Are you a business with 20 or less staff?

Whether you are a start-up business, small business, larger enterprise, or anything in between, this is how to create the perfect new website for your business… and these are the top 10 things you must know about before planning a new website.

Plus you can liberate your advertising budget with the world’s number one website platform, WordPress. This is a user-friendly platform that is easy to learn and easy to customise. This very affordable option is a great choice for any business that is looking to get started with a new website. In addition, it’s platform has multiple in built features to keep it SEO friendly, which will help you rank highly in search engines. There is a reason that WordPress is responsible for around 20% of all websites, with everything from simple blogs to eCommerce. With robust, customisable themes to start from and dynamic plugins, it’s the best choice for companies who want a website as unique as their business. All you need is a great developer and designer to put it all together for you, but this is what you should know...

So, let's put WOW in your?WEBSITE?!

1/ Themes The theme of your website is its skeleton. It decides on the overall appearance and layout of your site and is an incredibly important part of making your business stand out. This is one of the major reasons why it’s important to find a great web designer who can build a custom WordPress website or theme for you. 

2/ Dynamic Plugins WordPress has more than 32,000 free plugins that you can use to make your site easier to manage, with more coming out every day. You can use plugins to help you enhance your websites functionality, with things like SEO optimisers, slideshows, galleries, web forms and security enhancements. Plugins are easy to install and easy to use, making website maintenance a snap. You want to take charge of your website, right?

3/ Affordability. The main costs will come in if you want to buy specific themes and for when you pay for hosting and other additional services like e-commerce. Even with these added services, it’s possible to set up a great website for a very low price. With a great developer, a WordPress website can possess all the capabilities of an enterprise level platform at a fraction of the cost. 

4/ What should I expect to pay for a website? Website prices can range a lot, you can get a website for as little as almost nothing and just pay for hosting, or the price can go all the way through to $25K and beyond, depending on what you want from your site). One of the interesting things about the web design industry is that you can get quoted a considerably different amount for the same job depending on the company that is quoting you. As is the case when looking to purchase anything there can be a temptation to go with the cheapest option. It is important you understand what you are purchasing always has limitations.

Another important thing to consider with these products is that they are often out of the box solutions and you won’t get the consultation and customisation that can be all so important, that the website is best serving your business interests. These cheaper options can still work for some people, but not for all.

To some degree the saying “you get what you pay for” holds true in the web design industry. The best way to look a website is that it is a long term project and an investment in your business. If you are prepared to pay a little extra and concentrate harder on your design and marketing, your website can be an asset and money making tool for years to come.

5/ Why is being mobile-responsive so important? Most people have a smart phones or tablets now, right? Well in my opinion, that’s where your website has to be, delivering your content beyond the desktop. This is the new standard and your website should be compatible, plus retain your rankings. Ever pinched and zoomed in on a conventional website on your smartphone and thought how frustrating that it’s hard to read? Avoid that bad user experience with your website and have happy customers. Discover how to deliver web content to mobile devices that simply sells your wears and you get found faster. Being mobile friendly makes your site easy to navigate, look great and guides prospects to you quicker. 

6/ Boost lead generation and conversions Being mobile friendly not only increases your reach, sales and presence online, you can benefit from the experts on key trends and best practices, by not reinventing the wheel. A mobile-friendly delivery of your marketing and e-commerce, advertising and social media, SEO and brand, to all the right places, can get you found faster, optimises your website for maximum conversions, increase traffic to your website, boosts engaged viewers and grows your audience, which in turn earns quality leads. Plus with better SEO, you can enjoy a higher return on your online marketing and communications investment. If you need a beautiful new website and the tools to help your sales grow, I recommend that you get your site made mobile-friendly from the get-go. 

7/ What does your online success look like? Do you want to build a performance orientated website, drive targeted visitors to your website, automate, report and refine your website? It’s different for every business. Sit down and think about how your website is going to be used and tailor a customised approach to your business. That saves you time and money up front by getting your needs catered for. As web professionals, we help you do all that tricky stuff. An easy implementation and customisable option, priced accurately, based on your needs, that’s scalable too, priceless! 

8/ Want to say goodbye to the high cost of website maintenance? Our customers love it as they can manage their very own website from anywhere. This lowers the cost of website ownership and you have the power to tweak without the repeated cost of a design agency. The Advanced CMS that we recommend to clients is an easy to use online website builder. You can customise your designs, tweak your marketing messages and focus on your work, not your paperwork. 

This makes using your website a fun tool to attract more customers. Take the pain out of finding new customers. Create a winning website by sharing it in social networks and online directories and sit back and relax while more leads come in. You don’t want a highly priced hosting bill each month? What is it all for I hear you say? Well, unlike others, we offer low price hosting packages that are, fast, flexible and secure. We even frequently maintain your website, to ensure it stays secure and protected.

9/ Do you know about the laws of attraction? How you look online generates interest faster, drives traffic and converts traffic into sales quicker. Proven techniques include better graphic design and branding, social media engagement, clever “Calls To Action” and fancy buttons. Unlike others, experience a seamless collaboration between website development, design and marketing and build a better more responsive audience. We love to make you look good, look different and be seen. Need a new logo, we believe we are the best at branding you too! (check out our website for more on that). 

10/ Plan. Design. Develop. Deliver. Succeed.
We design and develop it, you rock it!
Experience the future of website design today.
We love the web, shouldn’t your customers love your website too?! We believe a responsive new website is a new way to experience growth and we are here to support you. At XDC, we innovate for you, plus you can up-scale at any time. Add a secure shopping cart or e-Commerce at a later date, that’s fine! Your website can turn into a results-orientated website solution for your business and turn your browsers into buyers faster. 

Remember, a designer can design it, but not develop it to it's full potential. A developer can construct and develop it but not design it and make it look it's best. And likewise both can't really write great marketing content. Ever wondered why your website is not performing as it should? These are specialistic facets of website creation that are imperative to be addressed properly. These are the BIG 3 things you need to get right! At XDC we specialise, concentrate and collaborate in all three areas as a team, we stick to our knitting and have the best person on our team for the job work for you. Want to get your website right first time?!

What would you do with more business?

First impressions count – is yours up to the mark? 
Book in today for a free 60-minute web design consultation around your current website, company logo, brand image and supporting material over a coffee.

In this session we will discuss how to get your “creative business advantage” from your brand and how to make it really perform for you.

This may include…
? An assessment of your current website or need for a new website
? Logo design and brand image.
? See how your brand image stacks up compared to others in the market.
? Look at your current marketing message and material in terms of branding: web, print and signage.
? Recommendations on how to make your company look like a winner, online and offline. 
? In general, discuss creative ideas and means on how to get you more business through various promotional graphics and activities.

Contact Clint today on 021 11 44 014 or email [email protected] now.