When it comes to building and designing a website, it’s easy to get caught up in the creative aspects like the layout and images. We often draw inspiration from other websites and focus on creating a visually stunning site that reflects our brand.

However, before diving into the aesthetics, there are more crucial elements to address – the goals and objectives of your website. Whether you’re building it yourself or working with a web designer or developer, understanding your website’s purpose is the first step every business owner should take.

Without clear goals, how can you measure your website’s success? How can you effectively communicate your intentions to a website designer? While making money online and providing information to your audience are common aspirations, you need to define your metrics for success and analyze your website’s performance once it’s launched.

Not knowing your goals and objectives is like driving without a destination in mind – you’ll keep going, hoping to arrive somewhere by chance.

Now that we understand the importance of setting website goals, let’s determine what your goals should be and why they matter. To help you get started, we’ve outlined some simple steps and provided examples of goals that can contribute to the long-term success of your website.

Begin by listing your general business goals and then explore how your website can help you achieve them. While you may desire a visually appealing website, what does that actually mean for your business?

Is it about increasing revenue?

Maximizing profits?

Improving client satisfaction?

Reducing your working hours?

Showcasing your portfolio or services?

Educating and providing resources?

Increasing brand awareness?

Avoid setting unrealistic goals. While attracting a million visitors within a year may sound appealing, it’s unlikely to happen unless you’re a large corporation. Furthermore, why do you want a million visitors? Your website goals should have a purpose beyond superficial metrics. Consider the main objective of your site and the information you want visitors to know, as well as the specific action you want them to take. Write these goals down.

Effective website goals are SMARTER:

Specific: Clearly defined and targeted.

Measurable: Quantifiable, allowing for progress tracking.

Achievable: Realistic and within reach.

Relevant: Aligned with your business objectives.

Time-sensitive: Set within a specific timeframe.

Evaluated: Assessed regularly to ensure effectiveness.

Reviewed: Adjusted or refined based on ongoing analysis.

So, what website goals should you set?

While your goals will vary based on your industry, products or services, and your current website status, here are the top three common website goals for most businesses:

Increasing conversions:

This goal involves turning leads into online sales. Whether it’s selling products, gaining subscribers, receiving contact form submissions, email inquiries, phone calls for service purchase, paid speaking opportunities, or improving profit margins, making more money is a popular website goal.

Examples of this type of website goal include:

• Increase monthly qualified leads by 25%.
• Improve the website’s conversion rate by 5%.
• Boost online monthly sales by 40%.
• Reduce website costs by 10% (measured in dollars or employee hours) through the use of a content management system (CMS) that automates updates.

Establishing authority and brand recognition:

Becoming the go-to authority in your niche shortens the sales cycle, enhances marketing efforts, and makes everything easier. Demonstrating your expertise by explaining services and providing valuable information helps achieve this goal.

Examples of this type of website goal include:

• Increase awareness of a new service by 70% (measured through surveys before and after website launch).
• Repositioning yourself to target a new market.
• Implementing a rebranding strategy.

Automating and streamlining processes:

Your website should save you time. By leveraging the right software and integrations, your website can streamline and automate various tasks, such as sending automated emails to new subscribers. Your website should work for you, not the other way around.

Examples of this type of website goal include:

• Improve client satisfaction by 10%.
• Reduce task completion time by 25%.
• Decrease support time and costs by 15% by implementing online customer support on the website.

It’s essential to set realistic goals that match your company’s capabilities. Avoid setting unattainable goals that may lead to demotivation.

However, if you’re a big dreamer and small goals won’t satisfy your ambition, ask yourself: What’s your big, audacious goal? The one you think is unachievable? The one that makes you say “I can’t” just before envisioning it. Write that goal down too.

Post your goals on your vision board, journal, social media, or bathroom mirror, right next to the sticker that says “you are beautiful,” and believe that you can achieve them. Then, get to work or hire a website designer to help you accomplish them.

Now that you’ve identified your business goals and have faith in your ability to achieve them, let’s discuss how your website can help you crush those goals.

How to Accomplish Your Goals With Your Website:

Appeal to your ideal visitor:

If you want more online leads, the key is compelling copy. Write website content that attracts your target market. Identify the problems they face and explain how your business can provide solutions. State the problem and present your solution in three simple steps. Make it easy for visitors to take the next action with clear calls to action. If you struggle with sales copy, consider hiring a website copywriter for assistance.

Make your site design user-friendly:

To gain new readers, subscribers, or improve user satisfaction, ensure your site has a responsive design, fast load times (under 3 seconds), clear headings for easy scanning, and effective navigation (fewer than five top-level pages in the primary navigation). Remove any unnecessary content or flashy third-party advertisements from your site.

Drive more traffic with SEO:

Increase website traffic through search engine optimization (SEO). This involves using keywords on your pages, utilizing proper heading tags, creating compelling meta descriptions, regularly updating your blog or content, obtaining quality backlinks, and engaging in social media advertising (organic or paid). Get started with SEO by following five easy steps.

Blog regularly and update popular posts:

Consistently publishing quality blog posts can significantly increase traffic, especially when authoritative websites reference and link to them. This very blog post you’re reading now is currently our most popular. We continuously update it with new information and repost it with the current date to boost traffic.

If you aspire to be an authority in your industry, consider writing a book or maintaining a regular blog and sharing it widely. Discuss topics relevant to your industry to demonstrate your expertise. Provide valuable free information to build trust. Once people trust and like you, they are more likely to buy from you.

Additionally, when visitors spend more time reading your website (increased dwell time), search engines like Google take notice, which can improve your search engine ranking.

Increase your email subscribers:

To boost sales, focus on building an email list and leveraging email marketing. Use your website to capture emails by offering visitors something valuable in exchange, such as an eBook, discount code, or exclusive newsletter content. Email marketing keeps customers informed, maintains top-of-mind awareness, and drives more sales.

Increase social mentions:

Just as you appreciate direct referrals from friends or family, social mentions serve as organic online referrals. Make your content easily shareable by adding “click to tweet” links for text quotes, “pin it” buttons for images and graphics, and social sharing buttons for your blog posts. When people share and repost your content, they help market your business.

Make your website accessible:

Accessibility is crucial for ensuring that people with disabilities or visual impairments can easily use your site. Use descriptive links, add alt tags to images, provide subtitles for videos, ensure adequate font size (no smaller than 16px for body type), and use strong color contrast. You can scan your site for violations or integrate an accessibility widget to deliver an accessible digital experience.

Measure your success and build on it:

Assess your current position by examining your analytics. Select as many goals as you can effectively manage and implement them on your website for a specific duration. Then, check your analytics monthly to measure the changes, identify what’s working, and what needs improvement.

If you haven’t set up Google Analytics yet, sign up for a free account and place the unique tracking code on your site.

Have you tried any of these strategies before to achieve your online goals? Did you find this blog helpful? What are your website goals? Let me know in the comments below.

If you’re unsure about the goals and objectives you should set for your website, we’re here to help. Get in touch with us today.