Nowadays owning a business site is much more than a simple choice: it is a fundamental prerequisite for the success of any business. The world is increasingly digital and having a site no longer means simply owning an online showcase, but it becomes a real one declaration of credibility, professionalism and reliability. If you are still undecided about its realization for your business, here are some clarifications: why create a website, who to contact and what are the necessary steps for its realization?

Premise: why create a website and who to contact?

Why create a website?

1. An ocean of potential customers. The data speak for themselves: 73% of the population in Italy uses the Internet, with 83% mobile users and 57% active users on social media - and these figures are constantly growing, with a CAGR of + 10% compared to last year.
2. Credibility:. Having an online showcase today is, above all, a question of credibility: any authoritative company is online, the absence on the Web can generate uncertainty in the potential customer, who may decide to turn to someone else.
3. 24/7 communication. A website is a real showcase for your business, the starting point for making your company known and transmitting professionalism and reliability. Not only is it a "virtual shop" reachable by the customer at any time and any day of the year, but, if well built, the quality of communication can be optimal: captivating graphics, informative content, photos and videos can have a great visual impact and contribute to sales even more than a sparkling showcase.
4. A new sales channel. I as always, diversification is as essential as keeping up with the times. Opening an e-commerce site can be the winning strategy if you want to give your business a new dimension.

Who to contact for the design and development of a Site?

First of all, it should be noted that designing a website is a complex matter, it requires specific skills and a good deal of experience. Relying on a good consulting service, rather than a web developers e freelance web designers, can prove to be the winning strategy to ensure a complete and well-structured website.

In general, there are several variables to consider for the creation of a quality site, but usability and optimization for search engines are essential characteristics for each site and must be taken into account throughout the entire process design, development and management of the Website.

• With usability - usability in English - means the ability of a site to satisfy the needs of the end user, ensuring ease of access, optimal navigability and a good level of comprehensibility of the information content. In other words, it is about building a site that is efficacy, and therefore rich and complete, efficient e satisfactory for the user, that is user-friendly.
• With optimization for search engines we mean the correct implementation of all those elements that are part of SEO optimization, that is, that allow correct indexing by search engines, satisfying the on-page ranking factors.

For this reason it is necessary to have adequate skills on both fronts, both at a technical level - that is in terms of web design and web development, which at the level of SEO, to guarantee a correct setting right away, essential for the indexing of the Site and, consequently, for its visibility.

Creation of a website: Web Design

Generally, the phases of creation of a website can be summarized in "4D": define, design, develop e deploy.

1. With sets we mean the definition of objectives and typologies and the definition of an expense budget, essential for defining the technical specifications.
2. With design we mean everything related to the structure and the graphic aspect of the site, which must be user-friendly and graphically curated.
3. With develop we mean the actual design and development phase, more or less complex depending on whether you opt for a Proprietary CMS or an Open Source one.
4. With deploy we mean, trivially, everything that concerns the management of the site: following its updating, traffic, managing its promotion and marketing.

For simplicity, we will reorganize the speech into three basic phases: design, development, website management and performance monitoring.

Phase 1: Website design

Before proceeding with the site design, there are three fundamental elements to be defined: type of site and objectives, specific technical requirements, graphics and design.

Definition of the type of site

In order to start the design, you must first define the typology of website and the message that you want to communicate, the goal of the website. Trivially, there are three types:

• landing pages, that is, a website generally consisting of a single page, designed to promote a specific action. It is, trivially, a very simple site, with an essential structure, usually containing a simple plug in for data collection. It is generally associated with a dedicated digital marketing campaign and is used, for example, in the case of particular promotions, launches of new products or services, or more simply used only for the generation of contacts for the newsletter.
• Un generic business site, consisting of several pages, more complex than the single Landing Page - which must still be present within the site - but less structured than an e-commerce site. It is generally used for the promotion of different actions and is suitable for increasing the brand awareness and to perform a mainly informative function.
• Un e-Commerce site, used for the online sale of products and services, more complex than a generic site as it is structured on several levels and enriched with all the functions necessary for the sale: it not only has multiple category pages, subcategories and many product pages, but must also provide structure e plug in suitable for managing orders, reservations, payments, reviews, customer service and much more.

