Online rewards

Summary
• The TTJ Website of the Year award is sponsored by Daltons Wadkin.
• UX, or usability, is the buzzword in website design.
• A site’s effectiveness should be monitored through traffic analysis software.
• Websites need to adapt to changing technologies, fashions and users‘ online tastes.

Across all industries business is increasingly being transacted virtually, so with advertising and marketing budgets having a greater online focus, websites are becoming much more than just a digital company brochure. An ecommerce website means that a company now never closes and its potential customer base is global.

In recognition of the growing sophistication and creativity of timber industry websites, TTJ is launching a new Website of the Year category in this year’s TTJ Awards. Sponsored by Daltons Wadkin, the award is an excellent opportunity to showcase your company website, to demonstrate how your site stands out from that of your competitors and receive the recognition deserved.

The Website of the Year Award, the criteria for which are set out below, will focus on how a very traditional industry has adapted and embraced the use of new technology. The internet is a no-frontiers world, so it is essential that businesses of all sizes use this technology. Most obviously a website can be seen as an additional sales channel; however, it can be so much more. It is essential for all businesses to develop an online marketing strategy and incorporate this into the overall business plan.

Website design

A website’s home page needs to create an immediate visual impact through a clean design with strong branding and clear navigation. The design must be functional, signposting users to relevant products and services, with obvious calls to action, ie “download brochure”, “sign up to newsletter”, “follow us on Twitter” and the other business objectives of the website. Consider carefully the use of prolonged animated introductions, large images and the page loading speeds and how they may contribute to or detract from your website’s core function.

Additionally, the code behind the design should validate to the correct standard and comply with the Disability Discrimination Act.

Website content needs to be current, original and appeal to the target audience. Copy needs to be factual, informative, and well written and it should incorporate the terms and phrases search engines would use to find your products and services. Good photography is vital: remember, a website is competing with physical outlets where customers can view and feel the products in person. Creative and innovative use of photography and video that best replicates in-store browsing, combined with relevant product descriptions, will facilitate online sales. Video is also an effective medium for tutorials and “how to” articles and instructions on using the products and services.

Regular updates

Another essential is to ensure the website’s content is not out of date. Regularly updated sites receive more visitors and more traffic to the site will increase the site’s credibility with search engines.

Don’t forget to adhere to the rules and regulations. There are lots of terms and standards for advertising and selling from a website that must be met as a legal requirement.

UX – or useability – is the current buzzword in web design. A website needs to be easy to use and straight forward, with the majority of usability common sense. However, translating this into a website can prove more complicated that it sounds. It is important to think about and test how users move around the website and find the information they require. User testing is an important element of website development and can provide valuable information regardless of where the website is in its life cycle.

Websites need to adapt easily to fast-changing new technologies, fashions and users’ online tastes. They need to keep pace with the demands placed on them by the evolving needs of one’s customers and suppliers, so a flexible structure and an open architecture are advantageous.

Clear objectives

Regardless of the size of the business a company needs to have clear objectives of what its website is trying to achieve. It is only when the objectives are measured and monitored that the website’s effectiveness can be assessed. It is important that these objectives are reviewed regularly and updated as the business grows or changes direction. It is essential that a website has traffic analytics software installed to help monitor its effectiveness.

With so much innovative new technology launched recently it is interesting to see how different companies harness these new tools to enhance their business offering, whether it be technical data sheets and instruction manuals; video footage of products and services; finding a customer’s nearest branch via geo-location technology; or ecommerce integration with existing stock control, logistics, and warehouse management systems.