Effective web design is the key to developing a successful and profitable online presence. In many respects, your web site acts as the virtual equivalent of an offline sales representative. In other words, it should help develop leads, instill confidence, share information, solve problems and ultimately, close the sale. Unlike a face-to-face sales professional, your web site can't rely on developing rapport with potential customers over time. Instead, it has only a few brief seconds to capture the prospect's attention and start building that all-important online relationship. Fortunately, an effective web design strategy can help accomplish this.

Effective Web Design Is Based on These 2 Key Concepts:

1.    Keeping Your Ideal Customer in Mind at All Times. A business web site should never become a corporate vanity project. You'll know your web design plan is veering dangerously off-track when it becomes more focused on "we" than on "you." Too many business owners try to establish credibility by providing too much background information about themselves and their companies. While this makes sense in theory, it can quickly overload the short attention span of online surfers.

Instead, be sure to think about what matters most to your customers and focus on how your products or services can help solve their problems. When you relate information about yourself or your firm, keep in mind the old sales adage "What does this mean to you?" Asking - and answering - this question from your customers' perspective will keep your message focused on addressing their wants and needs as you plan your web design project.

2. Getting to the Point - Clearly and Quickly. Imagine having to sit through a lengthy sales presentation that never quite gets to the point. To be polite, you try to stay focused as the salesperson go on and on about all the great features surrounding his company and product line. Unfortunately, he never really explains why these things matter to you. Instead, he keeps plowing ahead without checking to see if you have any questions or concerns. To make matters worse, he neglects to close the conversation by asking for your business, so you are left looking at each other in awkward silence. After a moment, you politely thank him for his time and show him to the door, while you silently lament the hour of your life you'll never get back.

Of course, this scenario will never occur online because visitors to your site will never hang around that long! Which means your web design team will want to focus on ways to quickly grab their attention and get them to take some specific action, such as completing a contact form, requesting more information, or buying your products. You will have a very narrow window to accomplish these goals, so the design and message of your site will need to be clear, concise and easy to follow.  Powerful attention-grabbing headlines, an easy-to-navigate site structure, and a clearly defined call-to-action are all great ways to achieve these goals.