6 Keys to Website Strategy in the Built Environment

Before you begin a website update or redesign, it is important to ensure that your website strategy is well-defined and aligned with your business goals.

By going through a thorough strategy creation exercise you ensure that your project not only impacts the look-and-feel of your online presence, but significantly moves the needle for your business objectives.

How do you develop a website project strategy? We've boiled it down to 6 key steps.

One note before we get into it - don't aim for perfection! Just get it down on paper. This will help align your team, brief your partners, and set you up for measurable success.

Keep reading to learn how to crush your next website project.

1. Define Your Goals

When it comes to updating or redesigning your website, it is crucial to have a clear understanding of what you want to achieve.

• Do you want your website to generate more leads and specifications?
• Or are you looking to improve user engagement and increase sales?
• Are you trying to move from brochure site to performance website?

Whatever they may be, it is essential to identify and define your goals before diving into the redesign process.

Why is this so important? Having a clear understanding of your goals will help you focus your efforts and ensure that your website redesign is aligned with your overall business objectives. It will provide you with a roadmap for success and guide you in making strategic decisions throughout the project.

For example, if your goal is to generate more leads, you might want to focus on optimizing your website for lead generation. This could involve creating compelling call-to-action buttons, implementing lead capture forms, or developing valuable content that encourages visitors to take action.

2. Analyse Your Current Website

To ensure a successful website redesign, it's crucial to thoroughly analyze your current website and identify what is working well and what could be improved. This step is essential as it provides valuable insights that will inform your redesign strategy.

Start by looking at your website analytics to understand which pages are receiving the most traffic and engagement. This information will give you an idea of what content resonates with your audience and what drives visitors to your site. Additionally, pay attention to pages with high bounce rates, as this indicates that visitors are leaving your site without taking any action. By identifying these pages, you can focus on optimizing them to improve user experience and encourage visitors to explore further.

In addition to website analytics, heatmap tools, like hotjar, can provide further insights into user behavior. Heatmaps show you where users are clicking, scrolling, and dropping off on your website. This visual representation helps you understand how users are interacting with your site and identify any usability issues. For example, if you notice that users are frequently dropping off on a specific page or section, it may indicate that the content or design needs improvement.

By combining website analytics and heatmap data, you can gain a comprehensive understanding of your current website's performance. 

3. Understand Your Audience

To conduct effective user research, it is important to gather insights into your audience's behavior, information needs, motivations, and pain points. This will help you create a user-centric website that caters to your target audience at every stage of their decision-making journey.

One way to gather these insights is through surveys and interviews. You can create online surveys to collect data on your audience's preferences, interests, and challenges. By asking specific questions about their needs and pain points, you can gain valuable insights into what they are looking for in a website and how you can address their concerns.

In addition to surveys, conducting interviews with your target audience can provide deeper insights into their motivations and behaviors. These interviews can be done in person, over the phone, or through video conferencing. By asking open-ended questions and actively listening to their responses, you can uncover valuable information that will shape your website strategy.

Another method of gathering insights is by analyzing user feedback and reviews. Pay attention to what your audience is saying about your current website or similar websites in your industry. Look for common themes and patterns in their feedback to identify areas of improvement and opportunities to better meet their needs.

4. Develop A Content Strategy

Determine what types of content and tools you need to create, how often you need to create it, and who will be responsible for creating and managing it. Your content should support your goals and meet the needs of your target audience. A well-crafted content strategy will help you to create a website that engages your audience and drives conversions.

When developing a content strategy, it is important to consider the different types of content that will resonate with your audience. This may include blog posts, videos, infographics, case studies, and more. Each type of content serves a specific purpose and can help meet the needs and preferences of different segments of your audience.

In addition to the types of content, it is crucial to determine the frequency at which you will create and publish new content. Consistency is key when it comes to engaging your audience and building a loyal following. Whether you decide to publish content daily, weekly, or monthly, it is important to establish a schedule and stick to it.

5. Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)

When it comes to optimizing your website for search engines, one of the key steps is to identify the keywords that are most relevant to your business. These keywords are the terms or phrases that your target audience is likely to use when searching for products or services in your industry. By incorporating these keywords into your website content, you can improve your chances of ranking higher in search engine results.

In addition to keyword optimization, it is important to ensure that your website architecture is optimized for search engines. This means considering factors such as page titles, meta descriptions, header tags, and content. Page titles should accurately describe the content of each page and include relevant keywords. Meta descriptions provide a concise summary of each page and should also include keywords to attract search engine users. Header tags, such as H1 and H2 tags, help to structure your content and make it easier for search engines to understand. Finally, the content on your website should be informative, engaging, and optimized with relevant keywords to increase its visibility in search engine results.

6. Usability

When it comes to website usability, it is essential to prioritize user-friendliness and ease of navigation. A user-friendly website is one that visitors can easily understand and navigate, allowing them to find the information or products they are looking for without any confusion or frustration. To ensure good usability, there are a few key elements to consider.

First, create clear navigation throughout your website. This means organizing your content in a logical and intuitive way, making it easy for visitors to find what they need. Use descriptive labels for your menu items and keep the navigation consistent across all pages. This will help users easily locate different sections of your website and navigate between them effortlessly.

In addition to clear navigation, intuitive page layouts are crucial for good usability. Your website should have a clean and organized design that guides users through the content. Use visual hierarchy to highlight important information and make it stand out. Break up content into easily digestible sections with headings and subheadings, and use bullet points or numbered lists to make it easier for users to scan and find the information they need.

Conclusion

In conclusion, before embarking on a website update or redesign, it is crucial to establish a well-defined website strategy that aligns with your business goals.

By defining your goals, analysing your current website, understanding your audience, developing a content strategy, implementing search engine optimisation, and prioritising usability, you can create a website that not only meets the needs and expectations of your audience but also drives engagement and conversions.

If you want to learn more about how to implement these strategies and achieve success with your website redesign, consider booking a free consultation with Insynth. As experts in inbound marketing for the construction industry, we can provide valuable insights and guidance to help you grow your business and gain new specifiers and customers. Don't miss out on the opportunity to take your website to the next level and achieve your business goals.

ABOUT INSYNTH

At Insynth, we deliver a predictable flow of leads, customers, and specifications for building product brands through our inbound marketing approach, proven to connect with a technically demanding audience.

The latest marketing techniques such as construction inbound marketing, help building product companies to grow sustainability.

As the only HubSpot-certified agency to major in construction marketing. We have a proven formula of bringing a variety of functionalities together including CRM Implementation, Web Design, SEO, and Content Marketing to achieve your ultimate aim: Growing your business and gaining new specifiers and customers.

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