Three Ways To Ensure Your Web Investments Succeed
In this guest piece, Elizabeth Wyatt (pictured below), technical consultant at Squiz Australia, shares with us three key things to keep in mind to ensure success for any new web project.
With consumers now accessing websites on multiple devices, from different platforms and channels, and with a growing standard for speed and usability, businesses need to be treating their corporate websites as ongoing investments, rather than ‘build and forget’ projects.
A website built five years ago may have been suitable for online visitors of that time, but if it isn’t mobile optimised, quick to load, content-heavy and SEO-friendly, it is probably overdue for a revamp.
Marketers are increasingly investing in website optimisation, demonstrating that they acknowledge the necessity of these investments to be high. Implementing the right strategies and processes to ensure any web-related projects start and continue to deliver strong results, however, is a challenge.
Understand and clarify the business requirements
Any business looking to refresh or newly-create a web presence needs to set clear goals and objectives for what this web presence will achieve. Is it linked to driving sales, leads, brand awareness, content downloads, partnerships, or traffic to other websites? Depending on whether the aim is to achieve one or all of these things, the design, layout, and overall process of undergoing the web project will change significantly.
The more detailed marketers and technical teams can become when defining their exact business goals and how these link to the type of web project that they are looking to undertake, the more successful the project will be.
It is also critical to ensure all stakeholders, from the customer service teams to the CEO of the business, are completely supportive of the efforts being driven. Once the web project is complete, having it meet expectations of the people who will be using or sharing it around will be key to its success, and creating buy-in and support before the project kicks off is one of the simplest ways to ensure this from the start.
Get up-close and personal with the technology
Whether it has been decided to work with a third-party consultancy or directly with new technical tools, marketers and technical teams need to have a clear understanding of what technologies are being used for their web project and why. The options available today are endless for content management systems (CMS), customer relationship management systems (CRM), website traffic analysis, and more.
Consequently, if businesses are not clear on why they should pick one tool over another, they should not only be seeking advice from experts in that space, but they should also be very thoroughly assessing the unique aspects of their web project that will determine its success or failure.
Certain options will be more inclined towards delivering optimal accessibility, flexibility, or integration capabilities, for example, and understanding which factors are priorities will significantly help in the technical decision-making process.
Once the technologies are understood and optimised to align with the goals of the project and the overall business, the involved teams can then ensure they are making the most of those technologies and minimising spend on unnecessary ‘nice to have’ features or investments.
Roll your sleeves up and get involved
It is tempting for marketers or technical teams to submit requirements to a third party or separate department, and then leave them to their own devices. While they’re becoming increasingly time-poor with more responsibilities to juggle than ever, it is crucial to stay involved in web projects at every step of the way. Receiving a brief is a completely different process to delivering on the brief, and whoever is responsible for implementing the project needs to have a go-to person in both the marketing and technology departments to regularly confirm whether they are investing their efforts and resources in the right areas.
Opening up channels of communication in the web project process is vital. Seemingly simple misunderstandings like an incorrect colour scheme, logo placement, or visitor journey could take weeks or even months to amend. Checking in with the implementation teams on a weekly or daily basis may seem tedious at first, but the long-term savings will be well worth the upfront time investment.
A large-scale web project can be intimidating, and depending on the function of your business, could be one of the biggest undertakings you have from both a marketing and technological standpoint. However, this only makes it all the more important for marketers and technical teams to take responsibility and accountability for the success of these projects as seriously as possible, and work closely together to ensure this happens.
Web projects shouldn’t be taken lightly, but the processes to reach the end goal are simple. Taking charge of the project before kick off by determining robust goals that fit with the business strategy will give you the best possible start. Educating the wider team on the importance of remaining focused on the long-term goals will ensure company-wide buy-in for the duration of the project. Finally, the marketing and technical teams should stay involved and make continual inputs into how the project is progressing and could be further improved.
By committing to these simple processes, the success of your web project is only three steps away.
Latest News
The Mars Agency Announces Latest Findings Of Retail Media Report Card
The Mars Agency has developed a scorecard that assesses the capabilities of leading platforms across key criteria required to optimally plan, execute, and measure effective retail media programs. The scorecard aims To help brands efficiently evaluate their spending options across retail media networks in Australia (and New Zealand). With spending on retail media advertising in […]
‘It’s The Lesser Of Two Evils’ – NRL Eyes US Betting Market As Aussie Regulators Circle
US betting firms will be delighted by the circa 50,000 Americans who could soon watch the NRL on their favourite app.
A-League In Deep Discussions With New Partner To Keep Games On TV After Production Company Enters Administration
The A-League's insatiable appetite for scoring own goals continues.
TV Ratings (27/03/2024): Jungle Members At War Over Concealed Lipstick
A heated argument between two jungle members did the numbers for Ten last night, with I’m A Celeb obtaining a total national reach of 1,282,000. Fans were delighted as Candice Warner and influencer Skye Wheatley got into it over a stick of lipstick, leading Warner to dub the Instagram star “selfish.” Wheatley, best known for […]
Is The Australian Music Industry In Trouble? Inquiry Launched Following Splendour Cancellation
Earlier this week, an inquiry was launched into the challenges and opportunities currently facing the Australian live music industry in the wake of multiple festival cancellations. On 25 March 2024, the Minister for the Arts, the Hon. Tony Burke MP, asked the Committee on Communications and the Arts to inquire into and report on the […]
Liana Dubois, Leandro Perez, Aimee Buchanan & More Gather For Inaugural Compadres Leadership Event
Didn't get the invite? Perhaps you're not as important as you thought.
