can you handle all the developments yourself? Administration, sales, marketing, finance? It’s a tough ask for any entrepreneur.
If you have an in-house IT team, is it the best option for you? Good IT teams are worth their weight in gold, but you have to handle all the employment issues and costs that are part of that deal. If it works for you and is affordable, then go for it, but if you’re counting the pennies, it may not be the best way for you to go.
Outsourcing is common for many specialist areas of work, and IT is especially known for this. Contractors have a wealth of experience when it comes to designing websites and helping with internal procedures, and this includes setting up processes to deal with invoicing and tax issues. Compliance with tax regulations is essential, so if you need IT assistance to help with IR35 position, for example, you can find the experience you need online.
Companies that create content for your website and can work on effective design to get your business out there, in whatever sector you work in and whatever size your business is, can be a major benefit to your development plans.
Building your website
Everyone has different ideas as to how they would like their website to look. The first thing you need to consider, whether you are briefing an in-house team or an external contractor, is exactly what you want your site to do. If you’re selling online, it needs to be easy to navigate with a range of buttons to give drop-down boxes that are easy for customers and potential customers to use.
There’s no point in flooding your website with garish graphics if people can’t quickly find the information they need. It’s also why your content needs to be really good. Surfers are not impressed by bad spelling, poor grammar, incoherent explanations and links that don’t go anywhere except to a product description.
The job of your website is to sell what you do.
If you provide a service, then state clearly what you can deliver and get to the point. It’s the same if you’re providing products. What do they do, why should you buy them, and what’s the cost?< Develop your ideas
Take advice from internal or external IT specialists to develop the best website that you can for your business. If you get it right, you’ll find that there are major benefits for you and your employees.
