Say it in a heartbeat

One of the most evasive things to understand is what makes a good web design. If you have not created a website before, it seems easy. After all, you know what you like and you know all the details of your business.

A website begins with the homepage and the home page needs to bring a compelling marketing message in most cases. It should answer why should someone do business with you now or in the future? If a visitor can’t find this reason in the first 15 seconds, they are gone. So an effective home page should “say it in a heartbeat.”

To do this, a home page needs to have the right mix of images, white space and a few key words or ideas. Images that capture your competitive benefit remind your existing customers why they continue to use your company. They also immediately communicate what your potential customers will get…”a picture is worth a thousand words.”

If visitors are interested, they will look further. A good site will be organized according to how your customers think i.e. by the problems you solve for them. To a customer, it is not really about what you do but about what they get. The ability to organize content or information architecture is not a skill that every web developer has. As you look for a developer, find one that has this skill and you will be miles ahead when your website is completed.

There are an infinite amount of style considerations that help you communicate your marketing message. Many of these will be discussed in our upcoming e-book about building sites Joomla. Stay tuned for updates.