You have some great products and services to offer and now it's time to showcase your work by creating a website. Of course, you want your website to be successful so people can find you, learn more about your products and services, as well as continue to generate traffic and increase sales. However, what does it take to create a successful website? This post discusses 5 things you need to do before designing a website so that you have a creative, appealing and prosperous website. 

Know Your Brand And Target Audience 

First and foremost, it will be difficult to create a successful website and get people interested if you don't know what you want from your website. Take the time to figure out who you are as a brand and why the direction you have chosen will appeal and inform your targeted audience. In doing so, you'll market to the right people and properly optimize the information and components that will continue to generate high levels of traffic. 

Having a clear focus will help you best showcase your work to the people most interested in what you have to offer. Branding is important to all businesses, no matter the size. The logo you create is an important component for branding and will be what consumers resonate your business with. According to Social Media Today, the design and placement of your brand’s logo contributes to a viewer’s overall opinion. Professionally designed logos successfully catch the customer’s eye and provide a clear picture of the brand’s unique voice. Choose a location on your site that is readily visible to visitors, such as the upper left corner, since this is where the eye naturally begins to scan a website. To further solidify your brand’s identity, consider using the same logo on packaging, print advertising, and branded apparel. When a business is consistent with branding, it provides customers with an integrated and memorable brand experience (source).

Don't Take Shortcuts Or Delay Projects

When starting the creation of a new website, you should first design a timeline of the different elements that need to be completed. Leave a little room for the unexpected but try not to delay the project or take any shortcuts just to get done faster. Delaying the project will end up costing you more in the long run by missing out on leads, losing engagement and forfeiting opportunities. However, you don't want people to see an outdated and confused website that seems only partially complete but taking shortcuts is not going to help your website either. Cutting corners may result in certain elements on your website to not function properly such as broken links or grammatical errors throughout the content. The best thing to do is to stay organized and stick to specific deadlines. 

Outline A Draft Of Content With SEO In Mind 

Just because you created a website doesn't mean that people will come to it. Your content is important to provide valuable information to your audience as well as increasing your chances to rank higher on search engine results. Make sure when creating content for each page that you keep SEO in mind so that people are able to find the website. The content as well as the keywords used affect your website's value so it's important to take the components into careful consideration. Keyword research can provide topic ideas and, when used correctly, will help customers swiftly locate the content they’re seeking. Each web page should have more than 150 words and should link to credible sources as well as other pages on your website. More than providing information, the content published on your site should be written to echo your brand’s unique voice.

Research Website CMS Options

 A Content Management System (CMS) is a program that creates a framework for updating specific content of a Web site. It allows you to easily modify a site's content without having to contact the Web developer. It also eliminates the need to train your staff on HTML or other programming techniques to try to manage the site internally. Simply put, a CMS can save you time and money as well as gives you control over your Web site, 24/7. CMS options such as Wordpress or Bravo CMS offer advantages for businesses that are not particularly proficient in website development. The following are some of those advantages:

• Are seamlessly integrated into your Web site.
• Allow instant Web site updates. Real-time changes as you want them.
• Simple interface; minimal user training.
• Your choice of single-user management or collaborative efforts within a team.
• No HTML or programming skills required. Just click, type, and "Save".
• Our expert team is on-call to back you up.
• Unlimited free phone and e-mail support.
• Can be applied to a single section of your Web site – or throughout.

Consider Hiring A Professional Web Team

There are a lot of difficult elements to implement that makes designing a website work so that the function is simple for the consumer to use. While the look and feel of your site need to be unique, the formation of a solid Web development and marketing strategy is critical to the success of your Web project, and is a step missed by most Web developers. Focusing on your needs to continually improve productivity, lead generation, and improved client support, a professional web team can offer a solution built upon best practices for both marketing and online lead generation.

Want a website that generates traffic and increases sales? Check out the session below to create a powerful and successful website.