.png)
It would definitely be an understatement to say that, in this day and age, every business needs a website to have a successful online presence. Your website is the face of your brand in the online world – the place where your existing/potential customers gather, to know and understand what you are and what you do.
When done the right way, a new website will perform lead-generation, turning website traffic into measurable conversions. But even a small web design mistake can ruin the experience for your customers, which could end up costing you your customers and thereby a significant amount of money.
So, how can you avoid ending up with an underwhelming website design?
If you already own a website, the information cited below may help you to realize why your website isn’t as successful as you intended it to be. If you don’t and plan to start one soon, well, you need not do any heavy lifting. We’ve done that for you.
We’ve researched and compiled a list of – trends, features, processes, and strategies that high-performing websites employ and explained about them all in this 3-part blog series.
Thus, by reviewing the following steps, you will be able to save yourself a world of trouble in trying to find ways to make your website work for you.
1. Having a Strategy
One of the crucial things business owners should know is to really know what they want starting out
Yes, you need a website, but you need to have a clear-cut idea of what purpose that website should serve.
One of the first steps towards creating a website, is to plan and map out what you want to display to the customers, about yourself and your business
It is very important that you take some time to think about your core business values, your mission and vision, before you begin to build your website.
Always understand that when you put up a website, you are sending a message to your customers and/or visitors to that site
Whether that message is clear and professional or if it comes across as confusing and disorganized, depends on you.
2. Being Customer-centric
The first impression is the best impression
What a visitor’s/customer’s first impression will be when they land on your homepage, is something you really want to consider as you plan your website. If someone dislikes your company’s website, that’s the equivalent of a customer walking out of your store displeased (who may never return again) and that means, you make no money.
Ask yourself, who is it that you are targeting that will most likely take advantage of your product or service?
It’s essential to narrow down your user audiences, identify why they come to your website, and consider how you change your site to better meet their needs.
A lot of what you include on your site determines the rate of conversion
If your target customer primarily consists of younger consumers, you might be able to get them to interact with your site better if you include more infographics or videos than written content on your site.
The ability to connect with your target audience should always be central when developing your site
Know the best means for your customers/visitors to reach you (Email, telephone, online chat, etc.). Decide what hours and who in your organization you want to be available to them for these communication methods. Plan on the security measures that should be in place when communicating with clients via my website. And see whether you need AI or chatbots.
3. Simple and Clean Design
Keep it simple
Each page on your website should have one objective. This will keep your user or visitor from becoming confused as they navigate the site. A confused or irritated customer exits immediately, so each page needs to be set up to make it easy for them to move along to purchase your product/ service or find what they need.
Creating a clean and appealing design
A clean design helps viewers focus on the value of your brand and content instead of distracting graphics and large amounts of text. Often, customers associate website designs with the quality of a particular company or product. Hence, a clean design is vital to providing a positive user experience that encourages customers to return.
Too much can hurt
It’s a fact that visitors/customers are instinctively drawn to a visually appealing website. But often web designers put more focus on design and not enough in other important areas. They go overboard with the color themes or graphics, which may garner an undesirable and unintended effect. Website design should be simple and intuitive, not complex and cluttered. Therefore, the goal is to choose a design that will make people want to visit your website and remain there for as long as possible.
4. Content is King
The content that you provide as you build your website is not only going to bring more people to your site, but it is going to cause them to stay longer and interact with your brand more.
This is extremely important when it comes to getting people to purchase more as well as being able to better rank your site on search engines like Google. Furthermore, the content that you provide will help your business to better stand out and help you to establish yourself as an authority in your market.
Visitors/customers won’t be pleased unless you have compelling and engaging content on your site. Content marketing plays a major role in any company’s advertising campaign. Depending on the context, a video or an image content may have more preference over written content.
Wait! We aren't done yet. There are a few more things worth considering.
So let's continue to Part 2 of the blog.
Comments