The success of your website is a HUGE player in the success of your business. Seriously. The digital world we live in is expanding at a mind-blowing rate and it isn’t slowing down anytime soon. To make sure your business grows along with it, it’s crucial that you understand and utilize website development services.
People typically associate web development as just building a website.
Pssshhhh. “Just”. There is SO much that goes into it. Development is coding, programming functionality, maintaining databases, programming interfaces, and so much MORE.
Yeah, there’s a lot to it. Let’s just say we’ve been working in development for over 10 years and we’re STILL learning new things everyday.
Development Services Drive Growth
As a business owner, you’ve been spending hours trying to get your stuff out into the world. Now that you’re more established, it’s time to step back and look at the finer details that will accelerate growth.
What’s one of the most common mistakes we see when this happens?
Businesses focus on the wrong things when it comes to their online presence.
We get it. It’s easy to get caught up in trying to have the flashiest design on the web. The reality of it is that being trendy won’t matter if your website isn’t optimized for user experience.
This is where development comes in. Development is the process of building the best possible user experience and ultimately increasing ROI. Website development services ensure your site isn’t just visually appealing but fast, functional, and strategically designed to drive conversions.
How Web Development Affects your ROI
It’s all about user experience.
Your digital footprint isn’t ONLY to showcase your product online; it’s to create a path for your target audience to follow. Just like a hiking path, you need to update and maintain it regularly to keep it clear for visitors to navigate. You want their visit to your site to be easy to navigate and engaging. Seriously, nobody likes an overgrown, confusing hiking trail.
There are two types of development: Front-End and Back-End.
- Front-end is bringing the vision for your website to life – adding images, coding/implementing design, and creating web pages.
- Back-end, you may have guessed, is everything ‘behind the scenes’. It entails managing server software, maintaining user interaction systems, and working with databases.
The more updated your site appears and the easier it is for a user to navigate pages, the more enjoyable the experience is. Especially if the website was crafted with the target persona in mind (please do this). Then a user will invest more time and attention to your site.
Remember, people come to your website to either learn or buy things from you. The right website development services will make that as smooth as possible for them. Ultimately giving you more conversions and a better return on investment!
What we’re trying to say is development services are important to your business, and here are some easy ways you can start upgrading your site.
5 Website Development Solutions that Improve User Experience
You’ll hear us talk about this a lot but we’ll never feel like it’s enough; the design, functionality, and overall appeal of your website are crucial indicators of your business’s quality.
Your website is often the first interaction someone has with your brand. Just like first impressions are important face to face, these first impressions with your business are just as crucial.
1. Improve Website loading time
According to Red Website Design, 57% of online users leave a website if it takes longer than 3 seconds to load. That’s three seconds before potential customers are gone. Honestly though, we get it. We’re the type who are also very used to the comfort of quick load times. Keep your load times quick.
2. Optimize Page Layout
Your page layout, when done well, is the treasure map for your customers. Each section should guide them towards the end goal. The right page layout will keep them engaged, resonate with them specifically, and give them a good impression of your business.
3. Efficient Navigation
Imagine being handed a map with blurred directions that are hardly readable. That’d be pretty frustrating right? That’s exactly what happens when your website is messy. Development helps create an intuitive experience for your users. Coding helps ensure buttons work, links direct properly, and everything functions correctly.
4. Mobile Optimization
“8 of 10 consumers would stop engaging with content that doesn’t display well on their device.”
Think about how many that is for a minute. How many potential clients you miss out on because your content doesn’t display on their device. Don’t miss out on such a huge number of potential customers because you skipped mobile optimization. Whenever you’re creating a new web page. Always make sure you test how it looks from a mobile device, and adjust it to appear properly.
5. Scalable Solutions
We love thinking about the future and what we can do to help future team members out. This is the mindset everyone should have when it comes to web application development. Don’t just meet your website’s needs today but set them up for success for tomorrow. Implementing scalable solutions into your website allows it to grow as your traffic increases.
Stay Focused on Your Target Persona
Remember to stay mindful of your target persona in every step of the web development process.
We want you to literally put yourself in the place of your persona. Close your eyes and imagine them navigating to your website. Answer questions like “where are they when they use my site”, “what brought them/attracted them to my site”, and “what would keep them on the site when they get there?”
At the end of the day, your website is for your customers not for you. Make sure that it’s designed for them in every way possible.
You can read even more tips on optimizing your website for personas here.
Leverage the Right Website Development Services
Web development services make a big difference in how your website runs and performs.
But we get it, it can seem like a lot, and get overwhelming. Fast. No matter the size of your business, sometimes it feels like you’re constantly swimming upstream as you implement these things.
Remember to take everything one day at a time. Nothing is going to be perfect the first time, so don’t procrastinate on launching this. Procrastination is the new perfectionism. Don’t let it get in your way! Embrace the process, love new problems, and just keep moving.
If you’re ready to dive into improving your website and online presence but don’t know where to start, reach out to us! Our exceptional web development team is excited to offer personalized solutions that will meet your business’ unique needs.
