I have no idea who measured this or came up with the conclusion but the general consensus is that web visitors will land on a site as many as 7 times before they buy (or register or whatever the most wanted response is).

It is rare for a transaction to be completed on the first visit.

For this reason, it’s important that every business website offers something of value to encourage repeat visits and site loyalty.

I am not suggesting you give away the crown jewels – simply to put yourself in the place of your web visitor, look at your site with a critical eye and ask yourself

• Would I come back here?

• Would I bookmark this site?

• Would I link to this post on Twitter?

• Would I email a link to my friends

If your answer is ‘no’ perhaps you are not providing value.

People search the Internet for all manner of reasons and you need to have something for them.

I have a problem…..

Perhaps your web visitor has a problem they need to solve. What information can you give away for free to help them? Of course, this information can link to a product or service recommendation but think about what you can give them for nothing first. You want to use the opportunity to help them as a way of building trust and rapport. If you struggle to write decent articles for your site pay a competent copywriter to help you. Always be thinking of ways you can solve problems for your web visitors – that’s how you get repeat visits, bookmarks and referrals, by building trust.

Help me first and then I will listen to you

Think laterally. How can you capture web traffic looking for something other than your offering but for which you have a solution. A searcher may be seeking information about how to remove black mould from walls – you sell air conditioning systems and dehumidifiers. Provide the information to answer the searcher’s question. Tell them the best way to clean the mould off the walls – earn the right to then tell them about how they can prevent it coming back.

Thank you for not making me think

People judge books by their covers. They also make snap decisions about websites based on their look and feel, their load times and their accessibility. Make it an easy and pleasant experience to be on your website. Don’t make people struggle to find what they want. Help them to do business with you.

My friends would enjoy this

There’s no doubt that some people surf the web because they have nothing better to do. The dedicated web surfer is quite likely to make good use of the social media sites to bookmark websites he or she finds interesting. Don’t underestimate the value of what these people can do for you. They may well not be in buying mode BUT if you entertain them and provide value they will tell others and growth in traffic can be exponential from a simple thumbs up on Stumbleupon.

OK, I’m ready to buy

Of course, in an ideal world, everyone who comes to your website is ready to buy. They are sitting at their keyboard with credit card in hand – but let’s not mess it up. Is the online sales process straightforward? Is there an offline alternative for those nervous about handing over card details on the web? Is the shopping basket and checkout process intuitive to use? Is it robust and reliable? If you are providing online services or products, are the deliverables set up properly? This is all continuing to provide value. The sale is just the beginning. For that sale to generate further sales for you the process of selling and the after sales service has to provide value. Don’t turn your back on your customer once they have paid.

Make your website valuable to web visitors to see an increase in traffic, an increase in enquiries and an increase in sales.

I am often asked why we now use Wordpress exclusively for client website builds.

The answer could be glib and easy but I think I would be doing us both a dis-service to go down that route, so the longer answer follows.

To begin, let’s consider a business website per se.

Building a website is relatively easy

You may have a teenager who could put something together for you, you may have built something yourself. Building a great website is more challenging and complex – building a great website that does well in the search engine rankings is even more difficult.

Making a website pay for itself

There is, in my humble opinion, not a great deal of point in having a website if it isn’t going to bring additional business in for you. Every website should pay for itself in the increased business volume it produces for the business owner. This is a return on investment that can be reasonably expected. I understand that the cost of a website can represent a significant chunk of change for small and startup businesses – but, when built properly, a website will earn its keep.

Saving money with a business website

Having a good, effective online presence can save money in addition to bringing in extra sales. Encouraging clients and prospects to register to receive communications electronically can save a small fortune in paper based mailings. Setting up drop ship facilities for products sold can reduce the cost of storage. Setting up an ecommerce facility can mean your business is open for trading 24/7 without extending the cost of staff cover.

When lack of planning constitutes an emergency!

A lot of small businesses and startups come to us for help when they face a deadline. They may have paid a LOT of  money for a full page ad in a trade magazine, they may have been talked into taking a last minute deal on a stand at a trade show, they may be attending a conference or networking event. Whatever the reason we are often faced with the task of getting to know a client, understanding their business and providing a first class website – sometimes within days.

Having set the scene, let’s talk about Wordpress.

It is not unusual for a web site project to run into months and thousands of dollars. Talk to many businesses and you will hear a similar tale. Projects over-running on time and budget. It’s rare to get both sides of the story. Web designers tell stories of clients changing specifications umpteen times. Business owners tell stories of web designers never producing what they want. It is a minefield.

The beauty of working with Wordpress….

…. and a premium theme such as Thesis is that a first iteration of a website can be produced in days (other projects permitting of course). Wordpress grows in a modular fashion. It is possible to put together the ‘rush site’ which can then be expanded and developed over time, once the panic is over. Old content rolls over seamlessly making way for the new up-to-date stuff.

Best of all

The strongest point in favour of Wordpress is the fact that clients can manage and maintain their business websites themselves, with a level of support that suits their technical expertise and time availability. The fact that content is kept separate from code means even the most technically challenged business owner can make web page updates – and this is how a small or startup business has to work. Until it is established with a steady revenue stream, the business owner needs to be able to do a little bit of everything. I know modern management gurus preach outsourcing but this is not feasible for the bootstrapping start up.

Wordpress and the Search Engines

Wordpress and Thesis are already optimised for good search engine rankings so a lot of the basic seo work is done for you. Now this does not mean your business website will bounce straight into Google at number 1 – there is still work to be done, but at least you are not starting from scratch.

And, finally

Using Wordpress is one of those oft talked about but rarely seen win-win situations. I can provide quick, scalable, reasonably priced web solutions and the client gets the web site they want, that they can maintain, at a price they can afford.

A day spent business planning for the next 12 months combined with reflection on the last 12 months has been enlightening and sobering at the same time.

Some of the biggest problems of the last 12 months have been caused by the making of assumptions. It’s an embarrassing admission but one worth sharing.

In one case I assumed the client did not want to spend any more than the absolute minimum on their site. All they seemed to do was query costs so I assumed money was tight – I did everything I could to reduce costs. After 6 months we parted company, still friends (just) and the client went to another designer and spent a significant sum to get what they wanted. We could have done the same for half the price but my assumption got in the way and everyone lost out (except the new designer).

A bid for another job failed because of another assumption, this time on the part of the prospective client. The stated reason: ‘You are too cheap, we’re not convinced you can do it’!

On the other hand there have been some wonderful cases where the client under-estimated and under-assumed where we were concerned, which meant we over-delivered and everyone was thrilled (don’t you just love it when that happens?)

There is no point in dwelling on the past

BUT I think we ignore it at our peril. Taking time out to reflect on what has gone, review client files and communications, pinpoint what has gone well and what has gone not so well, has been time I didn’t want to spend (hey, I’m busy!), but has it been worthwhile? I’ll say so.

My mantra for this year is to not assume, but to check. I want to make sure I fully understand where a client is at and where they want to go. Because the focus of this site has always been about the provision of low cost solutions I had allowed myself to slip into a mindset which has without doubt had cost in the last 12 months. I am resolved it will not happen again.

So, as you plan the next 12 months for your business what have you learned from the last 12 months? What are you determined will not happen again? What went well and what did not go quite so well? Capture it all and learn!