Felix Norton’s Website Design Tips for Small Businesses

In today’s interview, we’re joined by Felix Norton, the managing director of Woww, a digital agency renowned for its WordPress web design, SEO, and e-commerce solutions. Operating from Cape Town and London, Woww has carved a niche in crafting stunning, functional online presences for businesses worldwide.

Entrepreneurs and business owners will glean valuable wisdom from Norton’s journey and the innovative strategies his team employs to bolster digital growth, adapt to the evolving web landscape, and deliver cutting-edge solutions that propel businesses into the forefront of their industries.

Digital Presence and Branding

SBS – How do you approach building a digital presence for a new company, and what role does branding play in this process?

Felix – At Woww, we believe in the holistic approach to building an online presence.

This starts with the fundamentals of having a core corporate identity that brings visual cohesiveness to the look and feel of the brand across all online marketing channels.

From there, the website will act as the heart of an online presence, linking all other channels such as Google, Meta, LinkedIn, etc.

Custom Web Design Versus Templates

SBS – What are the benefits of custom web design over using pre-built templates? How does this impact a business’s online identity?

Felix – A custom web design enables a more unique and tailored look/function. Prebuilt templates are great for cost-effectiveness, but they are often limited by design and functionality. If one’s business has unique requirements or wants to stand out online, a custom approach may enable a competitive advantage.

At Woww, we try to blend the custom and pre-built by leveraging existing tools that enable rapid design execution but with a unique look and feel, providing a healthy middle ground between bespoke and off-the-shelf. 

E-commerce Integration

SBS – For businesses looking to sell products online, what are the key considerations when integrating e-commerce solutions into their website?

Felix – Each payment gateway offers unique selling points that can impact your bottom line, so choosing the right payment gateway could potentially save you a significant margin.

One of the largest value adds that an e-commerce business can provide is free shipping. For customers, shipping fees are a “grudge purchase,” so if you can provide free shipping (by building it into the price, lowering your margin, adding free shipping to larger baskets, etc.), you immediately increase conversion rates and potential basket sizes. 

E-commerce is all about numbers, so tracking every possible data point will allow you to create powerful analyses, identify trends, and ultimately make informed decisions to increase revenue.

SEO Strategy

SBS – How does Woww develop an SEO strategy for a new client, and what are the key factors that contribute to improving their search engine ranking?

Felix – We always begin with a high-level comprehensive SEO audit to properly understand the client’s website and industry. We focus on three fundamental pillars of SEO, critically evaluate how well the client is doing in each area, and then provide actionable recommendations.

Technical & Core Web Vitals

A full health check of your site and its technical build with recommendations on what issues are present and precisely how to fix them.

Content & Relevancy

A full analysis of your website’s current content and a content strategy moving forward, with step-by-step content guides.

Competitors & Authority

A detailed analysis of your positions online, the gap between you and your competitors, and how difficult it will be to overtake them.

From there, we craft a bespoke action plan to achieve the client’s goals based on the audit’s findings.

Content Creation

SBS – Can you explain the importance of content creation in web design and SEO, and how do you ensure the content is aligned with a client’s brand and SEO goals?

Felix – A website is made up of content, so content is a valuable component to consider.

We first try to assess what the client wants to achieve, and from there, we audit whether or not the site has the relevant content required to achieve these goals. If not, we provide a road map to create the required content.

Responsive Design

SBS – How important is responsive design for modern websites, and what are the challenges in ensuring a website functions well across different devices?

Felix – Responsive design is critical, as users access the website from mobile phones, tablets, laptops, and large screen desktops, so you need to ensure the website is responsive and offers a good user experience across all devices.

With modern tools, this becomes less of an issue as the sites we build are naturally responsive, but we still provide QA to ensure the site functions optimally across all screen sizes and popular browsers.

WordPress as a Platform

SBS – Why does Woww specialize in WordPress, and what advantages does this platform offer over others for business websites?

Felix – Our WordPress specialisation was a strategic decision in the early days of Woww’s foundation. We identified it as the largest market platform by popularity. We also identified

It is a cost-effective platform that is often poorly executed by incompetent developers, so there is a lot of opportunity to define a high standard and become a market leader.

Web Hosting Choices

SBS – What should businesses consider when choosing a hosting service for their website, and how does hosting impact website performance and SEO?

Felix – Hosting is a huge can of worms, but it’s also something critical for the success of a website. Think of hosting as the foundation of a building: you need a solid foundation, or the building will crumble.  Google values website loading time, so it is definitely a large contributor to your SEO ranking.

When it comes to hosting, there are many factors/features to consider. At Woww, we value uptime & support, security, scalability, speed, and cost-effectiveness. Everything else is just a means to an end of achieving those. We used to use WP Engine as our preferred partner, but we’ve found that as they’ve grown and become more corporate, they’re no longer providing the same level of support and cost-effectiveness that we can get from more agile competitors, and thus have started moving over to Rocket.Net.

Maintenance and Support

SBS – Could you elaborate on the importance of ongoing website maintenance and support and how Woww manages this for clients?

Felix – A website is not static, and there are software updates, moving market trends, and even bad actors, all of which can impact your website. We try to be proactive with our clients by maintaining and monitoring in advance to ensure that the website is always healthy, fast, and secure.

Digital Marketing Integration

SBS – How do you integrate digital marketing strategies with web design to enhance online presence and business growth?

Felix – Digital success is a journey. After creating a strong brand and foundational website, one requires traffic to gain traction. Think of it like a physical store, it can have amazing products and the most amazing showroom, but without foot traffic, there will be no sales. 

So, digital marketing strategies like SEO and PPC are critical to getting the word out and acquiring new customers.

Measuring Success

SBS – What metrics or KPIs do you consider most important in measuring the success of a website you’ve developed?

Felix – We measure the following:

• Overall client satisfaction — Do they love our site?
• Speed & performance — Does it load fast and offer a great user experience?
• Visibility and traffic — Is it easy to find and attract the right visitors?
• Revenue/lead generation — Does it achieve its core purpose?

Supporting Clients

SBS – How do you maintain long-term relationships with your clients and continue to support their evolving digital needs?

Felix – We believe digital marketing is a journey, and we want to be the strategic partner for our clients to help them navigate the wild wild web and find success. By providing an impactful starting point, helping them grow and ultimately thrive, we help them succeed, and, in turn, they keep working with us. It’s a fantastic flywheel effect where we can all grow together.

Future Trends

SBS – Finally, what are some emerging trends in web design and online marketing that businesses should be aware of?

Felix – Right now, my biggest concern and area of excitement is AI. While it is a broad buzzword, AI-powered tools and platforms are definitely disrupting the online marketing space. From written content and video production to fully AI-generated websites, we’re keeping a close eye on the latest tools and trends while incorporating them into our workflow to gain a competitive advantage.