Keep Your Customers In Mind When You Design A Winning Website
The End.
Ok, not really. Of course, there’s a lot more involved in website design and it can be a long and arduous road for the big reveal but if you’re currently redesigning, refreshing, or building a website from scratch these principles should help you create a performance driving machine!
First off, you want to make sure you have a clear message and description of what your business or nonprofit is all about. Second, you need to make sure the customer knows what action to take at first glance. See, your website will most likely not be the first way a potential customer views you. It will be the organic or paid search results where you show up. Those brief descriptions on the search results page are the first opportunity you have to capture their attention. And, we all know our attention spans are shorter these days. Like 8 seconds. That’s all you got!
Design A Winning Website
Your home page is not the only door to your business; which is why I preach on Local SEO regularly. Google My Business, Facebook, Yelp, Bing, Apple Maps… are a few of the main entry points for customers. Not to mention search and image results. Do you have the red carpet rolled out at every entry? Focus on every page, and ask these 2 questions:
- Is it confusing?
- Is it user-friendly?
User Experience
Alleviate confusion with relevant, unique title elements, descriptions, and keyword-specific URL naming conventions. This will allow your customers to know what they’re clicking on and what to expect. Don’t forget to add unique page images to your content for social sharing… “Open Graph tagging” means shared content will carry a relevant image, title, description, etc.
Technology Then vs Now
Did you know the first website ever built was one on how to use the world wide web? That’s right. August 6, 1991, just 30 years ago, we saw the first website launched. It was a static page of instructions. I don’t know why this makes me chuckle but it does. I’m nearly 40. I’m older than the internet. Ha! But I’ve been using it for the majority of my life. It’s fascinating to see the technology for good, and evil. Just 15 years ago most websites built were basic pages of static information. Think Britannica on steroids. Now there are 1.9 billion websites and they are more dynamic and robust than ever before… collecting data, automating transactions, with loads of different experiences.
Importance of Design
More often than not, 50% of your website traffic will leave before traversing to a second page. Here are some smart ways to get customers to stick.
- Make a good first impression: introducing your site, your relevancy to a search or linked mention, and why the visitor should stick around
- Install Google Analytics
- Review the User Flow
- Use this data to help with a redesign or refresh of your website
- Create logical calls to action on top pages
- Incorporate a CRM & forms to help better understand your customer
Facts and Figures
- You have 8 seconds to make an impression – on every page
- 7 out of 10 customers will find you from your blog
- Lists (like this one) are more popular and fetching than long paragraphs (please, keep reading)
- Design with mobile-first in mind (2/3’s of web usage is on a mobile device)
- 3 of every 4 users will make an immediate judgement based on your web design
- User behavior is determined by demographics (think about your customer base and design from it)
Top 7 Effects of Good Design
Increase Web Traffic
Improve CTR
Lower Bounce Rate
Increase Time On-Site
Increase Pages Per Visit
Increase Conversions (sales, form completions, downloads, etc)
Increase 1st-time visit conversions
“Design is the silent ambassador of your brand.” Paul Rand
Of course, if you’d like to learn more about how Good Intents can support your web design process and build a winning website for you, contact Stephanie by email.