People get their information online. If you want to make it easy for prospects and clients to get to know you, you’ll need to create a website for your business.
Designing a Website That Works™ is essential to the success of any online business. A well-designed website can make or break your marketing efforts and become the difference in what kind of impression you leave on your perfect ideal customer.
In this episode of Shop Talk, I will share several fundamental elements you need when designing a website. With this done-for-you design process, you can create a beautifully effective Website That Works™!
Here’s a snapshot of this episode:
- What Is The True Purpose Of A Website?
- The Essentials Of Building A Successful Website
- Getting The Design Right
- Crafting A Clear Message
- Impact statement
- Identify Your PIC’s Struggles
- Connect With Your Visitors
- Establish Credibility
- Show How You Will Help Your PIC
- Client Testimonials
- Featured Blog Posts
- Final CTA
- Lead & Sales Boosting Strategies
- Website That Works™ Launch Challenge
Your website is the foundation of all your marketing activities.
There’s a misconception out there that “websites are dead,” and that’s not true! Actually, there was a recent study that shared that the average internet user browses over 130 different web pages per day.
So, knowing that – it’s vital that you create a website for your business and optimize it to get results.
What Is The True Purpose Of A Website?
I asked entrepreneurs a while back, “What do you want your website to do?” Their responses were:
- Look professional
- Match my brand
- Capture leads
- And make sales
And that’s when I created a program (and started talking about) what it takes to get a Website That Works™ – which I’m sharing with you today!
In my opinion, a Website That Works™ is one that:
- Brings visitors to the website
- Keeps visitors on the site
- Captures leads
- Or converts qualified prospects into buyers
I want to walk you through our approach using one of the website templates that our team designed for Website That Works™.
The Essentials Of Building A Successful Website
Before you start ANY marketing project (your website included), you must first understand who your ideal customer (PIC) is. This is the first step to REALLY connecting with the visitors who fit your business. Using this person as your guide, you can create a website for your business that generates leads and converts qualified prospects!
There are a few things that every professional website needs. The first thing I want to mention is that your website (at a minimum) should have 8 Core pages.
Core Pages
- Home (About The Company)
- About (About The Person)
- Blog
- Contact
- Work With Me/Us
In The Footer
- Terms & Conditions
- Privacy Policy
- Refund Policy
These are important because:
- They protect you and your business
- They are actually required by law if you are collecting visitor’s contact information and payments
- If you are advertising online (like Facebook and Google), they want to see this information
Other Pages You May Also Have Are…
- Custom Thank You Page(s)
- Resources (optional)
- Affiliate Disclaimer (optional)
- Cancellation Policy (optional)
- Landing Pages
- Sales Pages
- Event Pages
Getting The Design Right
Web design is crucial to creating a successful website, as it directly impacts the site’s user experience and overall effectiveness. A well-designed website can help establish trust and credibility with your visitors, making them more likely to explore the site and respond to your call-to-action.
Make it easy to navigate
You want to make sure the main navigation is simple and straightforward. We try to avoid dropdowns whenever possible. We’ve found that the average visitor will click three times on a website before they leave. So, you want to make sure those clicks count.
Less is more
Use 2 – 3 font styles (max). Using too many fonts distracts the eye. The goal is to engage a visitor, not distract them.
Use consistent branding (look, feel, colors, etc.) when designing your site. You’ll also want to incorporate white space so the site doesn’t look cluttered and disorganized.
When we design sites, we break up the design into sections. Each section (which we’ll get to in a moment) has a purpose for the conversation we are trying to have with our visitor.
Highlight your CTA
You want to make sure visitors have a clear message about what action you are asking them to take. To do this, make sure to use a call-to-action color for buttons and areas you are trying to draw attention to. If all your colors are the same, the reader won’t know where to stop.
Make your site mobile-friendly
You’ll also want to make sure your site is mobile-ready. We find that most sites have anywhere between 60 – 80% of their website traffic from mobile users. You also want to make sure your site displays well on these devices. But equally important is that you want the text and button sizes to make sense so that people can read and easily push your call-to-action buttons.
Crafting A Clear Message
The most important real estate on your website is above-the-fold. This is where your visitor will determine if they want to know more or decide to leave your site.
If you want to know the truth: you have milliseconds to capture the attention of a visitor that lands on your website.
Impact statement
The first sentence in this section should be an impact statement. An impact statement is one crystal clear message that explains exactly what you do or offer. This is not the time to be crafty with messaging. Clarity converts. The enemy of marketing is a lack of clarity in your messaging.
Statement of benefit
Under your impact statement, you should have a statement of benefit. This is simply 1 – 3 sentences that clearly explain the top three benefits your visitor will experience when they become your client.
Call-to-action
Next, you want a call-to-action button that explains what action they should take. Depending on the action you want your visitor to take, this button can say things like:
- Sign Up
- Book Now
- Learn More
- Contact Us
Testing for clarity
Once you’ve crafted your messaging above the fold, I recommend that you conduct “the mother-in-law” test. I call it the monther-in-law test, not because my mother-in-law isn’t smart – she definitely is. But because she doesn’t do what I do for a living. If she understands what I’ve written, I know the message is clear.
Identify Your PIC’s Struggles
The next section on the home page points out the external and internal problems you know your PIC is struggling with.
The external problem is the obvious one. Example: I want to lose weight.
The internal problem is the one that keeps them up at night. Example: I am embarrassed by my weight. I don’t want to be seen in public. Etc.
When you point out the problems you know your PIC is struggling with, you will immediately start connecting with them. They will sense that you know them and understand their pain.
