What if we tell you that your website can be so much more than your portfolio? At Leona Collective Co., we’re all about authentic, strategic collaboration. We want you to feel confident in your brand, and your website. Our secret sauce is a holistic and strategic process aiming to uncover the intention and power behind your brand. We have first-hand experience of how the standards of web design have changed and evolved; your website is the amplification of your brand. It’s your brand’s online home. Your website can be the foundation from which your business can build traction, shape meaningful connection, and help your business to grow exponentially. Today, we want to share 10 things we believe your website should accomplish. So you can do exactly that: gain momentum, build connections, and experience exponential business growth.

You’ll be astonished to learn just how much potential a professional, well-designed, strategic web design harness. So, how can you ensure your web design contains everything? All the details, all the strategy, and content necessary to build the best foundation for your business?  Here are 10 things your website should accomplish.

1. Your website should institute and build meaningful connections.

Think back to a time when you arrived on the homepage of a website for the first time. After just a few seconds you felt like you understood the brand behind the website. Or perhaps, it was a feeling, when you see their pictures or the special piece of copy that made you feel instantly connected. When a potential client lands on your homepage, it should aim to establish and build connections. A potential client should be able to feel your aesthetic through the photos or graphics used within your design. Or be able to hear your voice through the copy used on your homepage.

Overload is commonplace, we are all bombarded with a constant stream of media. This spark of connection we’re talking about is what can set you apart from the others. The deeper someone goes into your site the further the connection builds and builds — your website helps visitors feel encouraged and understood. What does it feel like when you arrive on your homepage? Evaluate. Is there some way that your photos, copywriting, or overall design can feel more like you — the person behind your brand?

2. Your website should educate and guide your potential clients.

Your website should educate and guide your potential clients.
As the expert behind your business, you know your products, services, and processes like no other. However, when someone is brand new to your business (or your field), they’re often starting from a blank canvas. From start to finish, your website should educate and guide your potential clients toward the products or services that serve them best. You should curate the details of your products or services in an orderly manner. Aim for your website to be a step by step guide, walking your client through your seamless experience. This will allow them to connect with you so they feel they can confident booking with you.

3.Your website should showcase your best work — or the work you’d like to do more of.

As you accumulate more years of experience, chances are, you’re accumulating more work you can share within your portfolio or within your website as a whole. We wholeheartedly believe your website should showcase your best work — or the work you’d like to do more of. As mentioned earlier, your web design should be created with a goal in mind. It’s likely your goal is to book your Ideal Client and do more of the work you love most. If this means your portfolio is smaller or more curated, that’s more than OK! Every detail included within your website should help to move your business forward in the ways you envision, so consistency is key!

4.Your website should establish your expertise.

Oftentimes, there are so many details we know and love about our own businesses — that we overlook sharing those important details with potential clients or with our website’s audience. We have to be the biggest advocate for our own business. Sharing the benefits of working with us, the value of our products/services, the amazing results our client’s experience is worth gold! Plus, otherwise, how will potential clients know? By establishing your expertise — your potential clients feel confident in choosing YOU! Social proof like testimonials and case studies show the value you bring to each client you serve.

5. Your website should answer prospective clients’ most common questions.

We highly recommend having a FAQ section within your website. When you answer potential clients’ most common questions, you can ensure your web design is educating your clients and leaving out all doubts they could have. BONUS TIP: FAQ’s also help establish your expertise. 

6. Your website should be well-organized.

Face it, no one likes to be digging through a website to find the information they are searching for. Your navigation is a key factor in creating a well-organized website. Beyond your navigation, your content delivery needs to be methodic — using clear headings, divider lines, background coloring, or white space to break up your website’s content in an orderly, easy-to-digest way.  

7. Your website should be detailed, but not too detailed.

Believe us, we know it’s natural to want to include every detail of your services within your web design, but cramping too much to your website is a no-no. We’ve discovered, first-hand, that if your website contains too much your audience will be overwhelmed and easily click off your site. In a world with decision fatigue, too many choices or too much information can cause visitors to overanalyze or simply navigate away from your site. This is why we suggest sharing the basics about your services and an experience guide that further dives into the detailed information with those who want to know more. By doing so, you can create a more seamless experience for your potential clients and create a more elevated experience. 

8.Your website should make contacting you easy to do.

Whether it’s your email, a contact form or your social media handles your audience should know in a second how to get in touch with you. Contacting you is likely the next step you’re asking potential clients to take it’s important for your contact details to be easily found.

9. Your website should be engaging.

Your website should make your potential clients feel welcomed, encouraged, and served. Through strategic planning, your website can be an engaging place for your potential clients to become immersed in. Moreover, the longer a potential client spends on your website, the more chance you have for them to make a connection with you. Creating an engaging website is a delicate balance between creating a strategic, methodic, and beautiful, seamless website. When you achieve that balance, your website can truly work for your business and audience.

10. Your website should be built for both short-term and long-term success.

Your website should be built for both short-term and long-term success.
Timelessness is highly desirable. Most importantly, your website should be designed with your goals in mind—the long and short term. Over the years, we’ve mastered the art of strategic web design that draws out clients’ success. This process includes your preferences, your Ideal Client’s preferences, your industry’s standards, your short-term goals, and your long-term goals.

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With a well-designed, strategic web design, your website can serve as more than a place to showcase your products, services, or work—but a place established in connection and meaningful growth. 

We hope this blog served you well! We hoped it helped you to reflect on your website. If you aren’t proud of your website, don’t fret—it happens to everyone! If your website is less than inspiring, it could be time to revisit your online presence as a whole. Do you know someone who could benefit from the 10 things we believe your website should accomplish? If so please share!