When SWEOR (2022) reported that it now takes users about 50 milliseconds (that’s just 0.05 seconds) for users to form an opinion about a website, the internet went crazy.
For many, this proves exactly what specialist web design agencies have been arguing for so long: that effective, innovative and future-focused web design is a critical element in a business’ success.
When it comes to designing hard-working websites, we’re proud to be a team with decades of collective expertise in building the best. At the forefront of our mind is every element you’ll need to master in order to drive traffic to your greatest lead-generation asset: your website.
Let’s take a look at our team’s top 5 things to consider when designing a brand-new website of your very own.
- Purpose of your website
No two houses are the same.
Built for different family sizes, uses and lifestyles, every house standing in the world today was built with a particular purpose in mind.
A website is no different. While you might know that you need a new one, the reason for its existence can be much more difficult to articulate.
At Vibes Design, we help you navigate this brave, new territory with the ultimate in professional guidance, care and consultation. We’ll begin with a kickoff discussing, ascertaining the central purpose(s) of your website, which might include:
- Selling goods and/or services (eCommerce)
- Presenting products, properties, or creative work (folio-based or catalogue site)
- Promoting a product or course via landing page
- Login functionality for members
- Accepting and processing client bookings
…and more.
Put simply, the purpose of your website will determine things like its:
- Features
- Capabilities
- Visual and linguistic design
- Project cost and investment level
- Image selections and treatment
- Hosting
…and, you guessed it, much more.
Luckily, every member of our Vibes Design team is an expert in helping you determine a website design strategy that’s purpose-built for your needs. There’ll be no generic template usage here – just specialist design chops tailored to the desired outcomes of your business.
When it comes to hard-working websites, we love to help you determine every ingredient that will transform your website into the lead-generating asset you always dreamed it would be!
- Marketing needs
If your website will be used to market specific products and/or services, you’ll need to make yourself a new best friend: strong marketing copy.
Marketing copy refers to the language, words and text used to educate your prospective clients and customers about what you sell, and motivate them to engage with it and purchase it. When paired with powerful visual design, marketing copy can be the keystone of your website’s success.
Great marketing copy involves elements such as:
- Structured call to action (CTAs)
- Purposeful placement of key messaging
- Considered word choice and use of language
- Syntactic considerations (balancing short, sharp phrases with descriptive sentences)
- Strong headings and taglines, and
- A well-defined and differentiated tone of voice (TOV)
Tone of Voice is perhaps the single-most effective element of great marketing copy. By creating a TOV that both speaks to your ideal customers and sets your brand apart from others, we help you create a website that’s not only wildly memorable, but effective as well.
Vibes Design’s TOV and copywriting experts will help you achieve the website of your dreams: one that not only looks great, but works hard for you as well.
- Security and hosting of your website
Hackers.
Viruses.
Security breaches.
Globally, it’s estimated that up to 30,000 websites are hacked each and every day (Techjury 2022). Now, more so than ever before, is an important time to be considering the security of your website.
The most common threats to website security are:
- Viruses
- Worms
- Spam
- Trojans
- Spyware
- Adware
And if some of those words mean little to you, you wouldn’t be alone. With new website security threats surfacing each and every day, your best defense is a website security and web hosting expert.
What contributes to a secure website? While most elements of website design can be held to account, the most important considerations tend to be:
- Authentication
- Authorisation
- Data protection and backup
- Encryption, and password
- Password protection
To help you navigate such a complex system of ever-changing web security guidelines, Vibes’ web experts are consistently on-hand with the attentive, responsive and innovative service that’s helped us sustain an incredible reputation for decades.
- Website speed
It’s hard to beat, of course, but what’s more annoying than a website that’s been compromised?
A website that’s incredibly slow, that’s what!
According to website consultants LoadStorm (2022), 1 in 4 visitors will abandon a website if it takes more than 4 seconds to load. Apply this knowledge to the state of your current website, and what kind of insight do you get?
It’s one of the most common issues faced by our clients: whether or not their website is loading at a speed that’s consistent with the expectations of their customers. There are many things that affect website speed including:
- The weight of the theme or design
- Your host’s content delivery network (CDN)
- Imagery and treatments
- Traffic
- Network congestion
- Bandwidth restrictions
- Data discrimination
…and much more.
One very helpful tool that web designers can use is Google PageSpeed Insights (PSI), a program that offers capability for reporting on the performance of a page across both mobile and desktop decides. Importantly, PSI provides suggestions on how the page itself can be improved with solutions.
As a specialist website design team, we also work with you to ensure a lightweight theme is used throughout. This offers you the visual power of great design paired with the efficiency of a well-built website.
- Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)
Last, but not least, is the importance of Search Engine Optimisation.
SEO is the process of attracting and sustaining traffic via the result of free, organic search results generated by search engines such as Google. Best-practice SEO strategy revolves around the incorporation of keywords into your pages and content, plus the production of regular, high-quality content and attention to title tags, meta descriptions, and more.
Confused? Don’t be. We’re here to help.
With Google’s SEO guidelines and updates consistently on the move, there’s never been a more necessary time to engage a specialist web designer for advice on SEO best-practice.
What’s more, Vibes Design’s copywriting team is well-versed in the art of subtly incorporating keywords into your copy so your website doesn’t read like it’s been written by a hard-edge marketing agency.
The key? Hardworking, purposefully structured written content that’s created by experts in their field.
Are you ready to build the website of your dreams, but aren’t so sure where to start? Reach out to our friendly team today for your obligation-free scoping discussion and quote.
We can’t wait to meet you!
