In many cases, your website will provide the first and only impression an
individual or organization has of your organization. It needs to be user-friendly,
reinforce your organization’s credibility, and allow visitors to easily find tools on
your site that allow them to complete actions that they value. But, first your
website needs to be found by the right people. In this workshop, you’ll learn the
following from a panel of four New England digital marketing and IT experts:
Phil McCormick (Philip McCormick’s Design Works, Inc.):
How important it is to put sufficient time and thought into your site design, so that it both reflects your organization, and resonates with your target audiences.
Robin Clapp (Web Design By Robin):
Why you need to give great thought to the user experience (UX) and allow for navigation and interactive tools that are both intuitive and meet site visitor needs. We have all visited some great websites, and we have definitely visited some outdated sites as well. But we are not just talking about how a site looks on your laptop. We are talking about security, ease of use, and opportunity for visitor interaction. For instance, Google now requires all websites to have an SSL certificate to secure all data passed between web browsers and websites to protect the information of your online visitors. If your website URL does not have a padlock symbol, you may be putting your site visitors at risk, or worse, turning visitors away. An outdated site may be missing many other key elements
Gail Snow Moraski (Results Communications & Research):
What search engine optimization (SEO) work you need to complete prior to site launch to ensure your site has the best chance to be found on Google
Stephen Almeida (Almeida & Associates):
While planning your website, it is good to start thinking about what actions you are looking to accomplish on your site.