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Building Websites That Truly Engage and Connect With Your Audience
Episode 11 • 11th October 2024 • Business Ignite Podcast • Business Ignite Podcast
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Show Notes:

In this episode of the Business Ignite podcast, hosts Ethan Walker and Samantha Reed explore the art of crafting websites that customers love. They highlight the importance of aligning websites with business goals, gathering user feedback, and maintaining focus to avoid overwhelming visitors with unrelated content. The conversation emphasizes the significance of having fresh content ready before launch and tailoring it to the audience's specific needs and interests. The hosts also stress the importance of accessibility to create inclusive online experiences. The insights are fueled by an article from 95Visual, offering actionable strategies and emphasizing website evolution as a continuous process.

00:00 Introduction to Business Ignite Podcast

00:16 The Frustration of Poor Website Design

00:46 Building a Website Customers Will Love

01:21 Aligning Your Website with Business Goals

02:24 The Importance of User Feedback

03:04 Maintaining Focus on Your Website

04:42 Fresh Content for Ongoing Engagement

06:51 The Role of Accessibility in Web Design

07:43 Conclusion and Final Thoughts


Resources:

  • A Site Customers Will Love - This article explains the key factors in creating a website that resonates with customers. It emphasizes the importance of user-friendly design, fast load times, and mobile responsiveness, which contribute to a positive user experience. Clear navigation, compelling content, and strong calls to action are highlighted as essential for driving customer engagement and conversions. By focusing on these elements, businesses can ensure their website not only attracts visitors but also encourages them to take action. https://www.95visual.com/resources/articles/a-site-customers-will-love


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Transcripts

Speaker:

Welcome back to the business ignite podcast, where we light the fire

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for business growth and marketing success.

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Your hosts, Ethan Walker, Samantha Reed,

bring you the latest trends, expert

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insights, and actionable strategies

to fuel your business journey.

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Let's ignite your potential.

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Ethan Walker: ever find yourself

on a website, just clicking and

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clicking, but you just get nowhere.

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Mm hmm.

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Happened to me the other day, actually.

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I was just trying to find a simple

return policy, but I ended up down

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this rabbit hole of Well, I'll

just say irrelevant information.

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Samantha Reed: Yeah.

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Ethan Walker: So frustrating.

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Samantha Reed: Yeah.

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It highlights something

really crucial, I think.

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So many websites, they miss the

mark when it comes to, like, their

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core purpose, which should be to

make our lives easier, not harder.

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Right?

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Ethan Walker: Absolutely.

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And that's where this whole idea of like

building a website customers will love.

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Samantha Reed: Right.

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Ethan Walker: Comes in.

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Samantha Reed: Right.

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Ethan Walker: It's not

just about aesthetics.

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You know, it's about creating a

really effective online experience.

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Samantha Reed: And

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Ethan Walker: that's what we're

going to be diving into today.

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Yeah.

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Um, we have this great piece from 95

Visual, a site customers will love.

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You provided some great

material for us to unpack today.

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Samantha Reed: It's a

really interesting piece.

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Right off the bat, they do something,

I don't know, kind of unexpected.

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Okay.

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Instead of jumping into, you know,

design tips or the latest tech

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trends, they really emphasize

something much more fundamental.

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Ethan Walker: Ah.

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Samantha Reed: Aligning your website

with your overall business goals.

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Ethan Walker: See, that might seem obvious

at first, but I think it's something that

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businesses overlook, surprisingly often.

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Samantha Reed: Absolutely.

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A lot of times we get so caught up in

the like, make it pretty part, that

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we forget about the why behind it.

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Why are we even doing this?

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So, think about companies, and

the article mentions them, like

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Apple or Google, they're synonymous

with constant innovation, right?

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And their websites, they

totally mirror that.

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Always pushing boundaries,

exploring new possibilities.

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Ethan Walker: So if rapid growth

is your business objective, you're

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not going to have a website that

feels static or outdated, right?

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It needs that same kind of dynamism.

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Samantha Reed: Yeah, absolutely.

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But even these giants, as the article

astutely points out, they are constantly

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seeking and integrating user feedback.

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Oh, interesting.

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So think about like iPhones and Androids.

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Okay.

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How they've evolved over the years.

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Yeah.

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Those changes weren't made in a vacuum.

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They were a direct response to what

users wanted, what worked, what didn't.

