Creating Successful Sites

All too often web development focuses on the visual aspects of the site. Not much consideration is processed about the site's structure. The site design is the first thing users notice about a site and is very important, however when developing a site, the site structure comes first and foremost. Gaining the right viewers to a website comes when all the right information is on the site.  Doing your homework to understand how the site structure should be will help when the time comes to drive traffic to the site.. This process can be called, information structure or architecture. By setting aside the design portion of the website and pushing the information structure portion to the beginning, the entire performance of the site can increase and a successful site can bloom. Potential for more visitors and consumer engagement can be a result of focusing on site architecture before site design. There are six simple steps to creating a successful site:

Step 1: Find out What is Wanted and take Action

Conducting research and collecting information is a vital portion of creating a successful website. In order to produce an effective site, data must be recorded to understand what elements should be within the site to improve website usability. Conduct company research and find out the vision of the site from the company standpoint. Take into consideration that this is a brand and should be represented throughout the site but that the site is not only based upon the wants of the company but by the satisfaction of the consumer. Next, conduct user research. Explore the interests of consumers who are interested in the brand or product the site is being created for. Understanding the likes and dislikes of the consumer is the key to developing a successful site. After collecting research from both the company and consumer, prioritize goals for the site. Meeting goals and setting standards can guide a site to it best potential. Organization and cleanliness show throughout the composition of a website. Keep in consideration perspectives from both the company and consumer when it comes to what is expected of the site. Not following these criteria has the potential to create an uninteresting website.

Step 2: Ready, Set, Build the Website

Building the website may seem difficult but it's not. Map out all the levels and pages included in the site. In creating a successful site, the flatter it is the better. A flat site provides fewer clicks for the user and has the potential to provide more specific information wanted by the consumer. Making sure the site matches the persona of product is essential to gain accurate visitors. Build information within the site geared toward the target audience. A solid website should come when it's built for the visitor's interest.

Step 3: Guide Visitors through Keyword Mapping

Dig deep into the information architecture of the site. Create categories, paths and subsets for keywords to fall in. This helps with the creation of more pages that visitors are interested in. Keywords are guides to learn the consumer. They identify what is missing in the site and suggest what may need to be added based up visitor searches.

Step 4: Using the Right Keywords

Keyword identification can either make or break a website. Conducting a keyword study at the beginning of the web development process will help identify what keywords should or shouldn't be used for the site and its information. Use words that make it easy for consumers to find the site. Search competition keywords to determine how relevant words are to tracking the website. Research tools like Google's Ad Words, Keyword Discovery and Wordstream can help in the process of searching keywords. By adding long-tailed keywords, it can provide a more specific visitor to the site, given that they have already searched other keywords and have now become more specific in what they are looking for. For example the keyword 'computers' can be used as a search tool but a more specific long-tailed keyword can be 'Mac book Pro computer,' and these types of keywords pop up to a more specific audience. The search volume of keywords may also determine the type of traffic a site receives. Using a keyword that is very popular puts you in a pool of other sites that also pop up when that keyword is searched but adding a keyword that is still searched often but not as frequent as others can gain the right visitors to the site and still increase traffic.

Step 5: Wireframing

It's time to test the effectiveness of the site. Wireframing is different from the sitemap although the composure of them is similar. This is the process that determines how the site will operate and navigate. This portion may also become a more interactive process as it can become a clickable element and shared among others to help test the usability and satisfaction of the website. Testing the website before starting the process of coding and programming will save time on more web development as well as trigger problems areas that stand to be correct within the site. This provides the opportunity to create scenarios within the site. Once the site is tested the first time, reorganize it and test it again, and then another time with users. Gain feedback from the prototype by having clients and users click around the site to check navigation issues, make corrections and test again.

Step 6: Developing the Content

The content of the site should flow and coincide with the keyword mapping. By using the same keywords in the content as done so with the keyword research, it provides a more engaged and interactive visitor to the site. Adding the same keywords improves the SEO (Search Engine Optimization) of the website. This is what filters out keyword searches and pops up the website to visitors searching within that category. Finally, harmonize the visual content of the site with the information on it. This should also flow with the brand and logo of the site to keep it all in one interesting bundle. The end result of following these steps is more than likely a successful site.