Definition of any technical requirements

Once the objectives and typology have been defined, it is necessary to think about any technical requirements and special requests to be met in case of special needs or for the performance of specific functions, such as automation of certain functions, import of products, presence of a CRM integrated in the ERP.

Definition of graphics and design

Once any technical requirements have been defined, you can move on to the plus part and, tooDefining graphics and design of the site. In this sense, it is essential to keep as much as possible elements consistent with the image and personality of the brand, remembering that it is, first of all, a company showcase.

When defining a graphic line, it should also be borne in mind that the same consistency must be maintained between the various pages of the site, which, in order not to generate confusion during navigation, must have the same style.

Definition of the CMS platform

A final decision to make before proceeding with development is the one relating to the platform to be used. The options for developing a website are basically two: using a Proprietary CMS or an open source CMS.

What does CMS mean and how do the two types differ?

First of all, CMS is the acronym of Content Management System - in Italian, Content Management System - and is, in practice, a platform that allows manage the contents of a website in a simplified way, without having to resort to code changes, which are much more complex and risky.

• Open Source CMS we mean platforms known and publicly available, widely used, generally economical and flexible management platforms, which respond to the most general needs and adapt to a wide range of customers.
• CMS Owner we mean a single platform, developed ad hoc for a particular project and which responds to specific needs.

Is it better a known CMS or a Proprietary Platform?

The answer is always the same: depends. Both types have advantages and disadvantages. Generally, if you do not have special needs, it is preferable to use an Open Source CMS: it's more user friendly and therefore easier to manage, it is generally well known by all professionals in the sector and therefore less binding, it is a less demanding investment and, being more used, it is generally easier to manage problems.

In this sense, Popular CMS such as WordPress o Magento, they generally have a good community of developers and specialists: trivially, it is difficult not to find, in the maze of the web, solutions and tips for almost anything. Likewise, there are many plug in on the market and able, for a negligible cost and more often free of charge, to manage more complex processes and respond to the most varied needs.

Generally, each web designer will have a preferential CMS platform. In order not to remain tied to a developer, it is advisable to opt for more common solutions, equally efficient but less complex, generally known by most professionals in the sector.

WordPress is, in this sense, the ideal solution. Unlike other applications, its ease of use and its structure, already prepared for writing blogs and contents, make it an excellent platform also for the creation of e-commerce sites and the statistics confirm this: it is estimated that 25% of the websites is made in WordPress!

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Phase 2: Website development and Web Design

Once the type and characteristics have been defined and the ideal platform has been identified on the basis of the technical specifications defined, it will be possible to proceed with the creation of the site. This means, in a nutshell, the construction of every single element of the site: from layout to pages, from textual content to graphic and dynamic elements.

Development process: structure, pages, text, graphics

After a first creation of the structure - more or less complex based on the type of site and the objectives of the project - it will be possible to proceed with the creating pages - static pages, category pages, subcategory and product, information pages, blog section and so on. Once created, they will be entered the text contents, enriched with dynamic images and elements.

It is important, at this stage, to maintain constant attention to both aesthetics and functionality, in order to facilitate user interaction and optimize fluidity in navigation, trying to make it, as far as possible, also effective in terms of experience.

Particular attention is paid, in this sense, to the presence of call to action. Slider, banner and hyperlink are, in fact, a fundamental element for achieving good results in terms of performance: they will not only increase theusability of the site, but will provide the correct navigation cues to the user, allowing a greater control of the flows of behavior.

NB: pay attention to the SEO already under construction!

As mentioned above, it is highly recommended turn to those who also have skills in terms of SEO and not strictly limited to mere web development: in order to guarantee the maximum performance of the site on search engines, every single element must be created, designed and structured not only in terms of usability but also indexing, optimizing as much as possible the site already under construction.

A preliminary attention to SEO will immediately guarantee correct indexing, facilitating the positioning process: albeit indicate immediately Keyword specifications and Tags fundamentals could initially prove to be a more onerous process, it will overall result in a net saving in terms of optimization time.

Phase 3: Website management and performance monitoring

As with everything, once created, any website needs one correct management and maintenancee, e of a costate performance monitoring.

