The content you use for your website for a new business is not the entire user experience. You could put on the most amazing vlog show and write down everything you need in your written blog – but that’s only half the battle. If you aren’t thinking about the entire user experience, there will be missing elements that you’re going to lose out on. You need your website to pop, but you want the user experience to make it so.
Experience of the user and the content you use work hand in hand, which means that you need to think about the way you design your website. It’s okay that you don’t have every bit of knowledge about website design, though, because that’s what an expert SEO agency is for.
You need to have the expertise of digital marketing geniuses to help you to create the user experience you’re trying to achieve. Knowing you are leaning on outsourced experts is a strength because you’re going to find that you get everything your business wants. So, with that in mind, here are some tips for making your website pop.
1. Make your navigation easy.
An accessible, easy to navigate website is one you want to use to show your potential customer list what you can do. One of the most important website design practices is the one where you make your website easy and accessible for the users.
You only get a few seconds to impress people and you can bet that your website is the first place they’ll want to be impressed! Imagine your web navigation as the map people need to find what they need. The easier you make it for others, the easier you will watch your traffic and conversion rates go up.
2. Think about screen sizes.
Where do you mostly scroll online? Is it your laptop or is it your phone? We bet it’s your phone! If so, you can guarantee that your potential and current customers are going to be using their smartphones, too. So you have to think about how your website looks on all different screen sizes.
Most internet users will use their phones to get their information and one of the biggest website design tips you need to know is that it’s important to make sure that your screen will hold the website properly. People Don’t want to jump on your website and find it a total mess, so make a point of having the agency you work with build your business website to be mobile friendly.
3. Put yourself in the user’s shoes.
The user journey is an important one if you care about conversion rates. People don’t want or expect websites to be about huge blocks of text anymore. They want to experience something new and so it can help to put yourself into the shoes of the user and pretend you are shopping with your own business.
This means thinking beyond what you want to place on your website, and then imagine you’re the one using the site. Do you want to see the brand story or the products first? Would you be interested in big videos or do you prefer written content? Think about that, and then start building as if you’re the user.
4. Make your website interactive.
One of the best features of a great, eye-catching website is interactivity. Of course, we know that all websites are inherently interactive but making it truly interactive can improve the user experience. You can design your website in a way that gets people interacting properly with it.
A supermarket or food sales website, for example, can make scrolling look like customers are moving down a food aisle. It’s all fun and it makes the experience of using a website correct. Websites are a fun blank canvas and you have the chance to create memorable experiences, which is how people will choose to go through the sales process.
5. Fill the screen!
A picture paints a thousand words, or so they say, and when it comes to a user experience, filling the screen with images will send a memorable message. If your business is especially visually oriented, this is a technique that will work really well for you.
6. Compress your images.
Again, for user experience, images are fantastic and it’s a great way to make sales. The problem will be in your loading time. Make sure that when you upload images to your website, you’ve compressed them properly so that they actually load.
While stunning images are surely going to impress your potential customers, there’s no use in them if they won’t load or take longer than a few seconds to do so. Google also has something to say about slow imagery. If they take too long to load, Google will send an error and your SEO agency should be able to tell you all about that! They have the tools to tell you why website pages aren’t working or they’re not loading correctly.
7. Make sure that your call to action is easy to find.
A call to action button should be front and centre across your website, and if you have it tucked away, no one is going to be able to follow through the sales funnel. One of the essentials for your website is to give your visitors somewhere to end the customer journey.
Make sure that these buttons are the right size, the right colours, and if it fits – make it flash! The CTA should be obvious but not overly done. Too many calls to action can make it confusing and scary for a visitor. Less is more sometimes.
8. Weave your brand colours through the website.
Your website should proudly showcase your business and what you can do and branding is vital for that. If you weave your brand colours through your website, you’re going to be way more memorable than your competition.
Your website is going to be one big part of your marketing strategy and your brand should be front and centre. One of the easiest ways to show off your brand is to make sure that your colours are reflective and match your overall branding strategy. You don’t necessarily have to make your brand colours the ONLY colours, but talk to your digital marketing agency – let them be your guide.
9. Try to avoid lengthy texts.
Content is king but keep War and Peace for the library. Your website doesn’t need to be overrun with text that fills every page. It’s tempting to fill up the space with everything you want people to know about your business but doing that is going to bore the heck out of anyone logging in.
People want to know what they need to know, and nothing beyond that. Keep your text short and sweet. Make sure that you have written what people need to know and then you can use a call to action to email or contact you from there.
10. White space directs the right attention.
The website white space does not always need to be packed with stuff. White space helps you to pull all of the most important information. No one likes to see a website that is overly cluttered and no one will interact with a website that’s overly crowded. Beyond the website background space, you can incorporate the white space into your website design to use it to direct the attention in the right areas.
11. Add more features for accessibility.
Online accessibility is more important than ever before. You need features to help people with disabilities to navigate your website and that means looking at adding text to your images and choosing fonts that are readable no matter what. Ensure your headings are in order, and avoid using fancy fonts that are hard to read. You need your website to be good for others, so use a website accessibility checker to ensure that your business is user friendly to everyone.
12. Use video.
Videos are becoming more and more popular; just look at TikTok! Bite sized videos are going to capture the attention of your users. As you know – and as we’ve stated – no one wants to read long blocks of text. Videos always capture attention, however. One of the best tips for great website design and usability is using videos to help.
13. Add your socials.
Social media is ahead of the game and if your business is not on socials, you’re already behind. All of your social media icons should be at both the top and bottom of your pages, but you can even add social icons that move down the page as your visitors scroll the page, too.
Social icons are going to make a huge difference to your following. Your website informs your social media and your social media informs your website. This cohesive usage can change the game for your business and it can be improved with the right support
Now you know how to make your website pop, choose a marketing agency to help!
