There are approximately 2 billion websites in the world. This vast number grows faster and faster every year because entrepreneurs know that a company website is an absolute must-have. Why? Today, before anyone buys something from you or starts cooperation with you - they first check your website! Being online is, therefore, a necessity. But - what is equally important - it is also one of the most effective ways to develop a company and achieve various business goals. What exactly are these goals? How to use the website to increase sales and build more customer loyalty? You will find the answers to all your questions in this article!

It isn't easy to carry out any professional activities without being online. This place has become the primary customer acquisition, networking, and sales source. And it is the website that many people use to coordinate these activities and measure their effectiveness, i.e., the achievement of the assumed goals. 

There are many purposes for which you may need a website. A website can help you connect with customers, sell products or services, or share information with the world.

Some companies use websites to provide information about their business, such as products or services offered, contact details and working hours. Other companies use the website as an online store to sell products and services online. 

Many also use the website for more private purposes. This could be sharing information about personal life, such as interests and hobbies, or blogging about your thoughts and experiences. The website can also be used to store files such as photos or documents or even create an online portfolio. 

Each website has its purpose, very often even several. Remember, however, that the more goals, the more complicated and time-consuming your website will be. It will require much more analytical work to create its concept to avoid losing the results in achieving specific goals. That is why BOWWE recommends creating websites that only pursue the most important goals of your company. Alternatively, if you want a site with multiple purposes, invest more in analyzing it.

If you are paying for a page or spending time doing it yourself (for example, in a non-coding page builder), you are not doing it without a purpose. After all, you don't want your time and money to be wasted. 

Each business happening (but not only that!) should have a clearly defined goal. Why? Setting clear goals will help you direct your decisions and actions to help you achieve that goal. What does it mean? When you know what you want to achieve, you subordinate your choices and actions to this goal - it helps you make better decisions and be more effective and faster.

When you set an overarching goal, you can set individual stages that - step by step - will bring you closer to its implementation. This way, you will create an action plan. And as you probably know, planned activities in business are always better than chaotic, unorganized decision-making. 

Consider what the purpose of the website will suit the earning model. The purpose of a website belonging to a freelance graphic designer will be different than that of a website belonging, for example, to a training company.

Two more steps are crucial in flawlessly setting the goal of the website:

1) Analyzing who is (or will be) the recipients of your website

2) Analyzing the current situation - yours or your business 

Why are these two steps so necessary? If you do them incorrectly, or worse - you won't do it. You can set your main goal incorrectly. And then your website will simply be ineffective. It will not respond to the needs of your customers. It will not help you develop your career or business. It will not bring you profit.

Once you have correctly done the analysis mentioned above, you will know at what stage your business is and in what direction you want to develop it. Remember, however, that there is a difference between the goals you set for yourself or your business and the website. Even though they are closely related, they don't always mean the same thing.

For example, working as a graphic designer, your goal may be, for example, to develop your skills, perform interesting orders and ensure a constant amount of them so that you do not have to worry about a continuous inflow of finances. A website will help you achieve these goals, to be more specific - an online portfolio. However, the direct goal of the website itself will be to demonstrate your skills to potential clients - to gain their trust and encourage them to contact you. Achieving the website's goals will translate into achieving personal goals - it will provide you with an endless number of orders and regular income. You can probably already see the difference between your goals and your website's goals and their connection.

Now let's take the example of a restaurant owner. Its goal may be, for example, to develop the company by offering the highest quality service to its customers. How will his website relate to this? In this case, a great solution will be to place on it, among others: a seat reservation form and an application for ordering food online. The purpose of such a website will be to collect table reservations and sell orders, which - thanks to its convenience - will translate into a higher level of customer service. Thus, the website also meets the direct goal of the restaurant owner and brings him additional profits!

Regardless of whether you are an entrepreneur or a freelancer - this is by far the most important goal that your website should pursue! 

In just 0.5 seconds, users form opinions about your website and thus about you, your brand, and your offer. Therefore, it is crucial to have a professional website that will inspire trust from the very first visit.  

By inspiring trust, you create the belief in customers that they have chosen the right person or company to meet their needs or solve problems. If you provide them with the value they are looking for (it could be a service, product, commission, or many others), the likelihood that they will recommend you to others or become your loyal customers increases significantly. Why? Because people like to go back to places where they feel good and recommend them to their friends. This is our natural behavior! Use them to your advantage.

