Your website is your online shop window and the chance to engage your consumers further with your brand communications. A poorly designed website can do untold damage to your brand preception so it is essential that your site is underpinned by a clear purpose, that you understand the needs of your audience and that it is intuitive and user-friendly.

Read on to find out more about the factors that create a successful web presence.

Information Architecture

Information Architecture (or IA) is a term used to descibe the organisation of information, the content, functionality, navigation and usability of a website. Successful IA will ensure users can easily find the information that they are looking for. The process includes considering the range of information being sought and planning the website so that content can be grouped into logical 'themed' sections. It also ensures that the internal linking allows users to navigate between the different areas on the site without getting lost.

The intuitive organisation of information on your site will also ensure the site is 'search engine friendly'. Search engines need to see content to judge relevance and a clear navigation aids this process.

Usability

Specialist usability companies advise testing websites pre-launch to ensure that the navigation and design are allowing for a seamless consumer journey through the site. They use methods such as eye-tracking technology to test and understand how a user digests the information on the site and to help advise how to improve on the appropriateness of content and use of the screen real-estate.

Accessibility

There are a few basic things you can do to ensure that a website is accessible to all- including UK users with disabilities. By labelling pictures with 'alternative text', avoiding the use of flash for navigation and making sure the font size and colours can be altered by a site user you can ensure the the deaf, hard of hearing and blind will be able to access the content using their screen readers. For further compliance, it is worth visiting the site of the internet accessibility body, The World Wide Web Consortium, who have produced guidelines for different levels of accessibilities.

Monitoring the success of your website

Online offers you an unparalleled ability to analyse how users are interacting with your site. Third party web analytics can reveal much more about user behaviour beyond the basic statistics about page views and unique users. Understanding which pages users are responding to (or not) can help identify fundamental flaws in your website which could be reducing your ROI. If a high perecentage of users are exiting on a certain page this your prompt to act. Content could be out of date or there could be a link distracting users and leading them away from completing a key task.