If you have a business, chances are you have a website for it. And, if you haven’t — why not?
OK, there are businesses that can get by without a website. A local community shop, perhaps. A plumber or electrician who gets all their trade from personal recommendations. Even then, though, it can still be useful to have a website up, even if it’s just a simple one-page affair.
For most businesses, however, a website is as essential as the window display in a traditional shop. It lets prospective customers know you’re there, what you can do for them, what your values are. It gives you the chance to entice them in through the door.
You’ll note that I said “the chance”. Because, just like a window display, you have to get your website right before you can expect it to do its job.
There are many elements of a website that need to be made effective — design, layout, navigation, images, videos, SEO — but the written content is absolutely crucial. While other elements will enable your visitors to find you, engage and have a positive experience, it’s what’s written there that will convince them that they need you.
It has to be written exactly right, but that’s not a one-off task you can forget about afterwards. Your business is all about your customers, and your customers’ needs, tastes and expectations are constantly evolving. You wouldn’t set up that window display and leave it unchanged for years on end — but that’s exactly what many business owners do with their websites.
Every element of your website needs a regular audit, and the written content is no exception. It may just need freshening up, or it may need a complete rethink, but you have to find out what’s required before doing anything about it.
Normally, this involves paying someone to assess your website content. For the duration of October, however, I’m making an offer to audit the written content of up to ten pages of your website — completely free. Just get in touch with me and tell me what you’re looking for.