When a web visitor lands on your website, you have about five seconds to impress him with your Lakeland website design, which is enough for him to stay for a while, browse through the pages of your site and find the information that he needs. But this is not the only thing you need from him. You need to convert him so he can become a customer, one that actually pays for your products and services.

A website cannot simply be aesthetically pleasing or a provider of information. It needs to have a design that feeds your users’ web experience. It needs to be functional and it needs to complement your content. It has to clearly communicate with your clients who you are as a business, what you do, and who you do it for. While you may be great in business, forgetting to address the needs and concerns of your web visitors can impact your presence online.

Mapping out a strategy

You cannot simply design a website without a plan. You need a strategy to make your website work for the benefit of your company. To ensure that your website is effectively meeting the needs of your customers, you need to map out a buyer’s journey—from the first time they visit your website to the time they actually become a customer.

What information are they consuming? What pages did they first open? What are the elements of the website that popped out to them? Where did they stay long? Understanding these details will help you rebuild a website that can guide an ordinary web visitor to become your brand’s loyal customer.

When designing your website, don’t immediately lead your visitors to the final step, which is purchasing a product or a service. You want it to be an experience where you can guide them to the next step of learning about your products and services and how these can help their lives. You have to envision how your customer interacts with your website and then use this information to create a site that can guide them in making a purchase decision where your business can benefit from.

Answer the questions even before they are asked, or guide your web visitors to asking the right questions that your business can answer to.

If you have existing customers, you may also want to interview them and learn how they turned from a simple web bystander to an actual paying customer. You can use this data to map out a Lakeland website design strategy and create a concept your target market will be interested in.