Have you ever been to a website that appeared it was the victim of plastic explosives? It looked like somebody had a brainstorming session with twenty-five other people and threw all the ideas into one big, messy pile and called it a home page. This is very frustrating when you are honestly seeking a particular product or bit of information. Too many distracting colors and flashing messages take away from the main point of the site and will cause viewers to go to anywhere else that makes it easier to find what they need.
Keep the clutter out of your website design.
Choose a theme that can be carried throughout all the pages.
Stick to the same font styles and add emphasis by using boldface text or larger fonts.
Use animated graphics sparingly; too many flashing graphics are very annoying.
If you want a sound track on your site with background music, let it shut off automatically within a few seconds.
Intense background colors make the text hard to read, so keep it simple.
Choose the message you want to deliver and stick to it.
Make Your Website Easy to Navigate
Additional or secondary pages on your site can be linked from a drop down menu on your main navigation bar or from the primary pages. For example, on the products button on your navigation bar your drop down menu can list all the product pages. This makes it quick and easy for your viewers to get to the information they need immediately. Statistics show that every time readers are forced to click on another link to get closer to the information they want, you lose 50% of them. Think about this when you organize your site.
If you have a lot of pages with additional information, you can create links to them from the primary pages. If your content is interesting/informative/entertaining enough your viewers will not mind clicking through to continue reading. This quality is referred to as "stickiness." A sticky website offers content that entices readers to stay longer and return often.
Your Content Should Reflect the Intelligence of Your Readers
They say content is "king" and they are right. Content is king, queen, knight, bishop and anything else that has influence. People are far too educated to be taken in by flash and empty language these days. Your content needs to be unique and provide value your viewers cannot find anywhere else on the World Wide Web. Make sure you check your pages for spelling and grammar. A polished website reflects the quality of your business and products. Make sure all the links on your pages are in working order. (As an aside, the more content you have on your site the more it helps you in the search engines. This is why it is good to continue adding new articles regularly.)
Your content should be easy to read and have a good flow, regardless of how technical in nature it is. Don't be afraid to offer references to support your material. This validates your trustworthiness. Spicing it up with humor, appropriate images and great quotes is a bonus. Don't waste your time on article spinning software that regurgitates the same material in several different strange ways. Invest in having top notch articles written.
The Controversial "Call to Action"
There is the question of the call to action. You will nearly always hear that you need a "salesy" call to action on your website, which is basically a command to act right now or lose the opportunity you have been waiting your entire life to bump into. It's the kind of pressure you are subjected to while watching infomercials and direct marketing come-ons. You know the lingo – run to your phone right now and we'll send you the dust collecting object you know you can't live without and then we'll give you a big discount if you sign up to get another one in the mail every time the moon is full for the next seven generations!
Hopefully your attitude toward your market is more respectful and you are treating your clientele as if they have a decent level of intelligence. Another point to remember is you want returning customers and referrals so you need to concentrate on building relationships and that begins with communicating honestly. If you are a small to mid-size business you cannot emulate the big, established sites such as Amazon that are basically online catalogs. You need excellent quality content and information on your site that will intrigue your readers and keep them coming back.
Communicate with Your Audience Memorably
More than "buy now" buttons you need clearly defined ways for people to contact you by email, phone or chat to become more educated about the products and services your company offers. Give your potential customers reasons to believe in you and trust you enough to give you their credit card numbers. This is how you will affect more sales through your website.
Your website must capture your viewer's attention and engage it in a way that gives them a memorable experience. Using video presentations on a website is one of the most effective ways to use the elements of audio, visual and feeling to create the impact you intend to deliver to your audience. It helps to increase the viewers' understanding of your products and draws them to focus on key points that produce sales in the long run by engaging all of their senses in a meaningful way. The human connection is what creates long term loyalty.
Finishing Touches That Make a Difference
There are a few more things to add to your website design to make it well-rounded:
The ability for the reader to get to the product order page from any page on the site.
The "contact us" link available on every page. Your contact information needs to include a brick and mortar address.
A really great "about us" page that talks about the people and philosophies that make your company what is it – this goes a long way for developing a trusting relationship with your readers.
A site map link placed somewhere obvious such as in an upper corner or on the footer. The site map needs to have a link to every page on your site so the readers and the search engine crawlers can find everything your site offers with ease.
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