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Ask just about anyone what is the most important characteristic of any healthy relationship, and the reply will often be communication. As a website developer for a custom software development company, it is vital that you establish effective communication between you and your team and the clients who enlist your services because they need a new website.

Website developers and designers must understand their client's goals since this component of their business- especially if they are an ecommerce only business- is crucial to creating a successful online presence. By knowing what your client wants to achieve, you can tailor your approach and design to meet their needs, thus ensuring that their website is effective and serves their business objectives.

Let's look at some best practices for developers and designers to put in place to understand better your client's goals for their website and ecommerce.

Conduct a thorough discovery process. Start the conversation by initiating a discovery process about their business. This involves asking your client many questions about all aspects of their business, including learning their history, becoming familiar with all of their products and services, identifying their target audience and competitors, and assessing the state of their current website or ecommerce platform. This lengthy conversation will reveal a wealth of information that can begin the development process. Some questions you may want to ask include the following:

• Give our team a basic story or history of your company.
• Tell us about your brand.
• What are your products and services? Which ones are popular, generate the most revenue, or lag behind?
• What is the primary purpose of your website? Increase sales? Generate leads?
• Who is your target audience? What are their needs and pain points? Do you know their demographics like age, gender, location, and behaviors?
• Who are your main competitors? What do they offer that you don’t?
• What are your business objectives, and how will a new or revamped website help achieve your goals?
• What are your current pain points with your website or ecommerce platform? What would you like to improve?

It is obvious this will be a long discussion but worthwhile. By asking these questions and, most likely, many others, you can better understand your client's vision and goals and how your website development and design expertise can help achieve them.

Understand your client’s brand and messaging. Another important part of evaluating your clients' goals is understanding their brand and messaging. Remember- their identity and reputation are an enormous component of their brand, so it is essential to understand and communicate this accurately on their website. Their unique value proposition must be conveyed to their target audience to build awareness that, in turn, generates sales.

Some questions to consider when asking your client about branding and messaging can include the following:

• What is your brand's identity, and how is it or how should it be reflected on your website?
• Is their unique value proposition communicated effectively on their current website?
• What messaging and tone does your client want to present on their website?
• What are your client's products and services' key features and benefits? How can they be highlighted on their website to achieve maximum exposure?

This part of the conversation with your client will help you understand their brand and the tone and depth of their messaging. The developer and designers must ensure that their website is consistent with the overall brand identity and effectively communicates their unique presence to their target audience.

Determine the key features and functionality your client requires. This is the next phase in the conversation with your client. After gaining a significant understanding of the company, as noted in the above sections, the following questions should reflect more of the nuts and bolts of the development process. There will be an enormous variety of features to include as the website design moves forward, and they will vary depending on the type of business or industry and the products and services offered. Keep in mind that not all clients understand this technical terminology, so be prepared to explain each piece recommended, including the following:

• A user-friendly interface that is easy to navigate and encourages conversions
• Ecommerce functionality such as a shopping cart, product listings, payment processing, online bookings, and reviews
• Integration with other software, such as customer relationship management (CRM) or accounting systems
• Mobile responsiveness to ensure that website looks and functions well on all devices
• Search engine optimization (SEO) to improve visibility and drive traffic to the website
• Social media integration to help build brand awareness, again, to drive traffic to the website

Remember that clients may know what they want in a website but not how to ask the question. Website developers and designers can guide clients to understand the terminology as well as put the features in place to achieve their objectives.

Develop a content strategy. Now you are moving beyond the structure and determining the quality and scope of the written and visual content. This involves determining what type of content will be included, how it will be organized and presented, and how it will be optimized for search engines and social media. Discuss with your client the following questions:

• What type of content will be included on the website? Content can include product or service descriptions, blog posts, testimonials, case studies, photos and images, infographics, and video tutorials.
• How will the content be organized, presented, and accessed? Will there be a menu or a navigation bar?
• What keywords and phrases will be used to optimize the content for search engines? An SEO company has the resources to access this valuable information.

Knowing what kind of content and the amount included on the website will influence the overall structure and layout. Clear and concise content that is visually appealing and easy to access will attract consumers in your target audience.

What is the client’s budget? Discussing the budget with the client is important to ensure that the website they want to develop is within their means. Discuss features, functionality, and a development timeline to ensure the project is feasible for your website development company and the client.

A custom software development firm in Nashville that includes web design and SEO for ecommerce can provide exceptional strategizing and execution for your business. Talk to an expert today.