Web design is big business and companies spend thousands of pounds every year to ensure theirs is up there with the best. But there is much more to a decent website than fancy logos and cleverly-designed pages. Unless your website is getting customers through your door then it’s pretty pointless. So why have a website?

A website is one of the most powerful marketing tools available to modern businesses. But too many company directors focus on the aesthetics. While these are important, pretty websites alone aren’t going to increase your profits.

Business owners need to be clear from the start that the purpose of an online presence is to generate leads - not win beauty contests. I’ve learnt this the hard way.

As the owner of four franchises, I’ve had the luxury of having websites built for me and customers actually paying to feature on my website.

When I started a business from scratch, however, I was very much on my own. It’s been a process of trial and error ever since to get it right and I’m still learning every day. But my goal is clear; my website has to generate business.

Lots of businesses have a website designed for them and never look at it again. This has absolutely no value to the company at all. A business needs to track and measure the success of its website through the number of leads generated and how many of these are converted into sales. If it’s not working, then something needs to change.

There are millions of websites with bells and whistles on but they fail to produce anything from a marketing point of view. There are no personal details captured and no sales.

Web design should not be a box-ticking exercise. If used correctly, a website can be a company’s most powerful asset. We work with several companies whose websites are producing phone calls day in and day out.

A website has a job to do. The end result has to be beneficial to the company. Your web visitors might not yet be ready to buy anything, but they’ve found your site because they’re interested in what you have to offer. Make sure you keep them there by providing a compelling ‘call to action’.

If you would like more help on what constitutes a good website, visit my previous blog How many seconds do you have before you lose a web visitor? If anything it’s a reality check on how quickly you need to engage a visitor before they get bored.

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