Web site strategies for A/E/C companies

By:  John P. Kreiss, SullivanKreiss

I just received a press release from a company announcing the launch of their new corporate web site.  The release was filled with all sorts of jargon with a link to the new site, but getting to the meat and potatoes of the site was not so simple.  Its flash feature took forever to process and I eventually lost my patience.  It wasn’t worth the wait.  Here’s my advice to design and building estate companies when it comes to web site design:

Avoid flash.  Flash features do more to annoy prospects than win them over.  It’s like using the phone and being placed on hold.  Nobody likes to wait.  Show me a website that takes too long to navigate and I’ll show you a company that loses more clients than it should.  Additionally, with the increase in professionals using blackberry-type devices, flash sites are sometimes too large for the handheld to load and difficult to view.

Avoid jargon and communicate clearly.  Simple messages stating what you do and why you should be hired work best. 

Make it easy to navigate and don’t bury your contact information.  Make it easy for clients to contact you and you’ll win new jobs.  Make it difficult and see good prospects disappear.  In our experience, and speaking with on-line experts, the majority of your website visitors spend less than a couple minutes on your site; this number is heavily weighed at the less than a minute mark. 

Provide useful information.   Clients want to know what you can do for them.  Companies that understand this concept tend to do better at marketing and recruiting than companies that don’t.  Utilize your site to convince your clients rather than showboat your ego.  Provide useful information that will engage the visitor and encourage them to spend more than two minutes on your site.

Add a blog to your web site.  Blogging kills two birds with one stone.  It helps design and building companies appear higher on the search engines and it’s an easy place to provide information for clients you want to reach.

Attracting clients and winning new jobs does not have to be complicated.   It’s about letting them know you exist, communicating what you can do for them, and then making it easy for them to contact you.  Keep it simple and improve your chances at being successful.