How To Make Your Website Stand Out

YES YOU KNOW what a website is, but do you know what it really is? I’ll tell you what it is: Your website is your RESUME! When a potential customer visits your site you’re being interviewed to provide your product or service. If the visitor thinks you’re good enough then great, you’re hired. If not, then he goes to another site still searching.

The plain truth is, the internet has made this so easy to do- and believe me it’s done ALL THE TIME. More and more people turn to the internet to obtain info about the most mundane and simple things. Therefore the success of your website hinges on it’s credibility.

Many Trinidad & Tobago businesses miss this fact thinking that this website thing is just a fad- big mistake! Your customers are online looking for you but you’re not there. Putting up a simple website is not enough. You need a professionally designed website that looks great, is easy to navigate, easy to get found, which will work for you 24/7.

Website Design- For Looks!

Your website should be pure synergy- where the whole is greater than the sum of the parts, one part being the visual appeal. While templates make it easier to create and configure a site, picking the right template is an art by itself.

There are literally hundreds of templates themed for specific businesses like photography, restaurant, children, fashion, technology, retail, corporate, marketing, all with their own unique styles. I normally browse through and bookmark those I think would be ideal for a certain business, so when I do get a client who needs such a website, I already have a few templates to recommend.

Website Design- For Functionality

The second part of web design is functionality. This includes the proper navigation and layout to make it easy for your visitors to find what they came for, or be pleasantly surprised to find something they never knew you had.

Navigation should also be intuitive and all your pages relevant and informative. Using suitable images for illustration, appropriate links where needed and especially perfectly visible CALLS TO ACTION to make your visitor act- either by submitting an email, or downloading something, liking your Facebook page etc. When I sign with a client, I don’t just give them a website, as we say in Trini- “for style”.

Website Design- For SEO

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a science by itself and is big business apart from the visual aspect of website design. The fact that Google is the number one website on the planet testifies to the heavenly status of the search engine.

It’s good when your customers know where you are but what about those who don’t? All over Trinidad and Tobago customers are feverishly typing your keywords everyday. What’s your business- tyre repair, hairdresser, party supplies, clothes store, upholsterer, contractor? Don’t ever think that your business isn’t glamorous enough to have a website.

I pay careful attention to ensuring that your site’s content and structure is search engine friendly, and that all the keywords, meta descriptions, site maps, tags, links are geared towards improving your search rank. SEO is a process and I pay strict attention to these details.

Bonus: T&T Businesses really need to get online now:

[toggle_content heading=”5 reasons T&T businesses should get online before their competition”]Sorry, this is a trade secret I keep for my clients! 😉 Maybe I’ll reveal soon…[/toggle_content]

May 25, 2011 / Articles, Online Marketing

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About the Author

admin

I am Zaf Rahaman, owner of Forward Multimedia Ltd, a Trinidad based digital agency now in our 13th year. Through my experience acquired on the ground since 2011, I’ve become known as one of the foremost authorities in E-Commerce, especially as it pertains to Trinidad & Tobago.

I began writing blog articles on various topics after observing the lack of online information about local E-Commerce. These articles quickly propelled the Forward Multimedia to the number one position on Google for all major industry keywords, a position consistently held since without challenge.

In 2018 I was an invited panelist in the annual Trinidad and Tobago Internet Governance Forum. Also in 2018 I was an invited speaker for the launch of the Virtual Caribbean DNS Entrepreneurship Center (VDECC) an initiative of ICANN- the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, the international body that that coordinates the Domain Name System (DNS) worldwide.

I was also a stakeholder consultant for the Ministry of Trade & Industry’s National E-Commerce Policy which was passed in December 2018, with many of my recommendations making it to the final policy.

Most of all, I love to write AND love to write on everything website and E-Commerce related to help business owners in Trinidad & Tobago get the most out of their online presence.

ALL articles and pages on my site are written by me, in my voice, from the ground up, and for you, from a Trini perspective, using local examples and applications.

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