ArtShine: Does Your Website Have A Purpose?

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Does Your Website Have A Purpose?

Every website must have a real purpose. To put it another way... what do you want your website to do for you and your art and design business?

Remember to, that your website is a representation of both you and your art and design business.

The purpose of a website could be anything... anything at all... So, just as long as you know what that purpose actually is, you'll be able to test and measure to assess the success of your site as you go along.

From our experience working closely with our creative clients we've identified some common reasons that people decide to establish a website for their businesses:

To have online presence,
To build a strong brand online,
To generate leads,
To generate online sales,
To generate offline sales,
To connect with, and build relationships with both existing and new customers online,
To improve and enhance customer service,
To give out or share information,
To attract site visitors in order to generate advertising revenues.

You may say this list sounds quite obvious. But a lot of small business owners with a website have simply over looked the real purpose to having a website in the first place...

Once you have decided what the job you want your website to do for you is, and it could be more than one thing, then it becomes a much simpler task of creating it... Like most things, knowing the goal or the outcome you seek, BEFORE you commence, will bring you much more focused results. Having a clear idea of your purpose will help you to make concise and constructive decisions for your creative business, right now, and into the future.

Before rushing into building a website here's a short list of ideas that could help you form a better foundation for your site:

Research. Research. Research. Dedicate some of your time to do research.
Look at your competitors' websites and make some decisions about the paths that they've taken. Are you planning something unique and different, or something the same?
Surf widely and look at other sites that you like. And they don't have to be in the same industry, or field either... So be creative!
Look at the functionality of each website that you visit and define what you like and don't like about them.
Look at those websites that have a similar purpose to yours. Focus on the features that they have, and the benefits that they offer. Decide what's relevant for you and your site, how you'll be the same, or how you'll be different.
Make yourself a "Wish List" by writing down all those ideal features or functions that you come across that and may like to have for your own website.
Don't try to have too many things going on with your website. Focus on your real purpose for your site, not the flash animations, or clever tricks.
Think deeply about who will use the site and how they'll use it. Will it be easy. clear, and straight forward?
Be very clear about who your "ideal customer" actually is - how you define them, and how they define themselves.
Have a budget in mind. And consider the potential for generating income from the website too. Have you made some sales projections to help you understand the appropriate budget for your website, its marketing, and how it will pay for itself over time?
If you're not planing to build the site yourself, or start with a blog, then make sure to shop around for a web designer. Get at least three quotes. Gather all your research together and have your clearly defined goals with them.

And what if you've already got a website?

Ask yourself these questions:

Is my website reflecting the purpose of my creative business?

Is my website working well for me ?

Which areas of my website are not working so well for me?

If there are three things that my website could do better, what would it be.

Remember keep your website purpose consistent with your own values, and with those of your design business too.

Tune in tomorrow we'll talk to you about your mobile website.

Is your Website mobile devices friendly?