Whilst embarking on the National Fenestration Awards and revamping our own company website, I have learned a great deal about websites, how they work, how to run them and how to use them the most efficiently.

I have also done my fair share of searching and browsing online of other double glazing related websites. I have seen some very good ones, and I have seen some very poor ones indeed! But while a website must be excellent visually, it is the mechanics behind the scenes that must be working hard to make sure your website gets seen by your relevant demographic.

During my time in reconstructing the company website, which some of you may have come across ;-), I learned a lot about using the correct type of SEO, knowing which plugins and settings to use and not just putting on as many as possible. I also learned about content and how best to write it so that Google and other search engines see our website the best. It was important we get it right as the internet is becoming a very competitive place when it comes to double glazing company websites. I think I got there in the end!

The main point here is that your website is now quickly becoming your main selling tool. The internet is now becoming very readily available to the portion of the population with the money, the over 65’s. They are quickly becoming computer savvy and quickly realising that phone books don’t tell you everything you need to know. So having the correctly constructed website, that is easy to navigate, easy to understand, has the relevant information and a comprehensive gallery of your own work is key. It’s key not only to the older generations, but to every person who has their own home and is in a position to buy new windows and doors.

Your website is like your shop window – forgive the pun – and it has to be the very best representation of your company. I have seen some truly awful double glazing websites out there, which are hard to navigate, thin on information and contain very little reasons for a customer to get in contact.

Unless you’re a computer expert yourself and can built a flashy site for your company, you’re going to have to put your hand in your pocket and pay someone or a company to do the job right for you in the first place. Though a word of advice from me would be to learn, or get someone within your company to learn a little about how to run a website and get the company that creates it for you to hand over control of it. That way, any little changes you wish to make over the course of time you can do yourself without incurring any further costs!

So, get your site right!