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15 Web Design Secrets

How can you make sure that your web site is an effective marketing tool? Andrew Neitlich gives 15 top tips that he believes many web designers don't know about...

If the goal of a web site is to attract clients, then most freelancers' web sites don't work. Following are fifteen crucial elements that a web site needs to have in order to be an optimal business development tool.

• Set the right goal, and design your web site to achieve that goal. The right goal of any professional services web site is to get the prospect to give you their contact information, or to contact you directly. Unfortunately, most web sites appear to have the goal of telling prospects all about their services, and fail to do an adequate job of compelling prospects to respond. Start with the right goal.
• Design the web site to be 90% about the prospect, and only 10% about your services. Most IT consulting web sites spend far too much copy talking about issues from the consultant's perspective, instead of from the prospect's point of view. Prospects want to get insights about their most pressing problems, how to solve them, and how to improve results. They do want to learn about who you are and what you do - but only after they are convinced that you understand their problems, opportunities, and needs. Therefore, web sites should focus primarily on the prospect!
• Offer a compelling reason for the prospect to give you his or her contact information. The first page, and almost every page of your site, should offer a newsletter, free information product, or other offer that addresses the prospect's situation and compels him or her to sign up. That way, you have the opportunity to continue to establish credibility with your prospect, and to stay in touch.
• Offer plenty of free, valuable information and educational products or services on the web site. Prospects will rarely engage your services after a first glance at your web site. However, they will agree to receive information that they perceive to be valuable. Articles, CDs, videos and seminars about their problems and how to solve them (not sales pitches!) will establish your credibility, build trust, and get the prospect to want to know more about you.
• Focus more on telling a good story than on fancy graphics. Some designers still don't believe this, but test after test shows that copy is more important than design in getting prospects to take action and respond to your offers. A well-told story that matters to the prospect is much more important than great graphics. In fact, graphics that are distracting or that take too much time to download can hurt response. Therefore, design the web site with a focus first on strong copy that tells a compelling story, and second on graphics.
• Focus on results first and technology second. Prospects want results, regardless of your technology. Write your web copy accordingly. For instance, instead of writing about the specifications of your backup solutions, tell the prospect that you prevent businesses from shutting down - sometimes for good. Similarly, rather than write about how you implement PeopleSoft solutions, describe the ways that you reduce employee turnover and save clients tens of thousands of dollars in payroll processing costs. Finally, if you are a web designer, don't brag about your awards but instead show prospects how your work will help them attract clients and make more money.
• Start with a headline that gets the prospect's attention. Design a headline that generates curiosity in the prospect, and gets them to read more. Come up with a story or enticing statement that tells the prospect that you have information that he or she needs in order to make more money, save time, look good, or feel good.
• Use subheadings to keep the prospect's attention. Tests show that long copy generates more response than short copy - despite what many graphic designers wish were true. However, to keep the prospect's attention, break copy into pieces separated by attention-grabbing subheads.
• Write in clear English. Avoid technical jargon. Write your copy as if you were talking to the reader. If your prospect is technically oriented, provide a separate section about specifications, but make sure that this section explains how each technical feature achieves specific results.
• Include testimonials. Testimonials, especially with photos of your clients, will establish your credibility and prove that you are unique. Seed these throughout your site, not just on a unique page.
• Include case studies. Case studies about your results will also build credibility. However, make sure that the case studies are written in a way that applies universally to your target market. Write from your prospect's point of view, including the problem, what it costs people in your target market, your solution, and specific results that your solution brought.
• Make sure that your copy shows why you are uniquely able to solve the prospect's problem. A good web site shares a complete marketing message - the problem your prospect faces, what the problem costs, your solution, and why your solution gets better results than anybody else's. It does this without appearing to make a sales pitch, but instead by providing education and information that matters to the prospect.
• Design the web site so that the prospect goes where you want him or her to go. Avoid links that allow the prospect to leave your site, and too many choices that keep the prospect from navigating to offers for free information or services.
• Make the web site personal. Clients buy from people, not from companies. Consider including a photo, or providing one or two personal facts about yourself and other consultants in your business. That way, clients will know that they are dealing with a real person.
• Include a section that tells the prospect about you and your services. Some portion of the web site should be devoted to your services and qualifications. The problem with most sites is that they focus too much on the consultant, and too little about the prospect or client. Allocate 10% of the overall copy to a section that answers frequently asked questions, and to an overview of your credentials and background.

About Andrew: Andrew is the Senior Editor of “The Accelerator,” a newsletter that helps IT professionals get all the projects that they can handle. He received his MBA from Harvard Business School in 1991. His Website is at www.itprosuccess.com

What do you think? Do you agree with Andrew's tips for designing a good website?