Remember that the website is your business card that helps you build your image. The appearance and content of your website affect how others perceive you and your offer. 

a) Encourage and share reviews - nearly 9 out of 10 people try to view reviews before purchasing a product. Use it! Encourage your existing customers to give feedback and provide free and easy access to them for potential customers.

b) Take care of a professional and consistent look - the first impression is as much as 94% related to the website's appearance. Ensure that the website layout is accessible and refers to the subject of the website and the industry you represent.

Documenting what you have achieved so far on the website presents you as a professional and helps build the trust of others towards your offer. By supplementing your achievements on an ongoing basis and giving other internet users an insight into them, you open up many opportunities for yourself. They can be: finding a job, establishing valuable contacts, or acquiring a new client.

What types of achievements and results should be presented on the website? Even if you do not have a lot of experience and many completed projects, you can, for example, show your diplomas or training courses that you have completed. If you have more extended work experience, show what you have managed to accomplish so far, the effects, or how many clients you have already served. Remember that achievements and results can be presented in many ways, no matter how many you have

a) Create an online portfolio - it can be an integral part of your website. It will allow you to present all your experience and achievements in one place, without moving users to another page, for example. In this article, you'll learn how to create an online portfolio in just a few steps. 

b) Use infographics - listing your achievements and any results is not an attractive form of presentation. It is worth using all kinds of visual materials that will present all information in a quick but clear way. Be aware that people remember 65% of the information they see visually.

As a freelancer or entrepreneur, you provide your customers with a product or service - a specific value - that is very important to them as it solves their problems, so they will choose someone to solve their problems to gain their trust. What do you think, will they choose you if they don't know anything about your offer? Why would they do this?

As many as 47% of users view a section with a service or product offer before becoming interested in other sections. This means that presenting your product on your website is extremely important! After all, it is one of the most wanted infrormation for potential clients. 

Thanks to the website, you can attractively present your offer. You can make yourself known to your customers. By clearly describing what you do, you will dispel their doubts, and by speaking about the benefits of your offer, you will encourage them to choose you!

a) Create a split - a viral solution when creating price lists is creating several plans targeting different audiences. This makes it easy for users to purchase based on their needs.  

b) Be transparent - recipients visit the website to get information that is important to them. They expect them to be easy to find and transparent. This is especially important when presenting an offer, including a price list. According to 78% of users, the price list is mandatory product information and sales element. Make sure to indicate directly what is included in the offer and its price. Even if you negotiate prices often, it is worth mentioning at least the possible cost.

65% of users expect easily accessible contact information. This is good news as it signals that potential recipients are very eager to make contact. Placing your contact information on the website in an easily accessible and visible place will make it easier for them to find you, and it will allow you to attract new customers. 

Another advantage of using a website as a place of contact is to streamline all communication and guide it through your preferred channels. Depending on what information you include in the contact details section, you signal the easiest way to contact you. You can provide a phone number, e-mail address, contact form, or even a chatbot. Thanks to this, you will make it easier for potential customers to contact you and keep in touch later.  

People buy more willingly from companies and brands with which they build a lasting, emotional relationships and constant contact. What should such a relationship be based on? Of course, on trust! A proven method of creating it is communicating with your clients and constantly contacting them. It doesn't just mean face-to-face conversation. The visual layer of your website, social media profile, posts, blog articles, and any type of content you release from your own or your company's brand is your communication with customers!

a) Add contact details - while on the home page, 64% of respondents want to see contact details. So make sure to place them in an easily accessible and visible place. This way, you will inform recipients of the fastest and easiest way to contact you to get a quick response. 

b) Use Chatbot - 68.9% of conversations are conducted from start to finish by chatbots. For example, preparing ready-made answers to the most common questions will save a lot of time that you will be able to spend on solving more complicated customer problems. 

Once you start building relationships with your customers and build their trust, your next step should be to build a loyal customer base. Customers should know that choosing your offer will simply pay off the most. 

