Long-term success of a company depends largely on the company’s website aesthetics and ease of use. Arguably the foundation of Internet marketing, website design has several major aspects that, individually, can have a dramatic impact on your bottom line. Here, we will discuss some of those aspects and offer a few easy tips to improve the impression your website gives to its visitors.
Appearance
One of the most obvious impacts your site has on users is its appearance. Your website’s appearance gives your customers their first impression of your company. Visiting other websites, particularly local Wichita websites, will give you an idea of the two extremes – websites that look old and dated and newer websites that are sleek and modern. Your first goal with your website is to make it as current and modern as possible. Having a website that is up-to-date with design trends such as parallax scrolling, big and bold fonts, “hero” images, and multimedia is imperative to creating a sleek, eye-catching website that will be sure to impress your visitors.
Professionalism
Professionalism within your website design also plays a major role when trying to impress your visitors. When potential customers visit your site, you have one chance to create a good first impression. You want your visitors to see the difference between your business and your competitors here in Wichita. Does your site stand out from the others? Culture pages, photos of staff, and customer results are a few design elements that are instrumental in a website’s professionalism.
A culture page talks about things your business does other than work. Examples might include company traditions, values, or unique celebrations. Regardless of what you choose to include, your culture page should be dedicated to discussing your business’s approach to day-to-day operations. Your customers will value you and your business more if they can see the owners striving to keep their employees happy!
Continuing with employee happiness, why not include some pictures for proof? Whether your photos are together at the Wichita State basketball game or hard at work, reinforcing the professionalism with photos of your employees will go a long way with customers. Seeing the faces behind your company’s name personalizes your company and lets customers see you’re more than just a brand name.
Customer results are another way to add professionalism to your website. Not only does this show you have your valued customers in mind, it allows potential customers to see other Wichitan’s testimonials, which works to build their trust. If possible, it’s a good idea to quantify your work and highlight that information on your website. This could mean something as simple as identifying how many air conditioning units you repaired in Wichita last year.
Clarity
A website with clarity is a website that is easy to navigate so users can easily find what they are looking for. Using one of today’s well-known styles of navigation is the most ideal way to make improvements. The two most commonly used styles are breadcrumb navigation and drop-down menu. Breadcrumb navigation is great for websites with lots of pages by making it easier to find website sections and pages. Like the name indicates, breadcrumb navigation allows users to see and keep track of their location in a website. For single-level websites, or websites without grouping or logical hierarchy, a drop-down menu might be best. A drop-down menu is a navigation system in which a menu drops down when a cursor is hovered over a menu title. Then, the user can click on the item they choose within the drop-down menu to be directed to a page. These navigations, however, can be used together as well. When a user clicks on a topic within a drop-down menu, breadcrumb navigation can be used on that page to allow users to easily go back to the previous page.
Load Time
Load time refers to how long it takes for a website to load, or display, on the user’s mobile device or computer. A major factor in Google ranking, load time is more important than many realize. Having websites that load quickly not only appeases the consumer because of speed, it also uses less data. Load time is becoming more and more important as mobile devices become more commonly used for the Internet. There are a few easy ways you can reduce your load time.
- Optimize the size of images – To do this, use .jpeg images. This reduces the file size without sacrificing the quality of your image.
- Remove any autoplaying videos and audio – This helps minimize your user’s data usage when they visit your website on their cell phone. Videos that automatically start playing tend to annoy and turn customers away, anyway. No need to get rid of the video! Just make it require manual activation.
- Use white space – White space is any white, unused area on your pages. By adding white space, your text and elements are spread out, making it easier for mobile users to see, understand, and use. Not only does the page become more user-friendly, but it also loads faster!
Conversions
Of course, the number one goal is to create conversions, right? While there are several factors in a website that can have an impact on conversions, there are a few that stand out more than others.
Color, in a website, refers to a color scheme that implements contrast to call attention to selling propositions. For instance, if your website uses primarily cool tones, it would be best to use warm tones for the CTA (call to action), so users can find them easily.
Using pictures with faces is another simple way to pull your customers in. Stock photos are helpful, but using photos of your own works best. Showing the faces of your company helps to humanize your company, making it easier for customers to establish trust and reach out.
Lastly, always follow the KISS principle. KISS, in the design world, stands for Keep It Simple, Stupid. This one speaks for itself. Simple designs are better! Large graphics overwhelm users and make it harder for them to convert.
There are countless ways to improve the usability of your website… we have only touched on a few! If you are ready to give your website a facelift, our website experts at BCC would love to help! Give us a call at (316) 260-5391.