Having an attractive website that accurately communicates what your business offers and makes it easy for customers to find information they are looking for is the ultimate goal of any company.
And, like many aspects of running a company, it’s an ongoing work in progress.
In today’s electronic world, how your website looks is just as important, if not more important, than having a good sign hanging outside your shop. No one deliberately creates an ugly, hard-to read sign to help people find a shop, and the same should apply to your website.
Ideally, you also want a website that effectively brands your business. When people see it, they should recognize the logo, colors or perhaps some character you use on your bags, in-store signage, advertising or boxes.
Most of you are undoubtedly familiar with the “eight-second rule.” Personally, I think it’s more like five seconds, but I won’t argue that right now. For those of you not familiar, the eight-second rule is the amount of time it takes for someone to form an impression of what they see.
Once this impression is formed, it is difficult to change it, which is what makes having a website that makes a good first impression so important. Because the decorated apparel industry is so visual, it has even more importance than, say, the website for a doctor or auto parts store.
Visitors to a decorated apparel website are coming because they need decorated apparel and other products. If your homepage is cheesy or so crammed with bits and pieces that it looks like a garage sale, it can’t be surprising if that visitor thinks, “Do I want to trust this company with promoting my organization or event? If this is what the website looks like, what will the decorated garments look like?”
In many ways, the homepage is like a magazine cover. You want it to make a strong impression and hint at what great content lies behind it. As you find the time to work on your website or create your first one, keep this principle first and foremost in your mind.
JP Hunt is vice president of sales and marketing at InkSoft, a software company that offers a comprehensive business suite including an online designer, ecommerce platform and other business tools.
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