Does your website have this A rating?
Does Your Website Have The Five A’s? It Should.
With the ever-increasing number of online website builders available on the internet, you might wonder why anyone would hire a professional developer or marketing agency. You’re probably bombarded by ads every day from these companies claiming you will have a “professional-looking” website in just minutes. Just pick one of their templates, add a few images, some text and you’re done. For many people, that is exactly what they do and unfortunately, these are the same people who also say “websites don’t work for my business.”
We believe that your online presence needs to be more thought out. Your website is oftentimes the first thing people see when they meet your brand/company and we know how important first impressions are. If you take less time to create your online brand than it takes to order a cup of coffee at your local shop, you may be in trouble.
If you value first impressions and think this process should require a little more effort, hire a professional marketing agency. There are website and development professionals available for nearly every budget. You should always vet any agency you’re considering for higher success rates – compare pricing and customer satisfaction ratings. If you’re not sure what to look for when choosing a digital agency to work with, here are five A’s to consider when choosing your website professionals:
AESTHETICS
Branding – Creates the perception of a company’s culture and values.
Design – Promotes the overall emotion or feelings to your customers.
Assets – Imagery and infographics convey information in a way words alone can’t.
Messaging – Articulates a company’s beliefs and values.
ARCHITECTURE
Structure – Semantic markup means that HTML tags are chosen based on how both people and machines will read the text.
Flow – Shuttles site visitors from point A to point B to increase sales funnels and provide the user with the most value.
CTAs – Calls to action must be both clear and concise to entice the site visitor to take action (purchase, register, etc).
Accessibility – Failing to provide adequate accommodation to visitors with special requirements may put your company at risk to legal actions. It’s also simply the right thing to do.
Functionality – Special functionality is often required when your site offers any type of interactivity.
ANALYTICS
Metrics – They say “what can be measured can be managed.” If you are not measuring your activity, you are simply guessing.
Tools – Specialty tools, scripts and services provide a more precise recording of events happening on your website.
Reporting – This is essential because it brings attention to both problems and success scenarios.
ADVERTISING
Paid Advertising – This is necessary for many business models to keep the sales funnel full.
Social Media – Reaches an enormous amount of potential new and existing customers.
Marketing – Creates opportunities for your company to reach new prospects.
Engagement – Promotes engagement both on a micro and macro level to increase conversions.
USP – The Unique Selling Point sets you above your competitors when articulated correctly.
ASSURANCE
Security – This should be one of your top priorities. Protecting your business and site visitors from malicious attacks is paramount.
SSL – A Secure Socket Layer (the green lock in the search bar) adds another layer of confidence and security for your visitors.
Updates – One of the most vulnerable entry points to a website by unauthorized entities tends to be outdated code that hasn’t been addressed for known security vulnerabilities.
Encryption – Any information containing personal identifiers, personal information or monetary transactions should always be protected by encryption.
We hope this information will help you confidently vet every agency you consider working with for your website/marketing efforts. If you’d like to find out how Projekt15 can help develop a secure and beautiful website for your business, send us a metaphorical message in a bottle here.