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Ethan Walker: Which leads us to another

great point the article makes, the

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importance of gathering feedback.

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Don't just guess what your

customers want, ask them.

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Samantha Reed: And that's something you

can, like, implement right now, today.

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Yep,

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Ethan Walker: right.

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Samantha Reed: Regardless of your

website's size, your business model.

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Ethan Walker: It really got me

thinking, like, what methods do I even

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use to get feedback on my own work?

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It's so easy to just get, like,

caught up in the day to day and

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forget to, like, pause and listen.

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What about you, listener?

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What are some ways you gather

feedback, whether it's on your

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website, your business in general?

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Samantha Reed: Yeah, how do you

know what people are responding to?

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Ethan Walker: We want to know.

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Samantha Reed: This next point from the

article I think is really intriguing.

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Um, it's the importance of focus.

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Ethan Walker: And I love how 95

Visual illustrates this point

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with a bit of humor, right?

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Like, haven't we all stumbled

upon websites that are just this

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hodgepodge of unrelated content?

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Samantha Reed: Over the place.

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The

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Ethan Walker: example they gave this car

wash site with pictures of kittens on it.

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Right.

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It's almost comical.

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Samantha Reed: It is comical.

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But

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Ethan Walker: it

highlights a real problem.

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Samantha Reed: Yeah, it can be incredibly

disorienting for visitors to your site.

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Ethan Walker: Right.

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Samantha Reed: If a website

offers too many disparate things.

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Ethan Walker: Right.

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It's like, what are you even about?

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What is this?

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Samantha Reed: Yeah.

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People are going to be like,

wait, what, what are you doing?

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What is the core purpose here?

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Think

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Ethan Walker: about it like walking

into, A store that sells, I don't know,

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like high end shoes and telescopes.

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Samantha Reed: Right, exactly.

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And you'd be

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Ethan Walker: like, I don't

know if I trust your expertise

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in either of these areas.

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Samantha Reed: Yeah, are you shoe

people or are you telescope people?

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Ethan Walker: A couple of

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Samantha Reed: those.

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With

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Ethan Walker: Lane.

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Exactly, and that cluttered feeling.

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Yeah.

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It makes people click away just

as quickly as they clicked in.

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Samantha Reed: That's

right, you're out of there.

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And the article offers a really actionable

takeaway here, which I appreciate.

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They say, regularly audit

your website content.

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Ask yourself, like, does everything

on my website truly align with my

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core offerings and my business goals?

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Ethan Walker: This kind of

brings us to a challenge I

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think a lot of us can relate to.

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Samantha Reed: Yeah.

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Ethan Walker: You spend weeks, maybe

even months, right, building your

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website, perfecting every detail.

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Yeah.

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Launch day arrives, you're so excited.

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Right.

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You're ready for the world.

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Samantha Reed: Let's do this.

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And

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Ethan Walker: then

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Samantha Reed: It gets, it tumbles.

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Ethan Walker: It can be a real letdown.

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It

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Samantha Reed: 95

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Ethan Walker: visual article?

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Thankfully,

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Samantha Reed: yeah,

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Ethan Walker: they offer some

really insightful advice here.

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Samantha Reed: Okay.

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Ethan Walker: They suggest having like

a bank of fresh content ready to go.

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Samantha Reed: Oh, interesting.

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Before

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Ethan Walker: you even launch the site.

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Samantha Reed: So front load it?

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Ethan Walker: Yes.

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Samantha Reed: Okay.

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Ethan Walker: And it's about more

than just like, you know, new

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products or service announcements.

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Right.

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It's about having, you know, Articles,

resources, you know, blog posts, whatever

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it looks like, think of it as like

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Samantha Reed: keep it fresh,

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Ethan Walker: providing

genuine value to your audience.

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Yes,

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Samantha Reed: give them a

reason to not just visit.

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Ethan Walker: Yeah.

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Samantha Reed: But to stay.

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Ethan Walker: Yes, to explore,

to like come back for more.

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Samantha Reed: Engage, yeah.

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Ethan Walker: It's about creating

a website that feels alive.

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Samantha Reed: Right, like there's

always something new to discover.

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Ethan Walker: Exactly.

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Samantha Reed: But more than

that, it's about tailoring that

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content to your specific audience.

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Oh,

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Ethan Walker: for sure.

