Choose your software wisely
The starting point for any website is the software and WordPress, Drupal and Joomla are regularly rated as three of the best website/content management software on the market. All open-source, the three systems offer a high level of customisation and benefit from regular enhancements in the forms of plugins and themes courtesy of the online community.
Develop logical site architecture
Visitors to the website of your business or organisation want to find things quickly and easily, so it’s important to plan out your site architecture before you get started. What will your visitors be looking for and how many menus and sub-menus will they be willing to go through to find it? What pages do you need and which ones will you struggle to populate with useful content. Considering these types of questions will help you to establish the most efficient site architecture possible.
Select the right content
Put yourself in your visitors’ shoes when you decide what information to include about your business or organisation and what you offer. Remember: what you see as essential may not be the same for them. This exercise can also help to shorten and streamline your content, which makes it easier to maintain in the long-run.
Images are important too, as a way to grab attention and also to break up blocks of text. While using stock images is often the easy – or sometimes the only – option, personal images give your business or organisation a face and an identity.
Keep it conversational
Language tends to be fairly formal within the world of business, and often heavy with jargon and acronyms specific to the particular industry. While this certainly has its place, it may not be the best approach to take when it comes to website content. Keeping language conversational and avoiding jargon can result in more visitor-friendly text that makes it clear to the visitor what services your business or organisation offers.
Optimise your content
Having ‘SEO-friendly’ content is also an important consideration, as this shapes where your website will appear in search engine results. Identify the appropriate key words for your business or organisation and learn how to use them effectively in order to maximise your search-ability. Organising your content in a logical way and building links between sections of your website can also help to boost your online presence.
Make the most of social media
We’ve talked before about how social media can be a great tool for businesses and organisations. But if visitors can’t find your social media channels, then their potential is being undermined right from the start. Make sure you position your social media channels in a highly visibly location on your website and that you take the opportunity to signpost visitors to these channels whenever possible.
Social media channels are also one of the best ways to communicate about the benefits of your business or organisation and are an effective way of promoting your website and attracting visitors.
Don’t rush
Building a great website is a long-term commitment – it’s not something that can be done overnight. Take your time, plan out your stages and make sure that you test each feature thoroughly. It can be tempting to rush a new website launch, particularly if it’s something that your business or organisation has already announced to your target audience, but meeting a deadline with an incomplete product can cause more problems in the long-run.
One for the future: keep your website up-to-date
You may have developed and launched a great website, but that’s only the start of the journey. If you don’t update your website on a regular basis, you run the risk of creating the impression that your business or organisation isn’t as committed and current as you inevitably are. Stay on top of your updates, regularly bringing fresh and eye-catching content to your visitors and you’ll give them a reason to return again and again.
Interested in finding out more about how to get the most out of social media? Why not check out 5 tips for making social media work for your organisation.
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5 tips for making social media work for your organisation
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Details
- Publication date
- 4 April 2017
- Authors
- European Labour Authority | Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion
- Topics
- Business / Entrepreneurship
- Hints and tips
- Labour market news / mobility news
- Social media
- Youth
- Related section(s)
- Sector
- Accomodation and food service activities
- Activities of extraterritorial organisations and bodies
- Activities of households as employers, undifferentiated goods- and services
- Administrative and support service activities
- Agriculture, forestry and fishing
- Arts, entertainment and recreation
- Construction
- Education
- Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply
- Financial and insurance activities
- Human health and social work activities
- Information and communication
- Manufacturing
- Mining and quarrying
- Other service activities
- Professional, scientific and technical activities
- Public administration and defence; compulsory social security
- Real estate activities
- Transportation and storage
- Water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation activities
- Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles