What to Know for a Successful Website Design Part 1

Welcome to Part 1 of our 6-lesson crash course on What to Know for a Successful Website Design!

The goal for this course is to provide you with what you need to know when you’re considering any type of design or redesign of your website so that your experience is as easy and fun as possible.

And today, we will start with a look at the biggest mistake almost EVERY business or individual makes with their website.

But first, let me get the checklists you’ll need as you go through the process:

Checklist of items to get a quote from a website designer or company

Checklist of questions you should ask your website designer or company

Now, whether you’re designing your website yourself, having a friend do it or partnering with a professional web design company like Wordflirt, you’ll need to have these items from the checklist handy.

You’ve heard the old adage, “Garbage In, Garbage Out”? This is used to express the idea that in computing and other spheres, incorrect or poor quality input will always produce faulty output. In other words, the quality of your input will determine the quality of your output (which is the end result).

So for a great result, you’re going to need to be clear on the requirements up front; the clearer and better thought out things are up front, the better the design and entire process will turn out.

We’re going to tell you what you need to look for, have prepared, and what you can kinda ignore.

Now here is the one big mistake that is made all of the time. It’s so common and so tempting to continue to make this mistake, and in all fields and endeavors, that we must be reminded of it on a regular basis.

And that is, in almost all cases, YOUR PRODUCT OR SERVICE IS NOT FOR YOU – IT’S FOR THE CUSTOMER!

Similarly, YOUR WEBSITE SHOULD NOT BE BUILT FOR YOU – IT SHOULD BE BUILT FOR YOUR CUSTOMERS!

That is the one big mistake almost everyone makes when it comes to designing and then redesigning their website.

Therefore, you need to understand your customers: their desires, needs, wants, emotions, etc. In fact, Brian Sher, in What Rich People Know & Desperately Want To Keep Secret , states that Marketing is identifying, addressing, and answering your customer’s needs, putting yourself in their shoes.

And here’s why….

Because you want the people that visit your website to engage with you on your site. To know you, your products, your services, in a way they can understand, and that is appealing to them.

Here is a good analogy that we’ll use throughout the course.

Think about your website as you building a house that you’re going to sell to someone else. The house that you design must appeal to them – it must tell a story…when they walk up to it, you want them to be able to picture themselves living inside of it, raising a family, holding parties, etc.

Which means, to sell your house, you must understand your buyer.

In the same way, your website needs to tell a story about your product or service such that they take the action you want them to take, such as give up their email address, purchase your product, hire you as a consultant, fill out your contact form, etc.

And it’s not about you…it’s about the buyer. Your goal is to sell the house to THEM, not to you. Your personal tastes and desires might represent the part of the market you’re reaching, but then again it might not.

They must be the hero of the story, not you. You might be great and awesome, which is important, but it’s not the main thing!

So as we get into the details, that’s the frame of mind for you to be in:

YOUR WEBSITE IS NOT FOR YOU, IT’S FOR YOUR CUSTOMERS AND CLIENTS!

OK, we’re going off on a slight tangent. It’s something to keep in mind for your messaging.

What makes people want to give you money?

People (customers) will give you money only as a means of getting whatever it is they want. This means your starting point must be understanding what they want.

People will only pay you or enrich you if you closely meet their needs and desires, or remove their frustrations, fears, or concerns.

In general, people will pay you if you can do any of these better than anyone else:

So ask questions such as:

– Can I offer a better, fresher, quicker, cheaper, hotter, colder, tastier, safer, warmer, smarter, more durable, more comfortable, more prestigious, more enjoyable, more relaxing, less stressful, healthier, improved, higher quality product or service than anyone else?

Make sure this information is contained somewhere on your website, preferably at the beginning.

Got it?

Your homework is to make sure you understand your clients – their hopes, dreams, needs, wants, desires, what keeps them up at night, what they want to feel like, etc.

In part 2 we’ll be delving into the main steps for building or redesigning your website.