Web site strategy & design
I can't remember the last time our web site was updated...
Developing a new or updated website is a major task that requires significant effort - both to set-up and maintain.
Most chemical distributors and producers already have web sites, but many suffer from outdated design, poor usability and, sometimes, stale content.
It is clear that many chemical companies should be getting a lot more benefit from their web presence but progress is often restricted by a lack of internal resources and know-how. If this is the case then outsourcing your web development and maintenance should be a serious consideration.
Before beginning the website design process, you should be clear about the objectives of the site and how your target audience might use it.
The site needs to be attractively designed but functional, with clear navigation, good usability and optimised for specific search engines.
Getting the planning right will help the project run smoothly and will help avoid costly revisions in the future - to quote an old proverb, ‘failing to plan, is planning to fail’.
Provide something on your web site that customers find useful...
Web site functionality should be an important consideration when creating or updating a site's design.For example, a search function on your website is essential if it contains a large number of pages or extensive content.
Functionality describes the ways that your website provides tools that benefit your customers when using the site, or gives you advantages when managing it.
You can also add a secure zone (extranet) to your site to provide services that add value for your customers.
- A chemical distributor might use a protected area on their site to provide their Principals with access to customer visit reports, sales statistics and competitor intelligence.
- Chemical producers might develop an extranet for making technical manuals, marketing materials and commercial information available to their distributors.
Good functionality will improve the 'stickiness' of your site - its ability to attract users and keep them coming back.
Issues to consider when planning a new or updated website
- What are your objectives for the web site? Who is the target audience(s)?
- How do your competitor's web sites compare in terms of content and functionality?
- How is the site expected to develop and expand in the future?
- Who's going to update content on the site and how often will it get done?
- How can the business wrestle control of the site out of the hands of designers and IT departments
- How effectively will the site be able to get indexed by search engines?
How Chemagility can help make your web site strategy happen?
- Review of existing website strategy. Designed to help a company evaluate the effectiveness of an existing website, the review will look at the original reasons as to why the site was set up, how it has performed and whether it has met its original objectives. With this as a starting point we are able then, to look at how your site can be improved.
- Site usability study. We can conduct a usability study on your current web site by analysing your site's visitor statistics and then using that information to help improve your web site. Web site usability and statistics
- Competitive benchmarking. We will benchmark your site against those of your nearest competitors for usability, content and functionality.
- Creating your web site strategy. Developing a web strategy so that your new or updated website will meet clear marketing objectives and address improvements highlighted by the review process.
- Web site design and development. Chemagility can manage your website planning, design and development, either in conjunction with our partners or with your preferred suppliers. We will plan the structure and content of the site, including the navigation and site map.
- Protected access areas. We can also help you develop protected zones on your site for customers or other registered users to provide a wide range of additional, personalised services.
- Content management. If you don't have the resources to keep your web site up to date then you should consider outsourcing your copy writing and content management. With our experience in the chemical industry we can write new content for your site, without much external input, and help keep your site right up to date.
We work with a number of leading web designers and programmers to produce websites for chemical distributors and producers. We will identify the best company to create your new or updated website, or we can work with your own developers.
