Steps to a successful website
Drumroll, please, for the launch of the new Portsmouth International Port website, written by the wordsmiths at Editing Edge.
You can see it here: www.portsmouth-port.co.uk
The Port is one of our major clients, as we provide two or three stories every week for the website’s news feed. We also write the Port’s monthly email newsletter Stay Connected.
Re-writing the entire website, however, was a much bigger task. These are steps you could follow when revamping your own site:
* First comes analysis of the old site and scrutiny of its shortcomings, then a strategy session to plan a new sitemap.
* Decide what you are selling. For the Port we set about researching the three sectors of ferries, cruise and cargo shipping.
* Conjure up the right words by putting yourself in the place of your customers and thinking what they would want to know. Imagine they know very little about your business so set information out clearly.
* Know what your site is aiming to do. Is it to provide information like a brochure, lure more people in, make sales online? The Port wanted the site’s prime purpose to be information, but we also included plenty of keywords for SEO (search engine optimisation) to increase the amount of traffic generated.
* Don’t get bogged down. As well as getting a huge amount of information across, we also focused on the Port’s key messaging: perfect position, easy access, expertise and flexibility. You should hammer home your main selling points and not be tempted to include everything. Your customers can call you for more – and you’ll have them on the phone as red-hot leads.
* Make sure copy is concise, bright and effective. Don’t be boring!
We go through the same steps with every website we produce, to make sure it’s bang on target for its audience.
If you’d like help with a makeover for your own website, or are starting from scratch with a new one, give us a call to discuss how Editing Edge can give you the impact you need.
Contact us on: 07834 568078 or 01730 264813
