What is the purpose of your business website?

Chris and Jude Wharton at the Kind Alfred pub in Winchester launching their book,
The Website Handbook

Most businesses have a website, but is it helping you attract and sell to customers? Jude Wharton from Winchester-based Ready Steady Websites® explains why you need to know the purpose of your website and gives you three tips on how to get people taking action when they visit your website.

Are you clear on the purpose of your business website? Have you actually thought about it or do you just know you should have one?

If you are thinking about getting a business website or you’ve just popped something up online, that’s great. You have taken the right step but knowing the purpose of your website will make all the difference to your business.

Why it’s important to be clear on the purpose of your business website.
If you are clear on what you want your website visitor to do when they are looking at your website then you can plan and create your website in a way that will make it more likely that they will do that, meaning you will generate more leads for your business.

Here are three key things that will make your website visitor take action so that the purpose of your website is achieved:

1. Have a clear statement about what you do and how you can help your website visitor at the top of your homepage that they can see before they scroll.

People are impatient and or lazy these days. They don’t want to have to play detective when they hit your website, they want to know they are in the right place straight away. This statement should also be emotive. People take action when they are moved to, so if you speak to them in a way that shows you can help them and make life better for them in some way, then they are much more likely to take action.

2. Have two call to action buttons under your statement.
One of these buttons should be for the main purpose of your website. So if your purpose is to get people to make contact to have a call with you to see if they would be a good fit as a client, then you would have a “Book a Call” button. If you have products to sell, your button would be “View Our Products”.

The other call to action button should be one that sends them on a path towards working with you or buying from you, even if they aren’t ready to make a commitment yet. Such as “Download our Free Resource” or “Join our Community” if you have a Facebook group or similar.

Donald Miller refers to these call to actions as “Marry Me?” or “Second Date?”. His book, Building a Story Brand is definitely worth a read!

Chris and Jude Wharton, the husband and wife team behind Ready Steady Websites

Get your copy of the Website Handbook

3. Make all of your copy about your website visitor.
Ideally, before you create your website you should have a clear idea of who you are talking to through it, who your ideal client is. That way, when you are writing your website copy you can keep that person in mind.

Your website copy should be an extension of your engaging statement at the top of your homepage. It should show the benefits of your service or products. Explain your way of working in a way that your ideal client will understand – stay clear of unnecessary jargon that might confuse people.

Further support and guidance
Websites that are well planned and considered are much more likely to impress a potential client or customer and generate leads and sales. If you need more guidance on this, our book, The Website Handbook is the perfect place to start. The Website Handbook will support you with identifying your ideal client and the purpose of your website, as well as planning the structure of your website and considering the user journey. All of these things are important when it comes to creating a website that you are proud to share and will help your business grow.

We recently held a mini book launch in The King Alfred in Winchester and had such a lovely time. We really appreciate the business community in the area! Thank you to everyone who came a supported us!

Links
Donald Miller's Building a Story Brand book: https://buildingastorybrand.com/
The Website Handbook: https://readysteadywebsites.com/handbook/
Ready Steady Websites®: https://readysteadywebsites.com/