Many people think of web design as the visual aspect of what they see when they surf to a website. This is mostly the header graphics and sometimes the images and text they see on the first page. However, website design is much more than this and a lot of it is even hidden from view. The cost of web design is usually you get what you pay for and Good web design makes the website easy to navigate, giving the visitor an experience that is pleasant and simple.
If your visitors get annoyed because they can’t easily find what they want, they will soon click off your website and look elsewhere for what they want. So website design that is wrong in any way will soon lose potential customers. That is why it is important to get it right the first time around.
Get to the point
It is not just the ease of use that is important. Visitors like to know within a few seconds if your website offers them what they want. So text should be clear and to the point. Links should lead them to further information or to the product or service they want. They should be placed where it is easy for visitors to find, not hidden among unnecessary layers of text.
If most visitors get to your page by clicking on your ad, it should be a landing page set up with little information on it apart from what the ad was about, a contact link or a link to the page that shows your product. This page should then lead the customer easily to the checkout and they should be guided along each step of the way by obvious buttons that tell them what to do.
Make your customers feel safe
Your website should also make customers feel safe. Payment pages should be encrypted with https and some kind of button or text that tells them so. This will make them feel that they can trust your website with their credit card details.
The text on your website doesn’t have to be fancy. Simple, direct and genuine is the way to go. Make sure your ‘voice’ sounds professional but friendly at all times. You may even want to give the consumer some way of letting you know how easy – or difficult – they found your website to use. This will enable you to fix any bugs you may not know about and interact with your customers.
Why quick is good
A website doesn’t need a lot of bells and whistles on it. If there is too much, the pages will take too long to load and you can lose customers. People shop online to save time and won’t bother waiting for a slow page if they can find a fast one.
Don’t distract your customers
Keep ads off your website, especially if you are selling something, but also if you are offering a service. Ads popping up make it look spammy and distract the visitor from what they were going to do. They may even click on the ad and not come back to your website at all. However, a blog can offer links to other pertinent information that they may find valuable. Just make sure these open in a new page so the visitor can more easily return to your website.
Add Share buttons for social media because if someone really likes what you have they are often happy to share it with their friends, who may also become customers.