• Automatic updates with check for critical updates
• Cloud backup with automatic sending to the customer via cloud (Dropbox, Amazon etc.)
• Site cloning
• Website security check
• Verification of website performance
• Uptime Monitor with offline site reporting via SMS or EMAIL
• Reports on site activities with automatic sending to customers
• Collaboration with the team and customers
• SEO Ranking with analysis of competing sites
• Integrated Google Analytics
• Maintenance procedures
• Management of comments on articles on the site
• Management of the online store

Technical assistance

Not all of us are born experts, it is it is normal to be in trouble on various occasions, especially when dealing with complex topics such as building a website. So it becomes it is essential to have quick access to technical assistance for every eventuality.

It may happen that some functions do not work as planned, in which case those who commission the re-creation of a website must be sure that they can receive help in the shortest and most effective way. Many errors are resolved in seconds by industry experts, while if they are ignored they can trigger chain reactions that interfere with the complex structure of the entire site.

A prompt and attentive technical assistance can make a difference in many cases between fortifying and ruining a website!

Hosting and Server Management

We must distinguish the management of the site from the server management! It is not only useful to entrust the management of your site to experts, but also allow hosting and server access where they come from stored site data. Doing so guarantees another tool to be able to intervene more quickly in the event of an error or damage.

In addition, experts in the field will also be able to make sure you develop a solid foundation for the site to function properly through the choice of the best and most efficient server.

Technical consultancy

A whole series of tips and advice regarding how to use your website, as to maximize the experience of your users, as make the graphics more attractive and functional of the site and much more are a whole set of factors that you will have to consider when you go to consider creating a Web page.

It becomes very useful for optimization to receive technical consultancy services in order to make it more navigable and more user-friendly your site.

To conclude: the key to success

In conclusion, the creation of a website is a long and complex process, which requires the analysis of many variables. For a successful project, the key elements can be summarized in points:

1. Establish with criteria and precision customer goals and needs, so you can define with equal clarity technical specifications and requirements of the website.
2. Based on what is defined, opt for the most suitable CMS platform.
3. Start dealing with SEO right away, taking care to insert as many elements as possible for indexing and positioning purposes.
4. Contact a consultant who can manage the site correctly and provide one constant technical assistance
5. Constantly monitor performance and traffic to optimize its performance.

The New Trends of Web Design in 2020

Il world of web design and the development of the internet are constantly changing, just think of the revolution in web design brought about by mobile devices. Businesses must remain at the in step with the times with digitalization.

Today web designers they have to work on content that fits all screens, from the largest to the smallest, so that no information is lost.

Web design is an extremely dynamic environment, the web designer and the user must quickly get used to the graphic variations.

What looked like the web revolution 12 months ago may now be outdated, obsolete and therefore not capable of the best results.

In this 2020 we can locate some trends regarding the web design applied to eCommerce.

La responsiveness is one of the first things to consider because the screen size changes all the time, so it is essential that the site is able to adapt perfectly to any type of device. Especially when it comes to the size of the smartphone screen.

I visual content has always had a lot of importance, today video content is king. Videos help make the site design modern, different, and eye-catching.

Videos increase visitor engagement, also making the project more efficient and closer to the public. In fact, with videos it's easier to tell stories and you don't have to scroll down a page to search for certain information.

Taking into account voice searches will become more and more important. The requests made on the internet through voice search services are increasing more and more.

In Web design, Improving the User Experience is the Mission.

The goal is to help visitors, through excellent experiences, so that users turn into customers by purchasing and this regardless of the device through which the service is being used.

I buttons dedicated to A kind request they must be well positioned and scattered around the pages, the goal is to guide the user towards something, towards a goal. The purpose of CTAs is for the user to take a pre-defined action within the page.

The important thing is that these buttons are in harmony with the page.

I Pop-ups can be a potential ally if not abused. In fact, too many pop-ups can cause irritation, but with the correct approach they have the ability to attract attention, also leading to an increase in conversions.

Proper pop-up text should contain a call to action, a call to action, and the button should be eye-catching and eye-catching.

Every website, private or corporate, must take into consideration every new trend in web design. It is therefore essential to stay updated on the news of web design.

