So here
are my 10 tips on how to create killer website design
that will invite potential customers in instead of scare
them away.
1.
Easy Navigation- The Road To Success
When
people come to your website they are usually searching
for something in particular. It might be recipes for a
healthy low fat diet that takes less than 30 minutes to
prepare or what is the best business to start online.
Whatever they want, you need to have the answer. So ask
yourself, why do people come to my website? When you
know that then you know you should make it easy for them
to find it.
I have
been on countless websites that make it difficult for me
to do business with them. And you know what my first
response is? "Next!"
I am
onto the next website to see if they can answer my
question. People don't want to waste their time hunting
for things that should be easy to find.
So, if
people come to your website to find widgets, have a
button easy to see and locate that says "Widgets".
People have been trained to look to the left of the
website for the navigation bar.
2.
Flashing Gizmos - The Exit Ramp To A Dead End Street
You've
seen those sites where the elephants are dancing and the
poker chips are running across the screen asking you to
click on them; the only thing they have ever done for
me is give me a headache and to reach the "let me get
out of here as fast as I can" button on my computer.
If you
are a running a professional site, please don't use
flashing graphics. Guaranteed you are encouraging people
to leave your site. People have come to you for
information. Not to click on an ad or have their brain
scrambled.
Make
your website a pleasant environment for the customer to
be in. Just like a store. Think about when you go to the
mall. You want to go in a store that is clean, well laid
out, has good customer service and the products you are
looking for. Your website should reflect this. If it is
what you expect in your shopping experience, then isn't
it reasonable that your customers are looking for this
in your website.
What
about music? Well, it depends. On most business sites I
would suggest not. But let's say you have a realtor by
the ocean who rents out homes for summer vacations. They
have music that sounds like the ocean is lapping at the
foot of your desk. I think music is appropriate in this
venue, but I would definitely have it "off" as people
log onto your site and give them an option to turn it
on. Don't forget many people are surfing in their office
environment and don't want the boss to find out. If your
music is loud or on as people log onto your site and
can't find a quick way to turn it off, they will leave
your site faster than a cat that just saw the jaws of a
Doberman!
3.
Color - Enhancing The Highway Scenery
Color
is an individual preference, but studies show that
colors have an affect on people's emotions. Look at the
top sites like Amazon; their layout is simple and so is
their color scheme.
My
recommendation would be to go with the flow. If you have
a financial investment site, then conservative colors
seem to follow. If you sell beach items, then lots of
fun colors apply. If you have a bridal shower website, I
would say soft pastels. Think about your audience and
you will know the color scheme.
4.
Page Links - I-95 To Your Destination
This is
a no brainer but make sure all of your buttons are
hyperlinked to a page and the right destination page. No
one including Google likes broken link pages. It can be
tedious but do it anyway. As you hover over the button
and look down in the left-hand part of your screen, you
will see the hyperlinked page. Just verify that yours
are correct.
5.
About Us - Is Your Map Reliable?
People
usually want to know basic things before they do
business with you. Who are you, how do I get a hold of
you, what is your product or service guarantee, will you
resell my email address, what is your privacy policy,
when will I get the product, etc. You need to answer
these questions to create trust between you and your
potential customer.
6.
Sitemap - How Do I Find My Way Around This Big City?
Let's
say you have a lot of products or pages and resources. A
sitemap helps people to find what they are looking for
quickly without have to rummage through your whole site
like a lost soul. They are not hard to create but are
useful for large sites. It also helps the search engines
to know what you are about very quickly.
7.
Fast Loading Pages - All Lanes Are Go!
There
is nothing worse than slow loading pages. You can
optimize your graphics for your website. People hate to
wait. You can check your page load time and page rank on
Alexa.com. Slow pages equal death to an online business.
8.
Shopping Cart - Need To Buy Some Souvenirs
If you
are selling items or services, you need a reliable and
well organized shopping cart. I have seen some websites
that have a zillion products listed and to email them
for orders. What a nightmare! Yes, the shopping carts
will charge you a fee, but it is worth it for them to
handle the transaction. There are many good shopping
carts available and I would research them based on your
business' needs.
9.
Templates or Original Design- Chevrolet or Porsche
People
often think that to have a website designed is going to
cost thousands. So they opt for the templates and throw
together sites. There is nothing wrong with this
approach except I can tell the difference between what I
call a "canned" site and one that was created from
scratch. While I don't think a website that uses
templates will turn off a customer, I just think it may
not be as appealing.
Have
fun with your online business. You can go to any number
of photography sites and download professional photos
from cows to race cars. This will make your site look
more customized.
Again,
I recommend that you shop for a good web designer. I
paid around $400 for a basic site to go up. I know
others would have charged me $1000 or more. That's why
you need to shop and see examples of their work.
10.
Customer Service - The Finish Line!
Okay so
how is customer service a website design? Well, customer
service should be written all over your site. From tips,
to free reports, to guarantees, to fast and reliable
shopping. People want to know you know what you are
talking about and can deliver the goods they want. Give
a little and I guarantee you'll get in back tenfold.
