You know you need a website. It is your home on the Internet. It is the place where all of the information about your small business or nonprofit organization lives. It is the place people come to visit to learn more about your small business or nonprofit organization. It is also the place where prospects turn into leads and customers. How on the earth do you create a website full of information that will not only interest your visitors, but encourage them to ask you for more information about your products or services? You need to write compelling content designed to drive dollars and donations.

Maybe you already have a website or are starting a plan to build one. You’re staring at a blank screen or sheet of paper, trying to figure out how to build your online home to make it visitor friendly. At Point Taken Communications, we suggest developing your site and compelling website content as if you were building a house. Lay the foundation first, put up the framing, add trim and fixtures and finish with a final inspection.

Lay your website foundation

Create an outline of all of the information you want to include on your website. Analyze your customers and figure out what questions your site needs to answer for them. Our content creation worksheet, which you can register to download below, is filled with great questions to help you lay your website’s foundation. Decide on your keywords (the words you’d like your site to rank for in Google, Yahoo! or Bing) and prepare to write content using those words.

Frame your website

After you have figured out what content you’d like included on your site, decide how you’d like it laid out. Select the pages you would like to use on your main menu and write to them. Include your keywords in your page titles, copy and and meta descriptions so you have a better chance of ranking for those terms. Remember to include pages that answer all of your prospective clients’ and current clients’ questions so that your website becomes a resource of valuable information. Don’t forget to include “About Us” and “Contact Us” pages to make it easy for visitors to learn more about your leadership and how to get more information about your products and services.

Add trim and fixtures

Download pictures from a stock photo site like iStock, dreamstime or 123rf.com or use some of your own photos to make your website more appealing. Remember to use your keywords in the photo titles and alternative text for an even better chance of ranking in search engines.

Finish with a final inspection

Proofread, proofread, proofread. Go over ever detail of your website and make sure you are happy with everything about it. Inspect it like you would a home before purchase and make sure all of the content is compelling, complete and correct.

Need help creating compelling website content? oontact us for help developing your website and its content.