Not only is a responsive site important, but also the speed of the same.

Users often don't have the patience to wait for the site to load, so if this time exceeds expectations, the tendency is to leave the page. The expected waiting time is a few seconds.

Furthermore Google already in 2018 had given higher priority inscope of SEO campaigns and in indexing on search engines, to those sites whose loading speed was lower than the others.

In 2020, it will be necessary to ensure that multimedia content, which is increasingly important, does not weigh down the use of the website.

In addition to content, usability and speed, even the design and layout are elements to be studied and taken into account. Indeed a clean and minimalist design will be focal points in this 2020.

Elimination of all sources of disturbance and disorder they will be two elements to take care of, but minimal does not mean boring, in fact it must be minimal, but with simple graphics, captivating, to make the user experience engaging.

Even better if symmetrical layouts, without forgetting the creative part. So yes to neat, but not boring design and layout. This is to differentiate itself from its competitors.

Everything from the design to the call to action must be original.

Web Design is under the banner of interactivity

As already mentioned videos will become a fundamental ally in the conversion of users into customers. Reason why micro-animations will also become more and more important in this 2019. What role will they play? They will allow to offer the user an intuitive and more satisfying experience, through, precisely, small animations to capture attention.

Another novelty that is invading the web in 2019 will acquire more and more importance: i chatbot and artificial intelligences. But what are Chatbots? These are automated chats that allow interaction with the user without the need for a human presence, thus providing an excellent customer service, guaranteeing a presence 24 hours a day, 24 days a week all year round.

These 2020 trends are all based on the importance of creating and providing the user with an interactive experience while using the site. Clearly all this without forgetting that websites must be designed to be totally user-friendly and to be veloci, both in loading and in accessing content, so everything must be just a click away.

The contents must be optimized for the best representation on any device, not adapted separately according to the screen. The scope of Responsive Design is important and must always be taken into account.

That of infinite scrolling are very used and much appreciated stylistic effects, able to accompany the visitor while browsing the website. Clearly this practice must be adapted to the type of site.

Lo interactive storytelling if used correctly it is an important tool for creating links with the public and interest. Keywords, short stories make sure to create interest unlike neutral theses with which information can be provided to customers.

All of this adds a personal touch, for example hand drawn illustrations, images, gifs, high quality videos and backgrounds, custom fonts.

Landing Page

Another fundamental variable for many online businesses is the presence on their website of optimized landing pages that are able to intercept leads and useful contacts.

The literal translation of landing page exactly matches landing page. It is therefore a web page, apparently not too different from a normal website, to which the user arrives after clicking on an advertisement or a specific link.

The landing page falls within the digital marketing strategies created specifically to transform users into potential customers. For this reason a landing page plays a very key role important for the communication and business of a particular company.

The landing page can be created with different objectives, on the one hand it can be created with the objective of obtain data and then aim for one user conversionon the other hand, it can be realized with the sole objective of selling a product.

Based on the objectives to be achieved, the landing page must also be structured in a certain way.

What is a Landing Page?

More specifically and from a more technical point of view, a landing page corresponds to one page not indexed which, however, allows you to obtain important information on the traffic that is then generated by a specific channel.

In general, therefore, the landing page represents one of the most important elements of a strategy inbound marketing, therefore aimed at transform an anonymous user into a real contact.

This is a very important tool to do lead generation and go to increase the brand awareness of a specific business.

Furthermore, the creation of these landing pages is very often associated with programs for the creation of advertising content such as Google AdWords and Facebook Ads, in this way it is possible to further optimize the campaigns of lead generation. Thanks to this system it is not only possible to collect user data but it is also possible to profile them in a more appropriate way.

A detailed profiling of users allows, based on the stage in which you are, to go to intervene and create the landing page in a different way.

The results and effectiveness of these campaigns are such and they also make it possible to convert a percentage of visitors in a particularly effective way.

Why the Landing Page is Important

Una landing page it is very important because it allows you to direct and transform user traffic into real ones lead.

The others conversion techniques used today they are in fact not very effective. For this reason, in recent years the attention has shifted particularly to the creation of a landing page.

In the case of a landing page the contact acquisition process is not standard but varies according to the scope and context of reference. More specifically, it is a tool that in terms of structure and characteristics differs a lot from a normal website.

