Dynamic Business

Designing Your Website

Turning to design, your site’s layout should reflect your target audience. “If you’re looking for a very cheap, value-seeking kind of customer, you probably don’t want a very flashy site—just a simple, clean, basic site,” says Schebesta. “But if you’re selling a much higher-end product—one that requires more service and has a higher ticket value—you might want to consider a more design-intensive site.”

The simple and modern design of the Night Nannies website is the reason behind its appeal, says Sansom. “It hasn’t got lots of different colours and the colours are carefully chosen so they’re appealing and easily accepted by the eyes,” she explains. “Obviously we choose pictures that are recognisable as our brand but also relevant to our key market.” The website’s design also follows current trends, including a lack of scrolling—especially on the home page.

Keeping your website organised is essential, particularly the home page. “What’s important is structure,” says Schebesta. “Most internet users are just skimmers and scanners—they skim the pages and scan for bolded words and dot points. So you’ve got to structure the top of your page for those skimmers and scanners, just to push them towards your conversion or money page,” he says. “But below that have enough information for the type of users that research heavily. There are people who make very considered decisions and they can also be very valued customers.

“The other things you need are questions throughout your site to resolve what’s called ‘points of resolution’ in a customer’s mind. It’s critical that you resolve those points within your website in order for them to go ahead and make a purchase. They’re normally the questions your customers will ask you when they pick up the phone and speak to you, so detail them on your site. They’ll feel confident that you’ve already thought about these questions and then they’ll feel more confident in getting in contact with you, which ultimately is what you’re trying to do with your site.”

Website Design Mistakes

Knowing what to do is one thing, but knowing what not to do is also crucial. “Pure fact sites are a no-no because search engines can’t see them,” says Schebesta. Sites with frames and little content aren’t appealing for customers or search engines.

Flashy sites are another problem. “The key pitfall is that lots of people still can’t see flash, so you need to consider those users who don’t actually have flash software working on their computer, like in a lot of corporate environments,” Schebesta explains. “I think there is a bit of overkill where it’s too flashy and there isn’t enough content or value given to the customer.”

Internet connection speeds also become an issue when sites use flash technology. “Broadband in Australia is defined as people who have a connection that is 56 kilobits and above. So if you are on a 56 kilobit connection you’re still considered to have broadband but you wouldn’t notice much difference between that and a dial-up connection,” he says. A majority of the Australian audience still have a very slow connection. So a flashy site can be a big trap if it takes too long to load, because a visitor can easily close your site down and instead click on the next Google search result, says Schebesta.

The best way to avoid these mistakes is to take care when choosing a web designer. Look at their past work and take key words from the sites of their previous clients. Then do an internet search to see how they rank.
“It’s also important to consider your online marketing before your actual website development because a website is just one part of your online marketing. Your business is not just a website,” says Schebesta. “The key thing is to understand where your conversion and money page is before you start. Then work out ways to actually drive traffic there and create ways to build your database of prospects up—that’s the most important part of a small businesses website.”

Website Design Examples

According to Fred Schebesta, managing director of Freestyle Media, the following three SME sites are good examples of savvy web development.

1. Laser Sight Centres
Converting visitors into customers is a necessity, and these guys have that down pat. With a 4.5 percent positive conversion rate, Schebesta describes their success as “amazing”.
www.lasik.com.au

2. Frank Team
Specialising in career development and training, Frank Team have recently launched two blogs that are quite innovative and progressive in terms of online marketing. They also do a great job of providing content and getting people to come in and contact them through their website.
www.frankteam.com.au

3. Poker Champion
This Melbourne-based company sells poker tables and chips and ships them all over Australia. The online only venture generates a huge amount of traffic as a result of its search engine marketing.
www.pokerchampion.com.au