Mould your website

HR Talk

Mould your website

‘What is the purpose of having a website for a company’?

One of the senior executive of a company asked me. 

‘To propagate your company and to let people know about your product and services, so that attracts them to your company’. Immediately I replied with a questioning eye sensing the strangeness in the question.

‘Then they will contact you either by email, telephone and any other mode, right?’

‘Yes, that is the idea behind the website, it is an additional advertisement and comparatively cheaper’ I replied.

‘Then, whey these people are not providing their contact details on their websites?’

I further astonished.

This is a real case scenario that I have faced a lot of times before in my professional life. I used to search for some companies, when I was able to find out their websites, some of them didn’t have the contact details on the website. So what happened? I couldn’t contact them. They lost the business. I was able to find somebody else as there were enough competitors in the market. Let me say still competitor as we are waiting the wonders of ‘blue ocean strategies’.

When designing your website there should be some simple and important things to be noticed.

·         It should give overall picture of your company: The website is a prime source for many people to know about your company, its who is who, it nature of business, the mode of venture, the people behind it, the products, the services etc

·         It should provide all the updates about your company: The website, if possible to be updated daily. If no, at least monthly. Keeping a website without updating for months and years is not at all good as it will spread a lot of wrong information about your company

·         It is prestigious: The website is a hint to know that how professional your company is. The design, the spreading, the details, the language, the updates all give the on looker a clear message about your company

·         Website is a detailed advertisement: There are time limitations in TV and radio advertisements. TV and radio will tell you the amount you should spend for seconds. Newspaper will tell you the amount you should spend for the space. Website is a detailed advertisement, where you can tell all what you want to tell the public in which you detail each and every aspect of your company.

·         Those who need looks into it: unlike TV, Radio and newspaper advertisement, all will not look into the advertisements. The audience of a TV or reader of a newspaper may skip your advertisement as they are not the target audience of your product. But those who are looking into the website are really your target audience who really wish to know about your company and its products and services. So we should spend something better on the websites to keep it updated and detailed

·         Don’t ever do a website for name sake: I have seen some website address on some FMCG products and when entered to the website, it shown, ‘under construction’ for many years. So if you want put a www.xyz.com  a mere web address in your address part, to show that you have a website, or you misunderstand that it is inevitable in modern signature part, it is wrong. Website is an indication that you have a website and you will get further information about us from website. So when somebody enter to your site and he is not having anything from there means, you deprive yourself before the public.

·         Don’t ever miss ‘About us’ and ‘Contact us’. These two parts are very important in your website as it gives the user a clear picture about those who endeavored the company and a notion that somebody can contact you. If you are not providing these details mean that you don’t want customers to contact you.

·         It should be easy to open: I have seen many companies having wonderful and colorful websites. But some of them have used a lot of flash player and music to keep their standards up. Flash players normally slow the operation which will result testing the patience of the onlooker until he close it down. Also adding music to a website is not at all advisable. Because, people may be peeping to your website from offices or from anywhere and the music from your site is an unwanted guest. I have closed a lot of sites only because they have music while opening it.

·         Have an attractive but simple design: The design should be attractive, no doubt. But business entities and user-friendly websites should not use dark colors as it will affect the stay online. Dark colors will probably have more effects on your eyes and you wish to close the window down.

·         New windows and pop ups: I have seen a lot of websites, when we click to further service, it will go to another window or pop ups. The best way to keep the customer in place is provide maximum on the same page and it is not a difficulty for the visitor to go back and front as far as the buttons available for that purpose. I have stopped looking into many sites, only because they do have a lot of pop ups and new pages.

At the end, let me conclude like this. If you have a website, treat it well. Or better close it down. Nobody will blame you for not having a website.