Don't let others define the real purpose of your site. Take the time to think about the most important thing that "cannot escape" to anyone who visits you online, and that will probably be the main goal of your website.

All sites have a common goal, which is the basis of any effective online presence: to appear in the search results of search engines as Google.

Assuming that the basic objective is guaranteed with a technically well executed website and updated content, you may then focus on the question “What is your goal?” let us go through some examples of how to respond to that specific goal.

I emphasize that a goal must be SMART: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time Based.

If the purpose of your website is to ...

Capture Leads - Capture leads means collecting emails from your visitors and considering them as your potential customers. To get your guests to give you their email you need to ensure at least 2 things:

• that you have a good form for capturing emails, posted on several pages of the site, with easy and well-placed call to actions and without too much complexity
• that you offer something in return that interests your visitor, whether it is relevant content that the visitor wants to receive by email, or a discount on the next purchase.

Sell ​​Products - The purpose of online commerce sites is to sell products to visitors. Focus on:

• the way you present your products - visitors who buy online want all their doubts clarified, so good descriptions and great images of the products are mandatory
• a simple and fast purchase flow with an easy checkout.

Promote Services - “institutional” sites usually present services and the team's know-how. The goal is to transform its visitors into customers. Here, as with no online shopping, the goal may be to make them to call, send an email or fill out a contact form. For this to happen, ensure that buttons for these actions are reinforced at various places where they make sense and check their placement on desktop and mobile versions.

Get Reservations - if you run a hotel or a restaurant your website must be inspiring, with strong images that invite visitors, but in fact the ultimate goal is to get visitors to book. To be able to convert to the reservation process you must ensure that:

• offers (holiday programs or take-away menus) are prominently highlighted so that they do not escape visitors with the immediate possibility of booking
• it has a good integrated reservation system with a simple and well-defined purchase flow.

Support Customers - if the purpose of your website is to support current customers to reduce the doubts of a call center, for example, make sure that your website has a good support section, properly highlighted with a button that does not escape the eye of the most distracted visitor and work on solutions such as:

• FAQs pages - with the most frequently asked questions and their answers, preferably organized by themes and with integrated advanced search
• online chat - with online support solutions using WhatsApp, live chats or Facebook Messenger
• well-crafted Support Forms that guide customers' questions to optimize your response time.

Create authority on a given subject - here the maxim “content is King” prevails. Articles, publications, news, events, videos, podcasts (...) on a certain subject published regularly on your site will enhance your indexing in this subject and promote a better organic positioning in Google searches. Social evidence and testimonies from those who admire your product or service will also promote trust and lead to the achievement of that goal.

Know how to flow towards your goal with fluidity and transparency. Give your visitors what they need to achieve that goal. Don't ask them what you don't need and make your visitors' lives easier so that they can effortlessly fulfill the goal you set.

Check if your goals are being achieved with analytical tools like google analytics and act on improvement and changes. Remember that on websites the biggest risk is not to spoil, it is not to update!