Cathay Captures The Unforgettable Thrill Of Cathay/HSBC Hong Kong Rugby Sevens, Via Publicis
Nobody does rugby like Hong Kong, apparently. Certainly nobody does it as badly as Australia.
Cocogun Nabs Christine Watts, Kirsty Reynolds & Shev Tan Bolstering Management & Creative Teams
Cocogun bolsters its team with new hires. Committed to purchasing a bigger sofa, too.
The Media Store’s Jacquie Alley & Sam Cousins Take The Plunge With Pro-Bono Work For Cure Cancer
B&T chats with The Media Store bosses about their great pro-bono work and sponsored swim.
Hawke’s Brewing Co. Taps Rocket Comms For PR Agency Following Competitive Pitch
We're expecting Rocket Comms productivity to crash in spectacular fashion following this win.
Spotlight On Sponsors: Patties Serves Up A Taste Of Home For Olympians & South Sydney Rabbitohs Recommit To Gambling Reform
While the Rabbitohs commits to gambling reform, B&T reckons the team should commit to a decent auto sponsor.
Google: “Inevitable” That Bad Actors Will Abuse Ads Platform As Advertiser Account Suspensions Double
Google maintains it's simply impossible for it to entirely stop bad people placing & paying for ads using its service.
Quantcast Expands APAC Sales Team With Appointment Of News Corp Account Manager
No pressure at all when you are appointed as a client success manager.
Publicis Sapient Tests Microsoft-Powered Gen AI Search Tool With Homes & Villas By Marriott Bonvoy
Given Gen AI's record for mangling stuff, B&T cannot see the problem with letting it decide your next holiday digs.
Volkswagen & DDB Group’s “Roo Badge” To Reduce Kangaroo Related Road Collisions
Watch out for RooBadge as Cannes Lions' most debated campaign this year.
Twilio Launches Unified Profiles & Agent Copilot Features To Boost Productivity & Engagement
Agent Copilot sounds like James Bond's less interesting cousin.
Reebok & Honda Among New Clients For onetwo agency
OneTwo finally lives up to its name with this double billing.
Ogilvy Report: Throw Out The Social Strategy Rule Book, The Rules Of The Past No Longer Apply
B&T was puzzled that all 'influencers' aren't, effectively, 'virtual', but here we are.
WhiteGREY & AKQA Merge In Australia, Lee Simpson Departs
Fortunately, the combined agencies aren't opting for a trite portmanteau for the new name.
Splendour In The Grass 2024 Music Festival Cancelled!
Music fans all over the country reportedly relieved they can pack away their rain coats and gumboots for another year.
TV Ratings (26/03/2024): “Fairy Bread, F***ing Disgusting”: Gordon Ramsay Slams Aussie Food In Food Stars Launch
Ramsay not one for mincing his words, even when it comes to minced meat pies.
Paramount+ International Boss Doubles Down On Aussie Content, Says Ad-Tier will Grow Audiences And Revenue
Good news as Paramount will not be binning I’m A Celebrity for re-runs of Frasier.
Brent Smart: Telstra Pushing For 50-50 Brand-Performance Split But Warns Numbers ‘Won’t Look Great’ Initially
The old brand vs performance debate continues. But here, Brent is firmly sitting on the fence.
Crowded House, Tones And I & Dom Dolla Win Big At The Shure Rolling Stone Music Awards
B&T staffer reports back with humdinger of a hangover & feeling seriously uncool after mixing with music types.
Opinion: Dyslexia “A Hidden Gem” For Brands & Agencies
Dyslexics offer underappreciated benefits in the corporate field, according to this op-ed.
David Jones Taps Criteo To Power Online Retail Media Arm
Want to see ads for things you probably can't afford? David Jones has got you covered with new retail media play.
oOh!media Sets Up Team To Target Business Audiences Across Airports & Offices
oOh! wants brands to harass you every minute of your next business trip.
QMS Launches Australian First DOOH & TV Partnership With Samba TV
Samba TV, of course, is not a channel dedicated to dancing. Much to our dismany.
Slew Of New Hires At Amplify
Four new faces join the Amplify offices. Team say desk scarcity becoming "acute".
Adobe Announces Content Authenticity Initiative Expansions To Counter Deep Fakes
Try as they might to enlighten them, we suspect Trump supporters will continue to watch and believe Fox News.
The PR Group Appoints TechCrunch Senior Reporter Catherine Shu As Director Of Content & Media
Catherine Shu makes the bold leap from journalism to PR. Says inevitable pay bump was "unrelated".
HERO Nabs Ebony Santin From AMPR
Rumours Santin cleared out the stationery cupboard before departing are as yet unconfirmed.
Karena Noble Checks Out Of EVT Hotels & Resorts To Launch Comms Consultancy
Noble still managed to squeezed in a continental breakfast before departing.
Canva Acquires Design Platform Affinity To Bring Professional Design Tools To Every Organisation
Canva & Adobe face off continues. We're not picking sides but keenly aware that Canva's office is next door to ours.
“Lean On Our Team To Help You Find An Audience”: Why Understanding Audience Engagement Is Essential In Journalism
Engaging the audience is critical to journos, apparently. We'd thought self-loathing & alcoholism were key.
Adobe Summit: Major Gen AI Developments, Data Concessions & Partnerships
What happens in Vegas stays there. Unless it's the Adobe Summit and then you get to read about in B&T.