Professional Website Design

What makes professional website design an investment instead of an expense is how effective it is.

Beautiful web layout is an essential skill to professional web design, but too often it’s prioritized first instead of last which propagates the perception that a website is a marketing tax write off.

What makes website design professional is associated with a sophisticated user experience. It has the power to promote engagement with dynamic visuals that react to the visitor’s interest on your website (hover effect, parallax, hyperlink underline), embed video to share a visual experience of your brand, and incite the most valuable human commodity which is trust by writing content that educates, provides value, and ranks.

Years dedicated to online marketing has taught me that a beautiful website with a magnificent call to action offer supported by social media posts does not convert! Why? Because no one sees it.

Or not enough see it.

The success (or conversion) of all these marketing strategies require visitors. The more specific and targeted (long-tail) keywords, the better qualified the visitor is, increasing conversion.

Top 3 Requirements a Professional Website Needs

Research top requirements a professional website needs to be successful and you’ll notice top sources agree on 3 key factors:¹

SEO: on-page search engine optimization

A website SEO Audit identifies the content areas that need to be optimized or improved to rank.

The value of an audit walk-through affirms your marketing investment. How can a business know what marketing actions are working without tracking performance? Too often a small business owner will spend their most valuable resource which is time on marketing activities without measuring how it’s working.

The very first assessment looks at whether a website has google analytics added.

Ideally this is added and given time to collect data before investing any time or money in marketing changes so you have a baseline in order to track growth performance.

An SEO audit shares feedback of how your website page headers and subheaders, images, weblinks, and meta or summary description is “seen” by search engines.

Often, small changes to content can make a dramatic ranking difference. Or a website redesign can be justified for the result a professional website provides.

Professionalism (Credibility)

Web designers have different ideas for design but most of us recognize best practices applied (or not) to website design for navigation, graphics, and content relevance. Professionalism is really about trust – red flags like broken web links, 404 error pages, or “fluff” verbiage all signal how well someone will treat your business based on how well they treat their own.

Though I didn’t see “mobile” or “responsive” website design mentioned specifically as often I expected, with well-over half of all Internet searches made from a mobile device², it’s now industry-standard for a website to be considered professional.

WordPress is the leader in web design for its usability and superior ranking factors, however all themes are not created equal when it comes to responsive web design. Free or cheap themes are tempting but consider the time, expense, and investment you put into your website. Avoid being penny wise and pound foolish when it comes to the most significant online marketing investment for your business. All Cannady Consulting websites are designed and customized from a vetted, well-maintained theme with great support (and responsive of course).

Call to Action (Conversion)

A Call To Action simply means providing a clear invitation for your website visitor to perform. It can be an invitation to click on a link or button to further engagement, offer valuable content in exchange for entering an email, or purchase your book, product, or service.

Stated another way, what do you want your visitor to do on your website?

Is the website a platform for being hired? Or selling tickets? Or selling eCommerce products?

Is the intent of your website immediately evident? Remember visitors who land on your website from a search query may not see the homepage first.

Professional web design provides value through SEO copywriting and clear opportunities to engage or purchase. A web visitor spending time on your website likes your content, asking them for permission to continue to provide value promotes trust.

SEO Web Design Process Summarized

Cannady Consulting SEO Web Design process is applied to a new website or creation of an optimized LinkedIn profile to start establishing authority.

Domain authority is how search engines rank page content over time. Other factors influence ranking but longevity is a critical advantage.

An SEO Audit facilitates recommendations for a website redesign, provided in a walk-though tutorial so it’s fun and empowering instead of confusing.

Ranking reports and SEO keyword tools are fun to play with, but they only matter if applied to the content on your website. – Veronica Cannady

That’s why Cannady Consulting SEO Web Design includes support for every stage to produce a professional website – so clients don’t lose momentum during the copywriting and editing process.

How to Choose a Web Designer

Do you understand their process? SEO need not be intimidating, if services are not explained in non-techie terms, consider that a red flag.
Proof of concept beyond a web design portfolio. Do they have any data to support how those business websites are performing?
Are you working with someone local or is your work being outsourced overseas? If so, how do they ensure accountability for agreements completed on time and on budget?
Do you know any of the people who provided a recommendation and can you contact them?

To determine if Cannady Consulting SEO Web Design Service Package is a fit, next steps are:

Click on Next: SEO Web Design Service Package and Pricing (below) to review the 6 week process and investment
Peruse my portfolio on the homepage and video testimonials, or scan my 40+ written testimonials on LinkedIn.
Schedule a 20 minute chat here

Initial calls are not a sales-pitch, just answering questions because I truly believe the best interviews are a 2-way engagement of respect. If we’re not a fit, I’ll refer you.

Next: SEO Web Design Service Package and Pricing

Sources:

1. https://blog.breezyhillmarketing.com/elements-of-a-successful-website/
http://webservices.marketpath.com/digital-marketing-insights/5-elements-of-great-website-design
http://www.f4group.com/5-key-elements-successful-website/

2. https://searchengineland.com/report-nearly-60-percent-searches-now-mobile-devices-255025