Connect With Your Visitors
Then, in the next section, you introduce yourself. Here, you want to show empathy. Briefly tell them how you came to be an expert in your field. It could be a personal story. It could be a passion. The point is to make the copy relevant and point out that you understand their pain. You know what they are going through. And that you can help.
If you don’t want to be the person highlighted here, you can use this section to do the same thing for the company or your team. The concept is the same. You are using the copy to show why your company (or team) is equipped to help your visitor with their problem.
Establish Credibility
The “featured in” section is a “don’t take my word for it.” It gives you a chance to show some publications you’ve been featured in.
If you haven’t been featured in publications, you could also list certifications you’ve completed or even businesses you’ve worked with.
And if you are brand new to the business and don’t have any of those things, I suggest you use a quote from someone influential in your space and post it here. This is a great way to say, “don’t take my word for it,” here’s what [influential person] has to say.
Show How You Will Help Your PIC
Now it’s (finally) time to introduce how you help your clients. These are called featured boxes. These boxes should highlight the top three ways that you serve clients. You should include a brief description and then guide them over to your “work with me” page [or individual sales pages], so they can get more information.
Client Testimonials
Here’s where you add a testimony to say (again), without saying, “don’t take my word for it.” These can come from reviews your ambassadors have left for you, or you can ask someone to create one for you.
Featured Blog Posts
Then we include 3 – 4 featured blogs. We do this because if a person has made their way this far down the page, and hasn’t taken action (meaning clicked your buttons), then they want to know more about you and/or the company. A great way to provide this information is to guide them to your blog.
Your blog is the best way to build trust and rapport with your visitor quickly (and easily). It is an opportunity to share your experience and expertise – which is the ultimate authority builder.
In this section, you can list your most popular blogs, recent blogs or choose specific “sticky” blogs you want to display all the time.
Final CTA
And the next section on the home page is the footer call-to-action. In this section, your message should be more forward in asking your visitor to take action.
If you think about it, by the time they get here, they’ve spent some time on your site. It’s a good indicator they are interested in what they are seeing. You need to help them overcome the thing that’s preventing them from taking the next step with you.
So, you wrap up the page with a footer. You can add your logo, link to the other required pages, and add your copyright notice.
Lead & Sales Boosting Strategies
These strategies will help increase your chances of capturing leads and converting qualified visitors into customers.
The idea is to design every page like it is a sales conversation. To do this, you will use galleries, testimonials, FAQs, program details, pricing, etc. Don’t make people have to hunt to find information.
Here are some tips for generating leads from your website:
No one likes these – but they work!
- Pop-ups
- Sidebar Ads
- Footer Call-To-Actions
- Live Chat
In the beginning, we built websites with the client’s info. The site was “pretty,” but they didn’t get better results. The reason? Their offers sucked. You need to build your lead generation around an irresistible offer!
This is HUGE!!! I ignored it for a long time. We’ve been spending a lot more money on advertising than I have in the past. This is a HUGE factor in why we don’t convert traffic from our ads.
Another reason websites don’t convert is page loading speed. Your pages need to load in 2 seconds or less. If they don’t, your visitors will leave.
There are several ways to improve a website’s page loading speed:
- Optimize images: Large, high-resolution images can significantly slow down a website. Use image optimization tools to reduce the file size without sacrificing quality.
- Minimize HTTP requests: Each time a browser requests a file from a website, it adds to the page loading time. Minimizing the number of files that need to be requested can help speed up the loading process.
- Use a Content Delivery Network (CDN): A CDN can help distribute website content across multiple servers in different geographic locations, reducing the distance that data has to travel and speeding up page loading times.
- Enable browser caching: Browser caching allows a browser to store certain elements of a website, such as images and stylesheets, so they don’t have to be re-downloaded each time a visitor revisits the site. This can significantly improve page loading speed.
- Minify code: Removing unnecessary code, such as whitespace and comments, can reduce the file size of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript files, which can help speed up page loading times.
- Use a performance monitoring tool: Performance monitoring tools can help identify issues slowing down a website and provide recommendations for improvements.
- Make sure your hosting service is good: Make sure your website is hosted on a reliable and fast server. A good hosting provider can provide the necessary resources and support to improve your website’s page loading speed.
Website That Works™ Launch Challenge
To get you started on the right track toward launching your website that works, we are conducting a workshop that will teach you to create a website for your business that will attract visitors, capture leads, and convert qualified prospects into buyers.
Here’s what you need to know about the Website That Works™ Launch Challenge:
Website That Works™ Launch Challenge
February 15, 16, and 17
9 am – 11 am MST (11 am – 1 pm EST)
FREE!
In this FREE workshop, you will learn the following:
- How to craft copy that connects with your visitors and converts them into leads and/or clients.
- How to create offers your target audience will find irresistible.
- How to curate images that capture attention and make a lasting impression.
- How to show up in searches so you can get more visitors to your website.
- How to customize your site like a professional designer (with NO CODING required)
In This Course, You’ll Also Get…
- The SEO Crash Course so you can be found online by your dream clients.
- Tips and tricks to hack your way to more website visitors.
- SSL Certificate
- Keyword Research (analyze trend research and keyword data)
- SEO Page Title
- Keyword Used In H1 & H2 Headings
- Meta Description (optimized page titles and meta descriptions)
- Tips for blogging weekly
- Tips for adding backlinks (2 – 3 per blog)
- Tips for adding internal links (2 – 3 per blog)
- Tips tips to make sure you have no broken links
- Learn to put your keywords in your image, title & alt text
- Learn to make sure your blog is Submitted to Google Search Console
- Learn to read Google Analytics (MonsterInsights)
Creating a Website That Works™ is all about meeting your customer’s needs and creating a great experience. Our Website That Works™ Launch Challenge will set you on the right path to turning your website into a tool that helps you reach your goals!
