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Introduction:
Remember those times when website were just simply the text online? That was early 90s. Than photos came along with animated gifs, audio and finally video. In the end of 90s, new personal sharing methods begin in form of Blog, where the average person can share their thoughts easily and affordably online. Blogging got very popular, but then in early 2000s the “.com” crash happen and people lost the trust and faith on websites for a while.
Social media resources are available for you, but they cannot replace your website.
The first form of social media was myspace.com in the early 2000s. Than Facebook came along in 2004 and people start thinking that we can rely more on social media compare to websites. The shift on mobile and privacy concern alerted people that using social media only for business is not a solid solution. Business needs proper and professional websites; where they can choose to showcase, their products and services. Website designer should be able to manage the content themselves when making a professional website.
The first form of social media was myspace.com in the early 2000s
Businesses on social media only?
There are still several businesses, out there who have only a Facebook page for business profile. Not very many businesses have both website and social media to support each other. That cause big mistake for folks, in offices, who are not allowed to login on Facebook from their office computer due to office policy. So if someone send the link to Facebook page, there is no way to see it until you log into Facebook. This creates the wrong impression about the business structure because social media are for linking people to you, but if some people don’t want to go on Facebook or any other social media links, businesses are missing out on a potential customer or client.
Why need website?
Seven years ago people were asking us, why we need websites, when we have social media pages or channels. As a rule of thumb, in any business, never get intimate with flashy things until they proven to be good over some time. In 2007, after introduction of Apple iPhone, revolution happened that change the concept of people to browse and see the sites from desktop to mobile. Now clients are asking how we make site optimize for mobile. Well the answer is the site needs to be responsive on all platforms like desktop, mobile phone and tablets. You can either have responsive look of the site or a fixed look, which shows the site same as desktop. It depends on personal choice for each client.
Assurance of business
Website gives authority to the business; with a name and brand that belongs to the company. Anyone can create a Facebook page or YouTube channel for any company’s name, but that does not mean they own that company. With same token when visitor see the business name and site name belongs together, than they feel trust. Another way to find out is when you go in contact us of website and see the address. If address seems local, not P.O.Box than it gives more value to your branding. Than the local phone number makes the whole difference.
Content Control
Context or content is the key for any business on websites. That is why many big businesses, like Apple and Microsoft, use all content, like text, photos and videos on their own servers. It is key for businesses to have absolute control over its content because you are responsible for your postings and you do not want anyone to post wrongful comment.
For example: the dentist showing some photos of patient’s tooth on his site, and he post the link of photos from Facebook Photo Album. Now the Facebook Photo album cause headache to visitor because link want visitor to join or login Facebook in order to see photos. Not to mention if business use Flickr or Picasa photo album they show all sort of different suggestions and samples from other users which is distracting for your customer. Same thing happen with YouTube videos too where you see competitors videos right after yours and businesses wonder why they lose business.
On website you have the control of the content what and how you want to display things on website.
On website, you keep the visitor focused on flow and the important items rather random posts on social media.
Keep visitor focused
The key for website is to deliver quick information of what the visitor wants to see. No distractions or Ads. No social media plugins on main page, where you feel embarrassed in middle of meeting with your board members when they show your Uncle Johnny, fishing in lake Simcoe without his T-shirt, because he just updated his profile photo just before your meeting. When people don’t get what they want, they leave your site and go to your competitor’s.
Businesses with Facebook pages only loses business because of distraction occur on Social Media sites. Its good to have social media connectivity but its essential for visitor to come to your site for your product and service.
Desktop vs mobile sites
Another way to design your website is to design it with separate layouts for mobile and desktop devices. In case of separate site design for mobile and desktop designer carefully design the site lighter and faster for mobile and keep the touching and slide option in mind. Some responsive sites act like desktop in wide view and some act like mobile as tall view on mobile devices. It all requires planning and design structure.
Since 2014 the number of mobile users has surpassed the number of desktop users. Therefore it is necessary to design the site responsive which means your site fits on any browser, platform and device. DigiPix Inc. is designer all websites as fully responsive since 2015. All new clients get mobile friendly sites which transform themselves depending on device resolution.
Search engine optimization
When customers are searching for businesses they prefer the see the websites instead of Facebook page as valuable source of information. On the other hand Google, Bing and Yahoo search engines also give you better presence if you have properly optimized site design. The website design and marketing consultant needs to fill all the dots to tell search engine that you are the better than competitor and it will only going to happen when you have properly crafted site design with social media integration.
Website tracking by region, country as well as pages client visit can also enhance your ability to serve your customers better.
Website tracking
Free website tracking tool like Google Analytics gives you inside report who is visiting your site and from where. That gives businesses idea to monitor the traffic on their sites and make necessary adjustments to the content to provide better content and material for visitor to read. You also get the information which computer and internet browser clients using so you can better serve them. For example, if people are searching and visiting your site mostly from east end while your retail shop is located on west end than this tells you that it’s time to open another location on west end.
Contact Us forms on website
Contact Us forms are great way to collect quick customer’s information. Customers also feel comfortable to leave message discretely with or without giving their phone or email. This also comes very handy if customer calls you while you are driving and ask you to write down information. You can simply ask them either to email you or if they are on site, just fill the contact us information form and we will reply you as soon as possible.
Conclusion
Websites are important in Social media age because they help businesses connect with people directly and work as team to expand. Use social media tools to connect with your customers and see what others are saying about your product or services. When people see positive reviews and feedback they appreciate it and call you. And that’s what businesses need, phone call ring in time of millions of distractions.
Written By: Khurram Qureshi
Founder & consultant of DigiPix Inc.
Call or text: 416-900-5825
Email: [email protected]
About The Author
In 2005, Khurram Qureshi started DigiPix Inc. which started off as a design agency offering video editing to professional photography, video production & post production, website designs and 3D Animations and has now expanded towards online marketing and business consultancy. Khurram Qureshi also is a motivational figure and participates in local and international platforms. He also play a role in the local community development, helping local young minds get ready to enter the job market.