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Improve Your Business with Websites and Apps

Websites, Apps & Chatbots · Module 8

← Fundamentals of Digital Marketing - Google

Index

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1. Planning Your Website

Why a Compelling Website Matters

A strong website builds trust, connects with your audience, and drives results. It’s a key tool to inspire action and support your goals.

Aligning Goals with Audience Needs

When creating your website, combine your business goals with what visitors want. Use the SMART framework from SMART Goals Framework to make goals clear, actionable, and trackable.

Goal	Audience Needs	Approach
Increase online sales	Product details they can trust; easy checkout	Product stories, customer reviews, clear CTAs
Generate more leads	Helpful info; simple way to stay updated	Newsletter sign-up, valuable content, lead magnets
Build brand awareness	Interesting, relatable content	Blog, engaging articles, ‘About’ page with your story
Increase foot traffic	Convenience; incentives	Maps, directions, in-store events, promotions
Drive phone calls	Easy contact options	Prominent phone number; for mobile, one-tap call button
Enhance customer support	Easy access to help	Support page: FAQs, contact options, AI chatbot

Using AI to Understand Audience Needs

AI tools can analyse social media, competitor activity, and trends to uncover what interests your audience. Use ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini to brainstorm site structure, generate copy drafts, or analyse competitor websites. For the T-C-R-E-I prompting framework, see 3. Using AI for Content Creation.

2. Structuring Your Website

Make it easy for customers to find what they need. A well-structured site keeps visitors engaged and reduces frustration. See 04 - Create Engaging Content for planning and creating content.

Common Page Types

Page	Purpose
Home	Hero section (image/video), key offerings, testimonials, clear CTAs. Engage immediately.
Services/Products	Descriptions, pricing, testimonials; product images, descriptions, purchase options.
Blog/News	Fresh content for engagement and SEO. Industry trends, company updates, tips.
Contact	Address, phone, email, map, contact form, social links.
About	Your story, team, values, mission, photos of your work.
FAQ	Common questions to reduce enquiries and improve experience. Schema markup (FAQPage) helps these appear in search.

3. Developing Your Website

Development Approaches

Approach	Best For	Notes
Website builder	Beginners	Budget-friendly, drag-and-drop, ready-made templates, no coding. Wix, Squarespace, Carrd.
CMS	Flexibility	Content management system; more customisation; scale as you grow. WordPress, Webflow.
No-code / low-code	Custom without coding	Webflow, Framer—design-led, powerful without traditional development.
Hire a professional	Custom solutions	Freelancer or agency for tailored site; requires budget.

Hosting Options

Option	Use Case
Cloud hosting	Larger or complex sites; handles high traffic; distributes across multiple servers. Vercel, Netlify, AWS, Cloudflare.
Built-in hosting	Website builders and CMS often include hosting; budget-friendly for smaller sites.

Website Design (UX)

Principle	Description
Intuitive navigation	Logical menu, clear labels, familiar icons. Users know where to go.
Consistency	Same colours, fonts, interactions across pages. Familiar feel.
Reduce friction	Fewer steps to complete actions; CTAs in visible spots; key info a few clicks away.
Function before style	Usability first: clear menus, readable text, simple layouts.
Mobile-first	Design for mobile screens first, then scale up to desktop.

Speed, Performance, and Core Web Vitals

Metric	What It Measures	Target
LCP (Largest Contentful Paint)	Loading speed of main content	≤ 2.5 seconds
INP (Interaction to Next Paint)	Responsiveness to user input	≤ 200 milliseconds
CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift)	Visual stability (no unexpected jumps)	≤ 0.1

Test with Google PageSpeed Insights. Compress images, use modern formats (WebP, AVIF), limit large files, choose reliable hosting with CDN and caching.

Website Accessibility

Designing for everyone improves UX and helps meet legal requirements:

Requirement	Action
Alt text	Descriptive text for all images
Contrast	Sufficient colour contrast for readability
Font size	16px minimum for body text
Keyboard navigation	All interactive elements reachable via keyboard
Screen reader support	Semantic HTML, ARIA labels where needed
Captions/transcripts	For video and audio content
Testing	Use Lighthouse, axe DevTools, or WAVE to audit

4. Mobile Apps

Benefits for Businesses

Benefit	Description
Improved engagement	Direct connection: push notifications, support messages, tailored content.
Increased loyalty	Loyalty programmes: earn points, redeem rewards, track progress.
Simplified actions	Quick checkout; biometric login (fingerprint, Face ID).
Better insights	Analytics show user behaviour, feature usage, conversion paths.

Development Options

Option	Best For	Notes
Native apps	Best performance	Platform-specific (iOS/Android). Full access to device features. Requires largest investment.
Cross-platform	Efficiency	One codebase for both platforms (React Native, Flutter). Good balance of performance and cost.
App builder platform	No coding	Templates, easy tools (Glide, Adalo); may limit customisation.
Progressive Web Apps (PWAs)	Cost-effective alternative	App-like experience in browser; no download; offline access, push notifications. No app store approval needed.

5. AI Chatbots and Conversational AI

Benefits of AI Chatbots

Benefit	Description
Instant responses	Faster service; customers get help without delay.
24/7 availability	Support outside regular hours across time zones.
Reduced workload	Handle routine questions; free teams for complex tasks.
Personalisation	AI-powered chatbots learn from interactions and can personalise responses.
Lead qualification	Chatbots can capture information and qualify leads before handoff to sales.

Modern Chatbot Options

Type	Description	Examples
Rule-based	Pre-defined flows and decision trees. Good for FAQs and simple tasks.	Tidio, ManyChat
AI-powered	Uses large language models to understand intent and generate responses. Handles nuanced questions.	Intercom Fin, Drift, Zendesk AI, ChatGPT-powered bots
Hybrid	Starts with AI; escalates to human agents for complex issues.	Intercom, Freshdesk

Implementation Steps

Step	Action
1. Identify tasks	Define what the chatbot will handle: FAQs, orders, troubleshooting, lead capture.
2. Choose platform	Match complexity to tool. Rule-based for simple flows; AI-powered for natural conversation.
3. Train and configure	Feed knowledge base, FAQs, product information. Set escalation rules.
4. Test and iterate	Monitor conversations, identify gaps, refine responses.

6. Checklists

Website Planning Checklist

List content you’d share based on goals or interests
Organise items into categories (e.g. Products, About Us, FAQs)
Use AI to brainstorm structure recommendations

Website Design Checklist

Review other sites: style, colours, layout
Sketch rough layout for homepage (text, images, CTAs)
Test Core Web Vitals with PageSpeed Insights
Verify mobile responsiveness

Accessibility Checklist

Test with Lighthouse or axe DevTools
Verify keyboard navigation works for all interactive elements
Check colour contrast meets WCAG 2.1 AA standards
Ensure all images have alt text

Mobile App Decision Checklist

Explore how similar businesses use mobile apps
Consider whether a PWA could meet your needs at lower cost
Identify simple tasks customers could do via app (browse products, check order status)
Research development options for your business type and budget

Chatbot Checklist

List top 10 questions your support team receives
Decide: rule-based, AI-powered, or hybrid?
Define escalation triggers (when to hand off to a human)
Plan knowledge base content to train the chatbot

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