The document provides guidance on building an effective website. It emphasizes understanding users, seeing the site from their perspective, and using a checklist to make the site work harder. The checklist includes focusing key information above the fold like headers and navigation, using clear headlines and images to guide actions, optimizing forms and calls-to-action, and reiterating benefits and calls-to-action throughout the site. It also recommends user testing and considering the mobile experience.

1. How To Build a Website

2. What does your website need to do?
o Generate sales
o Generate new leads
o Build brand awareness and perception

3. Understanding your users
o Why are they visiting your website?
o Where have they come from?
o What do they want to achieve on any specific page?
o Are they finding what they need? Or leaving?
o Bounce rate: higher than 60%?
o Conversion rates

4. Seeing your site the way visitors do
• How do people scan a page?
• What can they see above the ‘fold’?

5. Making your website work harder:
a checklist
Main top headers
• 80% of users see this first
• Make it count!
• Keep things familiar

6. Making your website work harder:
a checklist
Simple navigation
• Avoid jargon
• Use clear 'sign posting'
• Most important info on left side

7. Making your website work harder:
a checklist
Headlines
• Relevant to user
• Clear and concise
• Relevant to page

8. Making your website work harder:
a checklist
Hero image
• Show service or product
• Use photos to guide actions
• Don't use stock images

9. Making your website work harder:
a checklist
Video
• Customer testimonials
• Short and sweet

10. Making your website work harder:
a checklist
Data capture/sign-up forms
• Consider design
• Test messaging
• Less is more

11. Making your website work harder:
a checklist
Buttons
• Consistent color
• Drive call-to-action
• Make them bigger
• Contact options

12. Making your website work harder:
a checklist
Trust indicators
• Social proof (reviews, ratings)
• Customer testimonials
• Guarantees

13. Making your website work harder:
a checklist
Main top headers
• 80% of users see this first
• Make it count!
• Keep things familiar

14. Making your website work harder:
a checklist
Benefits
• Focus on benefits for users
• Show how you solve problems

15. Making your website work harder:
a checklist
Repeat call-to-action
• Especially for long page copy

16. A few more tips to keep top of mind...
o Always be testing
o Think about mobile
o Don't forget your thank you pages

17. Great User Experience
Don’t make it tough

18. User Experience
Top Tip
Plan your content flow and
user journeys

19. User Experience
Top Tip
Plan you site map with the
user experience in mind
Site Map

23. User Experience
A Home page wire frame
with functionality
descriptions.
This allows you to plan the
site before its built and
saves a lot of time and
expense from making
changes once completed.
Top Tip
Plan your site with wire
frames
Wire Frames

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