Everyone who has an experience, a story and a passion is capable to own a website with rich content and has something unique to publish in the web.
This also applies to organizations too. But the content of many websites are not rich and unique. Why is That?
The truth is, many of these experiences, stories and passion never get published in their websites simply because most website owners and designers are not sure how to publish them.
You will agree with me that in he internet content is king because it is the main reason any visitor will visit a website.
I get frequent emails from people asking how they can get rich contents for their websites, and I have always replied that they should put themselves in the content of their website. This I mean, put your experience, story and passion into the content of your website.
But let us not forget, while we’re thinking about writing good and rich content, there are 9 important questions that a website designer and website owner should answer if they want the content of website to be rich.
I suggest that if the website has not been developed, there is the need to answer these questions before you start. However, if you already have a website, you can answer these questions and use your answer to update your website contents.
If the website designer and the website owner do not ask themselves these questions and answer them, the visitors will ask them. Unfortunately, they may not get an answer and this can discourage them from revisiting.
This is what I want to share with you.
Answer these questions in your website and you will have a rich content website that is unique and engaging.
I personally defined a website “as a collection of web pages about an entity that are hosted as a domain in a web server in the internet and access through a browser” and the entity can be a person (living or dead), a place, a business (or company), an organization (group of people) and/or a concept.
Therefore the first thing a website designer must do is to gather information about the entity. Sometimes, the website designer and the website owner, leave out the rich part of the experience, story and passion of the entity. I agree that all entities may not have experience, story and passion. For example, an organization that is starting up may not have experience and story, at best may have the passion of the owners. But the experience and the stories of the owners can be packaged to produce rich content.
If you want to get the stages of developing a website, you can click here. Otherwise, keep reading to learn exactly why you want to answer all of these questions.
1. Why do you need a website?
In order words, what is the Purpose of the website? You will be asked this question throughout the life of the website. If your website designer does not ask you, the visitors to the site will ask this question.
From my humble experience, the answer to this question drives all the information to be gathered, the content and features of the website and how it is to be presented.
Some clients can explain their purpose clearly. However, I have come across many clients that cannot. Some want to have a website just because their friends have one. This is common with politicians basically during election campaign. Thus, the website designer must assist the client to define the purpose of the website.
The web designer must understand the entity and purpose of the website, whether the site is to provide information only, promote a product/service, sell a product/service and so on.
2. The Who question.
In website development project, there is always: “The who question”. Most website designers neglect this question while the website owner assumes that it is the website designer responsibility.
Some important question “Who questions” a website designer must ask are:
Who will write the content of the website?
Who will design the graphics
Who is the website aimed at?
Who are the target visitors
And You as a website designer must have a clear picture of these “whos” because it helps you to allocate responsibilities, design the website very well and price your project meaningfully.
I always advised a website designer that is not a good copywriter to seek the service of one in order to create a rich content website. He/she should consider explaining the importance of copywriting and its cost implication to the website owner. Even if you do not, please you should consider this in your pricing. It may not be the best to take-up the responsibility of a copywriter and run into trouble later.
When I read some website designer’s advert that they will deliver the website in 7 days maximum, I wonder if all the content to be published have been written and all relevant graphics designed.
I agree with a Content Management System (CMS) like WordPress and Joomla, it is possible to design a website of about 16 pages in 2 days but I am not sure that you can research and write rich 16-page document, with all the graphics in one week at the price they quote. I may be proved wrong.
Please read on to see what it takes to write website contents that command attention of visitors, generate their interest and desire.
3. What Are Your Target Visitors’ Demographics And Psychographics?
Most times, You can take an ideal group of people (visitors) and picture their demography in terms of age, sex, interest, occupation, income level and so on. The demographic profile of your visitors is very useful in presenting the content, mainly the graphics and style of writing.
Or you can look at the psychographics…
What’s really enjoyable for me is looking at the psychographics. These are the things going on inside the mind of the likely visitor.
These are the greatest determinants of whether they are going to be engaged or not, and also the best determinant of whether the visitor will like to visit again and refer their friends.
I try to recognize these by identifying their need, desire, and problem that the target visitors might have based on their demography. Then I try to offer solution to solve them. This will create a platform for developing content that will cause your visitors to keep coming back.
Creating a psychographic profile of your visitors is important in website designing and it centers on “What your visitors want to accomplish by visiting and why?”
4. How Are You Going To Help Your Visitors?
I think that if you want to publish anything in your website, it has to be because you want to help your visitors or solve problems through sharing information. You really have to have an intense desire to help.
