Learning the basics

In any field of endeavor there are certain basic truths and activities that will always yield a result. Knowledge of the basic truths in an area help you achieve your desired end result.

So what are the basics of a website? Here is what we encourage our clients to put in their website:

  • What do you do?
  • Who are you?
  • How can you help the visitor?
  • Why should the visitor do business with you?
  • How can the visitor contact you?

Websites are a platform for communication. In years past it was the newspaper that offered a business a means to attract attention and communicate to their prospective customer. A newspaper ad had to tell a lot in a (usually) very small space. Done well, they got more customers.

Television opened up the possibility of even more creativity in ads. It added the dimensions of motion and time. Humor often hooks a viewer into paying attention, but you can probably remember ads that were funny but not remember what the product was. The marketer forgot the basics.

In a brilliant article about “the Fundamentals” James Clear mentions websites:

“Building a website is like painting on a canvas that never gets full. There is always space to add a new feature. There is never a moment when something couldn’t be optimized or split-tested. But these details can distract us from the only essential thing that websites do: communicate with someone. You don’t need fancy design or the latest software or faster web hosting to communicate with someone. The most basic unit of any website is the written word.”

So the website basics we gave above are really the basics of good marketing. If you don’t explain yourself well – whether it be in a newspaper ad, billboard, radio, TV, or website – then you won’t get new customers or clients.

Your website is an opportunity to tell your story to the world. If you make sure you have the basics in place people will want to communicate to you, too.

Call us (626-449-0100) or write us (sales@citycent.com) so we can help you cover your basics!

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