How a Strong Website Strategy Turns Clicks into Revenue

As we stated in our previous article on conversion-focused web development, a website is not a static brand image, but rather a dynamic business tool. Its main purpose is to drive traffic and convert. It is not just there to make your business look good, but it has a task: to attract, engage, and convert.

It is essential to note that both aesthetics and technical background are important components, or rather, essential steps in building a website. However, having them without a strong and data-based strategy will ultimately result in that very website existing without a purpose.

Why You Need a Website Strategy

While many may choose to skip the research phase to go directly to building, thinking it is an expensive and, perhaps, unnecessary endeavour, it is quite the opposite. Developing a strategy surely does cost money, but not developing it will take an even greater toll on your wallet. It is not just about paying for redesign and restructuring, but also about the expense of running an unsuccessful campaign that does not convert. This can mean missed revenue opportunities, wasted ad spend, and campaigns that fail to convert.

A good strategy is a safeguard. It ensures that every pound spent on design and development is purposeful, data-driven, and directly aimed at achieving a positive Return on Investment (ROI).

Website Discovery Phase

The strategic foundation of your future website is built during the so-called Discovery Phase. It is the crucial step in the process as the focus is on understanding the client, their business goals and needs, as well as the target audience and competitors. In essence, a well-executed discovery phase is the predictor of future success.

To create a cohesive project plan, during this initial phase of website development, four key activities are conducted:

• Stakeholder alignment,
• Market and competitor research,
• User research,
• Technical assessment.

Stakeholder Alignment

A proper strategy does not start with market trends or potential customer data. It starts from within.

From marketing and sales to product development and executives, the purpose of the Stakeholder Alignment process is to find the common ground between all key stakeholders involved. It is designed to uncover the perspectives, priorities, and concerns of everyone involved in the project through a mix of tailored strategy workshops and detailed in-house interviews.

It is not just about gathering input, but about using all the collected information and unifying it. Stakeholder alignment reduces internal friction, prevents contradictory campaigns, and creates a unified vision that can be effectively executed across all marketing channels.

After building a strong foundation internally, you can begin to look outward to find your place within the competitive landscape.

Market and Competitor Research

To stand out and position yourself at the top of your market, a good product will not suffice. What you need to do is understand the landscape you are operating in, which is done by analysing both your direct and indirect competitors. This includes insights on their strengths and weaknesses, their content and SEO strategies, as well as their conversion tactics and general UX.

During this process, you should uncover areas of improvement, or rather, strategic gaps in the market, which open the door to positioning your website at the very top.

This research phase helps you identify where your competitors win, where they fail, and where gaps in the market can become opportunities for your brand. Without this step, marketers risk building campaigns on assumptions rather than on a competitive advantage.

With a well-executed competitive analysis, you’ll not only be able to position your website in terms of visibility, but you will also be able to cater to the needs of your target audience more effectively.

User Research

At the heart of your research is your potential user and your ability to understand them. Your website should resolve real user problems. In order for it to be equipped to do so, you will need to define and build User Personas and Customer Journey Maps. These two deliverables will help turn your abstract research into actionable tools and guide you in shaping the design and content of your website.

User Personas

User Personas are fictional representations of real user data. They capture the realistic needs, pain points, and goals of your target audience. When creating a profile for a user persona, the three key things to observe are their demographics, their goal, and their concern or barrier.

Here is a simple example of a user persona:

How can these data be used in website development, and what can be planned as a part of the discovery phase?

• Simple navigation would help her find products fast.
• Mobile-friendly design would fit her on-the-go lifestyle.
• Clear product info and return policy would build trust.
• Quick checkout flow would respect her limited time.

Customer Journey Map

To further adapt your website to your potential users, another important deliverable to develop is the Customer Journey Map, built through the eyes of a particular persona you previously identified.

While the user persona helps you understand who is visiting your website, the customer journey map helps you shape how that user uses your website to achieve their goal. It charts their path to conversion, while at the same time identifying moments of friction and key touch points, uncovering behaviour that directly informs your campaigns. A clear understanding of your user journey allows you to optimise every touchpoint, from landing pages to checkout.

Very simply put, the goal is to maximise the chance of a conversion, and not lose the user along the way.

Technical Assessment

A great strategy will have no effect if it is not technically feasible. Other than fulfilling the needs of your potential users by being built based on all the data you collect, your website should be scalable, secure, and maintainable. This is why, during this phase, you plan the project’s infrastructure, including GDPR compliance, security measures, hosting requirements, data storage and necessary third-party integrations.

Slow load times, poor scalability, or non-compliance with GDPR can not only waste your ad spend but also damage your brand’s credibility.

Wrapping Up

Conversions are not a lucky guess. A successful website is the reward for a thorough and strategic research and discovery process. It is based on data that helps you learn about your target audience, your market, and competition. It unites everyone involved toward the same business goal and is based on a meticulous technical assessment.

All the background processes conducted before design and coding begin are an investment that reduces risk and increases ROI.

A website built with a strategy at its core will have higher conversion rates, generate more qualified leads, and contribute directly to the sales pipeline. It is predictable, measurable, and easily optimisable.

This is the second part of our conversion-focused web series. Next up: translating the strategy into high-functioning design.

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