Why should you care about building your community? In this way, you will get engaged recipients who will provide you with continuous feedback and be much more willing to use your offer and recommend it to others. According to 68% of companies, having a community contributes to creating new leads.

a) Create a loyalty program - it will help you build a contact base of loyal customers and increase their engagement by organizing special promotions, collecting points, etc. Loyal customers can spend up to 67% more than new customers!

b) Launch comments or forum - this will allow you to receive feedback from customers on an ongoing basis. You will also reach them faster this way and respond to emerging problems or needs. 

If the cost of acquiring a new customer - whether counted in finances or overtime - is high for you and you want to reduce it, a website focused on generating leads will help you effectively. 

Getting leads through your website is essential as it will allow you to reach potential customers interested in your product or service directly. 

For 91% of marketers, generating leads is their most important goal. For this reason, they eagerly use various means of developing them - including a website. 

a) Create a contact form - is one of the best ways to generate leads. The average conversion rate for online forms is around 21.5% (depending on the industry). This form allows you to immediately obtain the contact details of potential customers, which makes it easier to establish closer contact with them. 

b) Apply CTA actions - one goal is to get the job done. Help to make your future newsletter a golden chance for the better.

In 2020, the number of e-commerce websites exceeded 20 million! This is a massive number of websites whose primary purpose is online sales. Remember, however, that your website will always be involved in the sales process regardless of its type. Every time you attract traffic to your website thanks to blog entries, portfolio, or customer opinions, you influence customers' purchasing decisions - each time you participate in the sales process.

Did you know that a blog is an excellent source of generating leads and increasing traffic on the website? As many as 70% of people prefer to get information from a blog rather than traditional ads.  

High positioning - thanks to creating additional content, such as blog articles, your website will position itself on a more significant number of keywords. This is a perfect way of achieving a high position in search results.

More traffic - your potential customers search the search engine with questions that you can answer by blogging. If they find your articles on the web and are on your website, they will guarantee you more traffic, which positively affects positioning. If you provide them with quality content that answers their questions, they will remember your page well and return to it in the future. It also increases the probability that they will choose you from among the competition!

Profitable cooperation -  by running a blog that a regular group of readers visits, you become an attractive partner for many companies that could advertise on it. Sponsored articles, affiliations, and advertisements... there are plenty of opportunities to earn money on your blog! 

Expert image - by serving your recipients high-quality content, you will become an expert in their eyes over time. When looking for answers to their questions, they will be guided by your blog. They will recommend it to their friends. Thus, you will gain their trust. And if you decide to launch a product signed with your brand or name, they will buy it from you more willingly! 

a) Create up-to-date and valuable content - when it comes to a blog, it's all about quality, not quantity. If you provide this type of content to your audience, they will be happy to visit your blog and recommend it to others.

b)  Take care of SEO - this is about optimizing your content to appear high in search results. Thanks to this, you will get more traffic on your website and reach more recipients. Google is the number one source of traffic for high-income bloggers. 

Just having a website won't make you immediately successful. Sometimes it may turn out that it doesn't help achieve the previously assumed goal. This can happen when the purpose is unclear or the page wasn't built based on it. However, how to check if you have identified us correctly and if the website fulfills it? 

There are many ways to test if your website is meeting its goals. One of them is to look at the site's statistics can help Google Analytics. These tools provide a vast database that shows essential information about the website and its users. What data is best to pay attention to verify our website's effectiveness for a specific purpose?

1. The level of traffic on the website.

2. Number of subscriptions to the newsletter or filling out the contact form

3. Sales level

4. Ad clickability

These are just some of the essential data that should be monitored on an ongoing basis to ensure that the website fulfills its purpose. However, the data that should be checked depends on what task you assigned to your website. Different statistics will be more critical for the blog creator than for the online store owner. However, in both cases, page statistics provide an opportunity to control the achievement of the website's goals.

Another way to verify a website's performance is to conduct a user survey to see if they find what they are looking for and are satisfied with it. This is, of course, a method that requires closer contact with the audience. However, various types of surveys and forums on the website or other media, where the users of a given website (e.g., private group on Facebook) are focused, can be helpful. 

Regardless of which method you have chosen to test a website's performance against its purpose, it is most important to remember to check it at all times.  

Are you ready to create your own website? Be sure to read the following materials: 

24 Crucial Questions To Ask Before Hiring A Web Designer 

Cost Of The Top-Class Website In 2022. Full List Of Costs

Create a Website From Scratch by Yourself! [Full Guide]