Making A Website? Put The Customers’ Needs First

On more than one occasion, some of my clients have looked at the design of a website from their point of view, which is a mistake none of you reading this should ever make. When making a website, it is always good to remember that you are not looking at what you want… You are looking at what your clients would like. After all, the main objective of a website is to market yourself or your company to your customers.

Here are some of the ways a website made for a customer benefits them first and you second;

1.       Information

When checking out a website, apart from checking out the pictures and eye-candy, two of the most important things are the “Who” and “What”. “Who are you?” and “What do you do?”; 2 questions that should be answered on the home-page, it’s where you market yourself in just a few paragraphs and pictures. Instead of going all the way to your shop to inquire, the questions are simply answered on the first page; an informed client is a happy client but to make it even better, an informed client who easily found the information they were looking for is an even more satisfied client.

2.        Questions

I’m one of those people who can spend all day asking all kinds of questions. I am never satisfied with just the basics; I always love to be one step ahead with information (hence why Journalism is the Bonnie to my Clyde). So, when I find a website that offers a place for feed-back or questions, I am happy. And my happiness reaches its peak when my questions are answered; so no matter who you are, always be sure to respond to the emails you get from the curious clients, no matter how “duh” they might seem to you, you should endeavor to answer them or else  the customer might end up going somewhere else if they do not get those answers.

3.       Portfolio

One of the best things about having a website is the portfolio. In the portfolio, you get to show all your future clients what you have done in the past. You get an opportunity to earn their trust in just a few pages. Most of the clients I have now only contacted me because they looked through the portfolio and liked what they see… Seeing is believing.

4.       24/7 Marketing

The average closing time for most offices is 5 o’clock in the evening but what if I am looking for information about your company at 11 o’clock in the night? If your company does have a website, I will not have to wait until the following morning to get the information I am looking for. It is all just one click away! Even country borderlines will be a thing of the past; a website connects you to the whole world.

When making a website, always be sure to look at it from the clients’ point of view; ask for thoughts of the web designers and people around you so that you do not end up making a website that puts your needs and wants before your customers.