Gone are the days when developers, designers, and marketers were separate entities that had to shout the loudest to be heard. In today’s hyper-digital world, collaboration is the key to success, and only by bringing these three areas inline can businesses truly garner a website that creates the holy grail of engagement and acquisition.
Developers are no longer seen as the underdogs in the IT department, the design is no longer the role of making something look ‘pretty’, and marketing is no longer stuck to print.
Yes, each specialism has its unique way of working and how its see’s the world, but as we’ve seen in the rise of tech and digital, all areas must form a strong bond to ensure that their specialism can come together to gain conversions.
It’s no longer about having a ‘build it and they will come’ attitude. Whether you’re trying to bring together your own departments, or various agencies to work as one, this is why collaboration between developers, designers, and marketers is important.
Content Matters
The term ‘content is king’ has been harpooned around the marketing industry for many years now, but it remains true. The content that is placed on your website is highly important in putting across your brand message, but also in achieving a healthy organic ranking in the search engines. Without content, your website isn’t going anywhere fast.
But this doesn’t mean that your website should be one long essay on how fantastic you are. Quite the opposite actually.
It’s this content focus that is evolving the way in which designers optimise the layout of the website and the way in which developers enhance functionality.
Websites are no longer a pretty place to visit, they are the pinnacle of customer acquisition and therefore must engage with the user on every level.
As the old saying goes, looks matter, but it’s what’s on the inside that counts.
Tech is Constantly Evolving
Who would have thought that when mobile phones were first invented in 1973 they would go on to be so important in our lives that we would change the entire way we gain information?
It’s completely overwhelming if you think about it for long enough. But the point is, it’s not just mobiles that have changed the functionality of our web browsing. Voice-activated search, VR, and many more products are being invented that all pose new ways of how we search online.
With this in mind, it’s no wonder that developers, designers, and marketers need to collaborate because the goal post is constantly changing.
As functionality is now critical in being able to keep up with each new piece of tech, each department needs to think about how it’s going to gain engagement.
We’ve seen this most recently with mobile responsiveness. Developers have to ensure that the functionality is intuitive enough to work on a hand-held device, designers need to ensure that the layout responds to various mobile screen sizes, and marketers need to ensure that the content is not overwhelming on such a small screen.
Without collaboration between all three departments, the bounce rate will skyrocket and leads will fall through the floor, leaving a business with a website that is completely obsolete.
Because Engagement Works on Many Levels
Many businesses see their website as a linear product. Just one thing that needs to work. Which while this is true in a business sense, the truth is from an online approach it takes many elements of a website to convert a customer.
Engagement is not about one thing, it’s about many elements working seamlessly together to give the user a true understanding of the brand and the services it provides.
Taking a more holistic approach is where this collaboration is essential. Designers help to create the look and feel, emanating a visual representation of the brand. Marketing supports this message, ensuring the brand has a voice, a personality that connects with the user. And the developers ensure the functionality of the entire website meets the user’s instinctive reactions so that it feels almost intuitive to navigate around.
Getting a user to connect in this way online is an art form that needs to be a mix of many elements all working towards the same goal.
Whether you’re looking to increase leads or sales, each department must come together to understand the audience and how the website can best serve their needs.
Because SEO Considers Them All
To many, SEO is still that unknown magic that helps their business rank in Google. But the fact is, there are many reasons that Google will deem your website rank worthy. To name a few of the most recent, this includes ensuring your website is mobile-friendly, that your content is of use to the user, and that your website is designed in a way that it will load quickly.
If any these let you down, it’s down the rankings you go.
Therefore, even from a very basic search engine perspective, you need to ensure that developers, designers, and marketers are working from the same page.
Unfortunately, as marketers come into contact with digital marketing tactics more frequently than designers and developers there needs to be clear communication between all parties.
Without this synergy between all three specialists, your website will lack information, usability, engagement and above all, value. To create the best outcome that supports the business goal, communication and alignment between all departments is essential.
At RAD SEO we work effectively both with our own team, contractors and clients to make sure everyone is in sync and that projects are carried out and completed on time and with quality results.
