Lesson 3: Identify your website’s purpose
“If you aim at nothing, you’ll hit it every time.” — Zig Zigler
If we don’t set goals, we won’t accomplish much of anything. This is also true when designing a website. You’re devoting valuable time to creating a website, so let’s make sure your website will help you meet strategic goals for your business.
With that in mind, what do you want your website to accomplish for your business or non-profit?
To find your concrete website goal, you’ll need to start with a broad purpose that will seem obvious. Then, keep asking yourself, “Why?”, until you get to a tangible goal. This goal informs your “call to action” or CTA.
Your CTA should be put on the top of your website so it’s easy to find. For example, maybe you own a real estate business and you create resources for people looking to buy or sell a home. Your broad purpose for your website might be to entertain your readers.
This broad purpose could be distilled into a more concrete purpose: build your newsletter subscriber base. You can translate this tangible goal into a CTA by adding a “Subscribe to my newsletter” button at the top of your homepage.
Case study: Sequoia Ferguson, That’s So You Boutique
Sequoia became a mother at 16 but refused to let the odds define her. After putting herself through college, she wrote a business plan and opened a brick and mortar store at 26. You can see more of Sequoia’s powerful story of resilience in this episode of Made Here, and take a look at her incredible website to see what’s possible when the right passion, strategy, and tools come together.
Activity: Identify your CTA
Let’s put this concept into action. Take a few minutes to think about the broad purpose or purposes you have for your business or non-profit site. Then, keep asking why you want your site to fulfill this purpose until you get to a tangible goal.
If you have multiple goals, identify the top one. Ask yourself: “If visitors can only take one action after visiting your site, what would it be?” Your answer to that question is your CTA, and this is the thing you want to make sure is easy to understand and find on your site.
FEELING STUCK? USE THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS TO HELP YOU DETERMINE YOUR CTA:
- What are the broad purposes for your site?
- What concrete goals are related to these broad purposes?
- Of all the goals, which one is the most important? If visitors can only take one action after visiting your site, what would it be?
- What information should you include on your homepage to help meet this concrete goal? What is the call to action for your customer?
Once you’ve identified your CTA, share it in the discussion section below. If you’re still a little stuck, reading through other learners’ answers might give you some inspiration! When you’re done, let’s move on and learn how to design an effective website that reflects your brand.