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Samantha Reed: Right, what

questions are they asking, what

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problems are they trying to solve?

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Ethan Walker: That's such a good point,

because the type of content That keeps me

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engaged on a website dedicated to like, I

don't know, vintage vinyl records, right?

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It's going to be very different

from a website dedicated to like

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sustainable gardening practices.

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Samantha Reed: Exactly.

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It's about understanding

your niche, right?

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Yeah.

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And offering something

genuinely valuable to people.

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The people who are in that world.

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Ethan Walker: Okay listeners, this

is where we want to hear from you.

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Samantha Reed: Yes.

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Ethan Walker: Thinking about your field,

your interests, what kind of fresh content

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keeps you coming back to a website.

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Samantha Reed: What are you clicking on?

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Ethan Walker: What are you clicking on?

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What makes you feel like a website

truly understands your needs

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and what you're looking for?

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Samantha Reed: Yes.

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Ethan Walker: What keeps you

engaged and wanting more?

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Samantha Reed: So important.

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Ethan Walker: It is up.

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Samantha Reed: It's an important

question to consider because as 95

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Visual emphasizes, building a website

that resonates with your audience,

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it's not a one time endeavor.

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Ethan Walker: Right.

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It's an

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Samantha Reed: ongoing process.

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Ethan Walker: It's a journey.

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It really is.

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Yeah.

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Samantha Reed: It's a journey.

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It's ongoing.

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You're

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Ethan Walker: always

refining, you're tweaking.

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You're making sure you're really delivered

on what your audience is looking for.

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Samantha Reed: Yes.

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And it, it actually

brings up a point that.

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While not explicitly mentioned in the

95 visual article, I think it's so

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relevant to this whole conversation

about making a website people will love.

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Ethan Walker: Okay, now

I'm really intrigued.

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Tell me more.

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Samantha Reed: Accessibility.

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Ethan Walker: Oh, okay.

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Samantha Reed: A website that is

truly designed with the user in mind,

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considers the needs of all users.

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Right.

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Including those with disabilities.

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Ethan Walker: Such an important point.

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Samantha Reed: Right, because we're

talking about making the online world

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inclusive and welcoming for everyone.

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Absolutely.

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We're talking about elements like,

uh, clear navigation, alt text for

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images, keyboard only functionality.

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Yeah.

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These aren't just, like,

keyboard shortcuts.

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Technical check marks on a list, right?

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Right.

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These are design choices that demonstrate

a real commitment to inclusivity.

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Ethan Walker: It's about

recognizing that people experience

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the web in different ways.

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And like, designing with that in mind.

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Samantha Reed: Yeah, absolutely.

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So as you embark on this journey, right,

of creating a website your customers will

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love, remember that accessibility is a

key ingredient in that recipe for success.

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Ethan Walker: It's all about

building those, like, lasting

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connections with people.

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Samantha Reed: Lasting connections, yes.

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Ethan Walker: Well, there you have it.

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Samantha Reed: That's it.

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Ethan Walker: Actionable insights.

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We

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Samantha Reed: did it.

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Ethan Walker: Fresh perspectives.

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Samantha Reed: Always.

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Ethan Walker: And a reminder

that building a truly great

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website is an ongoing process.

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Samantha Reed: It never ends.

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Ethan Walker: A big thank you to 95 Visual

for this really thought provoking piece.

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Samantha Reed: Yes, thank you.

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Ethan Walker: And to you,

our listeners, thank you for

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diving into this topic with us.

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Samantha Reed: Yes, thank you.

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Ethan Walker: Remember, we're always

eager to hear your thoughts, so hit us up.

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Samantha Reed: Yes, let us know.

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Ethan Walker: What

resonated with you today?

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What will you implement in

your own online endeavors?

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Until next time, keep

exploring, keep learning,

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Samantha Reed: keep iterating,

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Ethan Walker: and keep

those feedback cards coming.

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Yes, please.

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Speaker 2: Thanks for tuning

into the Business Ignite podcast,

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where we fuel your business

growth and marketing success.

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If you enjoyed today's episode,

be sure to rate and review us.

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It does help others find the show.

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Don't forget to follow us on social

media at Business Ignite podcast and

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share this episode with a friend.

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Keep the fire burning and remember,

your success is just one strategy away.

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Until next time, stay ignited.

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