Do you want your website to live or die?
“Your website is the center of your digital eco-system, like a brick and mortar location, the experience matters once a customer enters, just as much as the perception they have of you before they walk through the door.”
Leland Dieno, Face the Book with Your Small Business
Well, the quote above is self-explanatory and needs no further clarification. A website is designed for two fundamental reasons – to drive traffic and for conversions. Some manage to get the traffic but not much conversions; some vice versa. A well designed user experience (UX) can improve your conversion rate. You require a quality website for the digital business to flourish. Build on the investment you made to up the site.
If you are struggling, then you ought to know:
- What you need is a well-designed framework.
- What you do not need is a good looking website.
Are you surprised to know that the design affects conversion rates? That is exactly what I am about to talk about now. So, let’s connect the dots.
Do you want your website to live or die?
Of course, you want it to live and also bring revenue. That’s why we are tapping our knowledge to explain why the design matters and how users are likely to react. This brings us the next valid quote to think about.
“What separates design from art is that (web) design is meant to be… functional.”
Cameron Moll
UX or user experience means everything once the framework is ready. It connects the dots for leads, first time visitors and customer experiences. They interact with the various pages and navigate for answers. If their search becomes a treasure hunt, then they get frustrated. This is because of the design fault which makes the UX terrible and the user bounces off your digital radar forever.
Non-intuitive web architecture leaves the user on an unguided treasure hunt which causes waste of time and leads to frustration. Here are some quick design clues:
- Do not put too much information on the landing page. You think you’re helping the visitors with everything they’d want to know? Information overload is a sin. Reveal what needs to be revealed; hide what needs to be hidden; and know the difference. Guys, who has the time to read so much? Go on, put a 2-minute video instead. Treat the landing page as the sales page for making the conversion. It adds a value proposition to the communication with the user.
Tip: Video recall is better than memorizing the long text. Visuals work better to make the page-goal relevant.
- Call to action button – Where is it? It impacts the customer’s experience in a big way. If they are not easy to find and click, then it spells trouble for your lead generation. Each page should be designed to sell and make the conversion fruitful. It could be a subscription, product or service.
Tip: CTAs are integral part of conversions. Also remember that most people search on their mobile devices. Don’t expect them to keep scrolling. While designing and developing your website, make it functional rather than artistic.
- Add an intelligent smart navigation bar. It is important to make the leads know the business objective. Choose ‘ultra minimal’ to drive traffic and conversion.
Look at the following designs which are clutter free. It also meets with the core objectives of marketing.
https://tinkerwatches.com/
https://weaintplastic.com/
https://www.nuabikes.com/
- The speed of the website is very important. It should load fast enough for not making someone change their mind! Currently most users do not wait for more than 3 seconds to bounce off. Even mobile sites are abandoned if the speed is slow.
“Getting a quality website is not an expense, but rather an investment.”
Dr. Christopher Dayagdag
The fog now seems to clear off about how the UX design affects conversion rates.
- Your website should have an aesthetic sense, an appeal to bring visitors and make them stay there long enough to get converted. Dark Themes are trending and by 2021, they will be leading the design elements for many small business owners.
Check the following website to get some inspiration.
https://99designs.com/blog/trends/web-design-trends/
“When it comes to promoting your business’ online presence, there’s no better starting point than a professional, neat, and easy-to-navigate web design.”
Forge Web Design
Could not have said it any better!
The web designer will have to experiment with graphics, visuals and charts to create a quality theme. The use of illustrations and personal messages creates an impact too. It could support several branding activities for marketers. The aesthetic sensibilities should be the icing on the cake. Make the browsing experience rich and not bland.
Few other tips:
- Structure the website in a way to make the products stand out. People should find the information quickly and also decide on the call to action. For example, the product page should have a button ‘order now’ or ‘purchase’ or ‘add to the cart’.
- Being responsive makes the design strong and helps in conversions. Both Google and Bing rank websites that are mobile-friendly get ranked higher than the websites which have only desktop versions. People are no longer interested to Pinch and Zoom on mobile screens.
- Website readability, font size, and style matter also. Make it big enough for people of all ages to read and respond.
Give a facelift to your website. Now that we have helped you to connect the dots and understand why your marketing is suffering.