One good way I help my visitors is to share my experience, tell my story and use my passion to provide solutions to some problems.
This is the main importance of understanding the psychographic profile of your target visitors because it help you to provide the information that they need, which will engage them and cause them to keep coming back.
5. What Are The 3 Core Ideas Of Your Website?
It is very easy for a website designer and its owner to put so many things in the site basically at the beginning. But as time goes on, you will understand that it takes a lot of time and resources to maintain a website. It may become quit unproductive to do to many things at the same time in a website both technically and economically.
So, I will encourage website owners to focus on maximum three core Ideas. This will reduce information overload, improve navigation and speed of the website as well as its memory and bandwidth utilization.
So Ask yourself what your three core ideas are, and of those three, what is the “core” idea? So think about your three core ideas, and of those there is one “core” idea and two supporting ideas.
Make sure that the core idea is well-presented at the website and it can be identified by any visitor within the first few minutes of arriving at the homepage header.
6. How Will You Get Their Attention?
In the internet, people do not read so much; rather they keep jumping from one webpage to another. Getting people’s attention, especially getting enough of people’s attention to get them to read a webpage and read it to the end is very hard.
One way I have used to get the attention of my visitors to my webpages is using webpage titles and graphics that command attention. For example, the title “ Do not hire a web designer until you have attended this seminar” commands attention of people who want to hire a website designer, website designer, Software developers and so on. You must also arrange and presenting your webpages to reflect the demographic and psychographic needs of your visitors can also command their attention.
7. Is Your Website Unique?
Whenever, you invite people to visit your website, the first thing they want to know is:
“Why should I visit your site rather than someone else’s.“
“What is its uniqueness?“
“What information is on your website that no other one has?”
All the above considered, I have explained that you can have a rich content in your website from your experiences, story and passion presented in line with the purpose of your website and the demography and psychograph of your target visitors. I know that they are thousands of people who may have similar experiences, story and passion, but you website has to be unique at least in three ways:
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Your website can be unique because there is nobody else like you.
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Taking a completely new view on your experiences, story and passion can make it unique.
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Sometimes it can be unique because it deals with a breakthrough that nobody else has dealt with.
The answer to this question “ What is unique about your website” can transform the look and feel of your website which can generate visitors attention.
8. What Will The Visitors Gain?
This question is similar to question one “Why do you need a website or what is the purpose of the website?” People answer this question from the owner’s (and/or designer’s) view point.
The question “what will the visitors gain?” is best answered from the visitors view point.
Your answer to this question is essential for generating visitors’ interest and desire at your site and this will cause them to keep coming back.
This can be called the goals of the website, which is what the owner wants to accomplish by building the site. For example, Is it to make money or just share information? If it is to share information for example, you must identify the type of information the visitors need and present them as needed based on your the perceived psychographics of the demography.
You can only achieve your goal of owning a website if the visitors keys into it. An easy way to achieve this is by answering the question: ”what will the visitor gain?” very well.
I always recommend that the website header should always give an insight to the purpose and goal of the site.
9. What Are Your Competitive Websites?
The next thing you want to look at is what we call competitive websites…
You need to know what’s going on in the internet in your area of interest which is defined by your purpose and goal.
Since the technique of writing contents in the internet if “copywriting”, you have to visit other website with similar purpose and goals to have a good understanding of what is happening.
On one hand, this will help you to filter your ideas and define minimum standard for your website.
On another hand, you can identify, what you feel is lacking in your competitors website and add them to your content.
With this, you will be able to surpass your competitors.
As a matter of strategy, you must continue to monitor your competitors’ websites and keep enhancing your website.
Finally, I believe that if a website owner and designer are able to answer these 9 questions and embed their answers into the website appropriately, you will be able to develop a website that is unique with rich content and will:
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Command the attention of your visitors
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Generate their interest for your contents and engage them
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Cause them to always desiring to visit your website.
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Build the trust that is needed to command Action
Thank you very much
Augustus Zekaryah
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About the author
Augustus is a management, banking and business computing professional with over 20 years of documented success in the field. Augustus is recognized for the application of software to solving business problems, Software Project Management, Enterprise Architecture Strategy, and Delivery of learning solutions with focus on adaptability, Development and execution of business plans, General management and administration, Operations management and Best practice development. Augustus founded and manages FirstPlus Integrated Business Solutions (http://firstplus-ibs.com.ng) as a Software and Business Consulting outfit that specializes in Software development and integration, E-Learning development, Business and Marketing Planning, Consulting and training.Augustus brings to his work a high level of energy, passion, commitment and humour. He is married with children.
