05 Apr 2023
We want all of our clients to have a best in class
website, that is customer led and at a price that works for you. The first step
to any successful website development project is research. But what exactly
does that entail? And what tools do we use to make sure we’re making the best
decisions for you?
How to Research Websites
There
are a few different ways to research websites. One way is to simply browse the
web and look at what other rival brands are doing. This can give you a good
idea of their website performance, what platforms they use to build their web
platform and how they use UI/UX to engage their customers.
These
tools can give you insights into how people are interacting with websites, what
keywords they're using, and what their traffic sources are.
Finally,
you can also research websites by talking to people who use them. This can give
you valuable insights into what people like and don't like about websites, and
what they would change if they could.
Tools for Website Research
At
Yellow Panther HQ there are a number of tools we use to help us shape your
website project;
- BuiltWith: A simple tool that shows you
what your rivals used to build their website, from their CMS, CRM,
chatbots, social media integration and accessibility plugins.
- Google Analytics:
This tool provides detailed statistics on website traffic, including page
views, bounce rate, and conversion rate.
- SimilarWeb: This tool provides
information on website traffic, audience demographics popular keywords,
and competition tracking.
- Hotjar: This tool provides heatmaps and
session recordings that show how people interact with websites.
Using Research to Inform Decisions
Once
we’ve done our research, it's time to start using it to inform your decisions.
When working on a client brief, we will always run a DISCOVERY session with you
to get under the bonnet of your website project, here’s what we uncover;
- Clients' goals: What does the client want to achieve with their website? Are you a
sales platform, community platform or simply a brochure style website to
showcase your services?
- The
target audience: Who is the website for? The UI/UX is vital in ensuring we
create a platform that works for your most popular audience type, there’s
a big difference in how a website should look for Gen Zs or baby boomers.
- Clients' branding: Do you have a brand book? What are your brand values and messaging?
We need to get a feel of what you stand for and how your website can
elevate your branding.
- The
competition: What are other websites in your industry doing? Who do you
aspire to be and what do you like about the industry bigwigs that dominate
your industry.
- The
budget: We can work with clients that are bootstrapped and need a quick
MVP or larger brands who need a full redevelopment of an existing website.
Once
we have considered all of these factors, we can start to make decisions about
the website's design, content, and functionality.
Conclusion
Research
is an essential part of any successful website project. By taking the time to
research websites and use the right tools, we can make sure that we’re making
the best decisions for your clients.
If
you have a website development project, then feel free to give us a scratch!