A website that serves your audience better than your competitors will position you as an industry leader and generate more visibility around your brand.

While competitors may be building websites that have all the bells and whistles, they may be overlooking fundamental design principles that keep the needs of users in mind.

A Website With a Purpose

No matter what industry or niche you’re in, your website’s design should start with a purpose. Failing to establish website goals is one of the biggest mistakes your competitors are making.

Websites can communicate a brand identity and provide relevant information about a company’s products and services. But it needs to engage and compel users to take action.

Websites build lasting relationships that businesses need to succeed in today’s marketplace. Your site helps your audience solve their problems, learn more about your products and services, and become familiar with the people behind your brand.

Get to Know Your Competitors With a Competitive Analysis

A competitive analysis is one of the most important steps in marketing for any business. But most companies overlook the value of performing a competitive analysis when designing their websites.

Analyzing your competition’s website designs lets you see what they’re doing right as well as what they’re doing wrong.

You can learn what keywords they’re ranking for in search results as well as the functions, sales process, and follow-up systems they’re using.

There are a few things to keep in mind when analyzing a competitor’s site. Does your competitor’s website target a similar audience as your business? Does the website appear to have similar business goals as your own?

How does the website guide users toward the company’s primary offer? Is there an opt-in for users to provide their contact information? Is there a free offer that compels visitors to take some action before making a purchase?

When you evaluate the websites of your competitors, you can determine what strategy they have in place and if their websites meet the needs of their audiences.

A Website Design That Works

When visitors struggle to navigate through a site’s pages, they look elsewhere to find what they need. Design your site to be useful, engaging, visually appealing, and easier to use.

Your website should clearly state your unique selling proposition (USP). Your USP is what distinguishes you from your competitors. It’s the reason your audience should choose you as the solution to their problems.

Your website’s content and design should be simple. Your site’s visitors should know what you do, who you do it for, and how you do it.
Track the responses to your website and the behaviors of its users. This lets you make changes you can test over time. The more you test and track the results of different design strategies, the more optimized your site will be.

When you evaluate your competitors, establish goals for your own site, and use ongoing testing to find what works, you give your business a leading edge that can propel you to a new level of success in your industry.