Why did you have a website built?

After taking some time to reflect on this, it seems to me that a number of companies and organisations have forgotten why they’ve built a website (or had one built for them).

You may ask yourself whether it’s just the done thing: “Everyone has one, so let’s get a website built.” Did the company think that having a website was a must or a given?

Objective: a thing aimed at or sought; a goal.

It’s important to set out clear objectives when considering a website project or even when auditing an existing website. There’s a marriage to be made between website-build objectives and business objectives.

We often dismiss the obvious aspects of a business when it comes to websites being built; the content is often not a real representation of what a business can bring to its potential client base.

For example, a commercial company that services the property sector will very often have a website designed and built around the specific key services it offers. It may consider the market audience and even locational servicing so it gets the right reach. However, we find that, in the real world, the company in question will very often have these services and sectors overlapping each other. It does this because it has a business objective that the cross-selling of services is better for the clients and better for the business. So why’s that journey not reflected on the website?

“SEO [search engine optimisation]!” I hear you cry. “My audience is only looking for one type of service.” Really? However, when you talk to them, they want one type of top-line service support through two or three other aspects of your business as a package. Does that come across on the website?

A well-constructed website with strong SEO pillars, a good page-URL structure and the right content will deliver such that it will not only provide a great online presence and help the website to be found, but it will also meet clear business objectives too.

The key is getting the balance right, beginning with adding a clear set of objectives to the essential demands of a good website build, and furthermore, creating content that engages and delivers. If you align your business objectives to your website objectives, then you’ll have the starting point of a successful online journey to invest in.

[1] Oxford Dictionaries (n.d.). Objective. In Oxford Dictionaries Premium. Retrieved 8 June 2023 from https://premium.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/objective