SECRETS OF A GREAT WEBSITE DESIGN By VIKTOR KIS ACCOUNT MANAGER at SPARK MARKETING
CONTENTS 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. About Spark The 7 phases of web design Strategize: Benchmark, Define, Set goals Plan: The single most important step Design + Build: Elements of a great website Optimize: SEO, meta, sitemaps and other oddities Analyze and improve Q&A
ABOUT SPARK MARKETING Spark is an online marketing agency located in Toronto, Ontario and Austin, Texas. We generate leads for small-medium businesses by leveraging Web Design, Social Media, Search Engine Optimization and Paid Advertising.
7 steps to a great website:
STRATEGIZE. If I had eight hours to chop down a tree, I'd spend six hours sharpening my ax - Abraham Lincoln
WHAT DOES A WEBSITE DO? 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Provides easily accessible information Addresses patient pain points Creates trust and captivates your audience Stimulates emotional connection with your brand Generates leads Helps office workflow...and many more
QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. What do I currently like and dislike about my website? What is missing from the current website? What's the first impression I want to give my target audience? Where is my current website failing at fulfilling its purpose? Will this be a whole new website? Do I have a logo to use? Does it need an update? Will the domain name change at all? What platform do I want my new website to be on? What is a realistic timeline for this redesign? What is our budget for this project?
BENCHMARK + DEFINE 1. Website performance 2. Determine Your Goals 3. Define Your Brand 4. Define Your Audience 5. Analyze the Competition Number of visits / month, top keywords, leads, sales generated etc. Why are you doing the redesign? Mobile-friendly? New image? More leads? What is your USP? Is this changing or staying the same? Do you currently have a clearly defined target audience? Branding, content aligns with this? Are there competitor sites that you really like? If so, which ones?
PLAN.
Content is (almost) everything.
WHAT DOES CONTENT DO? It makes you look: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Knowledgeable Trustworthy Professional Interesting Easy to understand Creates emotional connection
WEBSITE ELEMENTS TO PLAN 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. Copy Sitemap (include blog) Photography Videos Graphic elements (logos, illustrations, social media icons etc.) Testimonials Trust symbols Downloadables (whitepapers, patient forms, brochures etc.) E-mail newsletter Links (social platforms, resources etc.) Additional features: Event Calendar, E-Commerce
GOOD WEBSITE COPY... 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Addresses specific pain points To-the-point, engaging, has personality Is scannable, easy to digest 800 words / page for important pages Contains your keywords Written for users not search engines
BAD GOOD
SITEMAP 1. 2. 3. 4. Easy to navigate Logical Includes all important services Creates a sales funnel
BAD GOOD
PHOTOGRAPHY + VIDEOS Professional.
BAD GOOD http://www.marshalldentalclinic.com/
VIDEO STATISTICS 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Videos increase the understanding of your product or service by 74% Youtube is the No. 2 search engine in the world ⅓ online activity is spent watching videos The average internet user watches 32.2 videos a month Every day 100 million users watch an online video
YOUR VIDEOS 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Should be between 30 seconds - 2 minutes Main introductory video about practice, doctor, USP etc. 4-5 short videos on most important services Include Dr. her/himself, staff members Make it personable Integrate it within copy To-the-point Not from 1993
GRAPHIC ELEMENTS
TESTIMONIALS 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Use names, photos Integrate them with all pages Encourage users to leave reviews Use a timestamp STAND OUT! Sites to focus on: Google Plus, RateMDs, Yelp, Facebook Testimonials management
BAD GOOD www.childventures.ca, www.raventools.com
INTEGRATE YOUR TESTIMONIALS
TRUST SYMBOLS
DOWNLOADABLES - GAIN MORE LEADS 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Boring Essentials: patient forms, brochures Exciting Additions: whitepapers, podcasts, videos Address patient questions! Think longer blog post Professionally designed
BAD GOOD hubspot.com
EMAIL NEWSLETTERS, EBLASTS 1. 2. 3. 4. Still very strong in generating leads Helps with longer sales funnels Great vehicle of promotional messaging Establishes credibility
BAD GOOD toronto.com
DESIGN + BUILD
MOBILE-FRIENDLY DESIGN As of 2012, 116 million Americans owned smartphones. 70% of mobile searches lead to online action within an hour (unless using it in the bathroom to which 75% of Americans admit) 31% of online searches are from mobile devices
RESPONSIVE WEB DESIGN Responds to the size of the device Able to resize and change accordingly Difference between mobile site and responsive design Responsive better for Search Engine Optimization Updates to a responsive site reflect on mobile as well New devices mean a challenge to mobile sites + apps Importance of easy navigation on mobile How do I know if a site is responsive?
ELEMENTS OF A GREAT WEBSITE 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Header: a. Clear navigation b. Contact Info c. Social Icons Hero area Call-To-Actions Simple forms - Home page, Sidebar, Contact page Testimonials Privacy: Privacy Policy, HTTPS - Secure connection Optimized landing pages
A few examples
OPTIMIZE
SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION The process of maximizing the number of visitors to a particular website by ensuring that the site appears high on the list of results returned by a search engine. Source: Google
SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION
WHAT DO I NEED TO OPTIMIZE? 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Sitemap Meta Titles Meta Descriptions Image Alt tags Rich snippets Schema markup Website speed Usability Google Authorship - not anymore
DON T OVERDO SEO.
LAUNCH. LAUNCH
BEFORE LAUNCH 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. The website looks correct in all targeted Web browsers The design works seamlessly through desktop and mobile devices Contact and other forms work Internal and external links work Images are sized properly All placeholder content has been replaced by the final copy
ANALYZE
BAD NEWS! Web Design never stops.
IMPROVE WITH WEB ANALYTICS 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Where do visitors come from? (search engines, paid ads, social media etc.) Where do visitors live? What pages are the most popular? Do they visit pages you want them to visit? Where do visitors exit the site? How much time do they spend on important pages? If they are coming from an advertising campaign, do they become leads? What are the obstacles users experience on the site?
TEST, TEST, TEST 1. 2. 3. What works best - promotions, price discounts, loyalty programs etc. Colors, sizes, headlines, slogans The list never ends!
WHAT CAN I DO TODAY TO MAKE MY WEBSITE BETTER?
5 THINGS YOU CAN GET STARTED TODAY 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Check if your website is mobile friendly See if you have Google Analytics installed and start using it Have a family member use your website and give feedback Update your website with the latest services and promotions Check if it is easy to contact you - phone, email, forms
If your Mom can use the site, everybody can.
THANK YOU! Hope that gave you some helpful insights. We are happy to answer any questions you may have about web design or any other details about online marketing. Viktor Kis vkis@hellospark.com 416-849-8971