The first thing that catches the eye is related to the fact that a website does not contain the contact form or in any case other forms that encourage the user to take actions.

Furthermore, very often the permanence of a user on a website is not very high in percentage terms. The page abandonment rate is high because the necessary information is not always found or because the site is not engaging.

Here, a simple and effective landing page greatly increases the chances of conversion.

To increase the chances of converting users, it is necessary to create a landing page in a certain way.

In fact, an accurate and effective landing should limit the number of exits and should therefore focus attention on filling out the form.

It is very important to underline that in recent years the principles underlying the creation of an effective landing page are increasingly influencing the creation of websites.

In fact, the techniques for creating a landing page are so perfected and effective that even web masters have begun to structure websites as landing pages.

Considering that there are websites that demonstrate how the rate of permanence of a user on a web page is not that high, the goal becomes precisely that of favor the permanence of a user on the web.

To do this, it has been observed that structuring a website according to the principles of the landing page allows to obtain positive results not only in terms of positioning.

It is also possible, if not very effective, to structure a website by referring to the principles of creating a landing page.

These are in fact very effective tips that also allow your website to be optimized. This optimization also guarantees benefits especially in terms of visibility and positioning.

How to Create an Effective and Optimized Landing Page

La landing pages, since it is an effective instrument, in order to be implemented it must follow a specific strategy and must take into account some important assumptions.

Certainly having some knowledge and skills for the realization of this content is necessary to make it really effective.

In the process of creating a landing page always keep in mind that the purpose of the landing page, in particular, remember that the goal is to convert users and therefore the goal is not to distract people.

In order not to distract people e increase conversion rates it is also necessary deliver value.

In fact, a visitor will be inclined to compile a forum only if he has actually been satisfied by the proposal contained on the site.

As in other communication strategies, also for landing page i content play a role very important. It is therefore very important to go and create gods captivating and quality content not too long but simply very effective.

More in detail the contents of a landing page should be:

1. educational
2. Useful
3. Quality

Furthermore, as regards the contents it is very important to pay pay attention to the type of language which is used. THE contenti, especially those runners, they should be exposed in plain, understandable language at all but at the same time not too generic.

Only if these aspects are satisfied will the user be more inclined to subscribe in the form.

In addition, to validate and push users to fill in the form even more, it is advisable, if possible, to insert content that can be downloaded by the user, which once the form has been filled in will be able to proceed with the download.

In general therefore for make a landing page very effective it's important:

• restrict browsing. If the goal is to create lead generation, you need to make sure that the user stays on that page. Creating a simple site without many other pages inside it is essential to capture the attention of users, who will not be so pushed to click on other pages. A landing page user friendly it is very important to facilitate navigation on the landing page.
• Clarity and brevity in the contents and in the structure it is very important, optimizing from an SEO perspective. Don't forget the goal you are creating a landing page for. And above all, that the abandonment rate of web pages is high. With simple, clear and short content you will be able to keep the attention of your users alive.
• Do not underestimate the graphics. The eye also wants its part. Taking care of the graphic aspects is very important to make a site particularly attractive.
• I content they must be consistent and relevant between them but also with your goal.
• Also don't underestimate the possibility of sharing of the landing page in social media. The fact that they can be shared can greatly increase the success of your promotional campaign, particularly when combined with programmatic advertising, as Facebook Ads;
• Don't forget to enter the contact form. The call to action must be always very explicit.

 

When you think about the content to write, try to identify yourself with the user and the question that has been asked. The goal is precisely to create simple answers that go straight to the point. A simple reading makes it possible to keep the user longer on the page.

The structure of a landing page should include an introduction part, a more detailed explanation part of the purposes, the closing part and finally the contacts or the part linked to the purchase.

In this 2020, where the web is becoming a sea of ​​services, emerging is more and more a challenge, which is why emotionally engaging the visitor on the website is the way to go. The basics remain the same, but the creativity and personalization must prevail. Websites must be user-oriented, offering quality, engaging and highly personalized content, all this and good SEO skills for search engine indexing will allow you to emerge and be successful in the sea of ​​the World Wide Web.