So one of the questions we are always being asked by clients is how do I build a successful website in Zimbabwe for my business? Now it is always so tempting to get very technical explaining the steps to building a successful website in Zimbabwe. Too often we’ve lost a lot of attention trying to explain Content Management or Search Engine Optimization.
We have created this guide for every business that is looking to build a successful website in Zimbabwe.
1. Purpose drives planning
Now before you start bubbling to the web developer how you want flying objects across the screen, take a deep breath and think. Ask the most important question, what do I want to achieve? What will be the primary purpose of your website? This is very important because it determines how the developer plans their work.
There are 3 major purposes for a business website, and yours should be built around at least one of these
- Sell Products and Services
- Generate Leads
- Establish Credentials
Basically speaking the 3 options above represent the order of expense for a site with option-1 being the most expensive and 3 the least. The complexity of site development also decreases in the above order.
2. Content is King
Never let your developer start building a website before you give them all the content. The simple reason being content is king. Visitors come to a website to find ‘something’ thus the whole site architecture has to be built around this ‘something.’ This is not a post dedicated to content so we will not get into details of how content affects SEO, traffic and leads. However, what we can conclude is to prepare your content as thoroughly as you possibly can. Research into what people looking for your product are searching for on the internet because it’s what matters.
3. Beauty with brains
A website should be beautiful, pleasing to the eye and yet functional. This is the make or break stage of developing a successful website for your business. It is the one reason why you need to hire a professional to build your website. It is the one reason why you should never ever pay $40 for a website (A talk for another day).
To achieve beauty with brains requires the collaboration of web design skills with web development skills. Most websites in Zimbabwe are one of two, beautiful and useless or ugly and powerful (unfortunate truth). A successful website will exhibit visual beauty. Your website needs a nice design. It has to have an appeal to your audience. The evidence that aesthetics matter is overwhelming. Make sure your website looks great. However, looks are not everything. Actually, looks should not interfere with the purpose of the website. This is why it is important to ensure the beauty and brains equilibrium.
4. Fast, furious and available
A slow website is frustrating, so is one that is always down. A study done by Kissmetrics shows that the majority of users will dump a site that fails to load within the first 6-10 seconds. It is, therefore, imperative that your website always is available and fast to ensure you keep the visitors coming and clicking. Choose your website hosting carefully, optimize your site’s pages so they are not heavy. A reliable and fast website is always a winner.
5. Grow and convert
Once your site is up and running fast and smoothly then begins the ‘real’ work. Growing your audience and turning them into paying customers. This is the real use of a business after all (at least most). Keep your audience engaged, keep them informed. Great, fresh and relevant content is key to success. Always provide useful information for your audience and when they are engaged to give that sucker punch, go for the kill. Win them over, get them paying. It is the most important thing!
Does your business have a website? Get a professional website today