Creating and launching a successful website requires more than the ability to showcase original content or in-demand products and services. In order to truly establish your business or brand online, effective web design and proper setup are essential. Knowing how you can make your website more appealing to visitors and prospective customers is a way to stand out among your competition while solidifying your position in your chosen market or industry.
Utilize Good Design
The design and branding of your website can ultimately determine whether or not it performs successfully online. You only have one opportunity to make a first and lasting impression, which is why good design for websites matters in just about all industries today.
Good design involves a proper color scheme that meshes well with your brand or logo colors. Try using a tool like Paletton to figure out what color schemes will work best for you. Your website should be easy to navigate and straight to the point to avoid confusing visitors who are unfamiliar with your website’s purpose or your brand altogether. Your design should make sense and reflect your overall aesthetic and include imagery you want customers to envision when thinking of your business and brand.
“Your website is your online storefront. It needs to be accessible, easy to enter, and able to convert your visitors into new customers!” – Brian Maruska
Minimize Distractions
Spend time minimizing the distractions you currently have on your website. Eliminate pop-ups, flashing images, and ads that may be distracting or that take away from the main message of your homepage and any page that sells a product or service you offer. Avoid using too many videos or any form of media that may cause web browsers or smartphones to lag when users attempt to access your website.
Forbes says that user testing is imperative when launching any new website for a business. Conduct user testing with users who browse your website with a variety of browsers and smartphones to determine what changes and updates need to be made before launching your website live and promoting it to prospective customers.
Make It Mobile Friendly
The internet is a podium for billions of individuals all around the globe, giving them a voice in the world that they may not have otherwise ever experienced. According to Podium, most of the world uses their smartphones almost exclusively to access the internet.
Ensuring your website is mobile-friendly and responsive is essential to avoid alienating up to half of your online audience, especially if you are creating an international brand or e-commerce storefront. Always be sure to test your website in different smartphone browsers and operating systems for optimal results.
Integrate Social Sharing
Integrating social sharing buttons and options on your website can significantly expand your online reach and your brand’s presence within top search engines, such as Google, Yahoo!, and Bing, along with social media platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and even Pinterest, depending on your brand’s purpose and core target markets. Implementing and integrating social sharing buttons on your website’s posts, updates, blogs, and pages can help users to spread the word of your website and brand to their own email lists, friends, and social followings.
Connect With Your Visitors on a Personal Level
Create your website while keeping your target audience in mind at all times. Connecting with visitors on a personal level is a way to boost your brand’s reputation while establishing your business as an authority online. When content is personalized to your target audience, it’s more likely to be memorable for them.
When users trust you and turn to your website for information and content, it is much easier to portray your business and brand as professional, powerful, and a leader among your top competition.
Ensure Your Website Loads Fast Enough
The speed and optimization of your website matters, especially when attempting to make a positive and lasting first impression. Website speed can significantly impact how a prospective customer views a brand or business.
If your website takes more than a few seconds to load, you run the risk of losing potential customers and sales, cutting into your overall profitability. If you notice that your website’s bounce rate is higher than 50%, you may need to begin testing the overall speed and loading times of your website. The bounce rate of a website is considered the percentage of users who leave a website after only landing on and viewing the first page or link they clicked (via social media, search engines, or even an email list). Bounce rates may rise due to a distracting layout, a slow-loading website, or a website that appears disjointed, useless, or untrustworthy.
The right website has the power to persuade customers to make purchases, and it also has the power to turn casual visitors into loyal, dedicated followers and customers. Taking the time to improve and enhance your website to appeal to more customers is a way for you to make the most out of your online presence while expanding your reach and increasing your overall conversion rate!
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