It may be a cliché, but your website is your digital shopfront – it’s where potential customers browse, look for more information on products or services, and debate whether to buy.

Your website, therefore, needs to fit with your ethos, brand and service offerings, so when you’re developing your website, it is important to get the basics right from the beginning. Here are our top tips for developing a website that communicates your messages effectively.

1. Content

A mistake people often make, when it comes to creating their new website, is focusing solely on the design and neglecting the written content. This can be a problem as the primary reason people visit a website is to extract information – whether it be opening hours, services, contact details or staff bios. At Springboard, we are advocates of content-led design i.e. creating the content first and then designing the structure around that content.

In the first instance, we recommend outlining your key messages – what do you want to communicate to your target audience about your business? – and then building your content out from there.

Strong content that addresses a pain point also entices visitors to your website, who you can then convert. Think about what problems your customers have, and how you can help solve those problems with the content on your site.

2. Tone-of-voice

Is your brand irreverent and fun? Or is it more serious and considered? Whatever you choose, your tone-of-voice should be consistent throughout your website and reflective of your brand.

The tone-of-voice will also impact the language, imagery, icons and colour palette so this should be finalised before anything is created or written. Most importantly, no matter what style the copy is written in, always ensure you have no typos, formatting inconsistencies, or grammatical errors.

3. User experience

Is your website user friendly? When you have spent a lot of time in the throes of developing it, it can be hard to step back and analyse your website with an impartial eye.

Think about how a new visitor to your site will experience it. What journey will they take? What journey do you want them to take? Is the website optimised so that a potential customer will take that desired step to purchase your product or contact you about a service offering?

Before it goes live, trial it with someone who has never used the site before and who will give you honest feedback – you might be surprised by where they hit snags.

For more information on how we can help you craft content for your website, email info@springboardcommunications.ie. 

Article: Ciara Flaherty

Post by Susie Horgan

Susie founded Springboard in 2011, and has developed the business into a leading, director-led communications agency. She has worked for over 20 years in senior marketing and public relations roles.