What does a good website look like?
With all of the marketing tips advertised to business owners on a daily basis, people may be neglecting the basics of website design.
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A good website is one with a clear design. But, how do you get there?
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Content is King
A website’s main function is to display content to visitors. You must consider who the audience is, who the authors are, and what the goals are for your website. Once you have done this, you can begin to effectively plan out a design for your content. This is because you will know exactly what you are looking for in the website design, so it is only a matter of implementing the design.
Consider the possible layouts for your content. Choose the one that best serves your needs and allows the visitors to get the answers that they desire in a quick and efficient way.
Great content is:
- Less about you and more about how you are going to help your customers.
- Updated frequently. Your website is not a brochure. You constantly have to add new content to your website.
- Created using an editorial calendar. If you don’t have content creation on a schedule it won’t happen.
- Supported by facts and data.
Visual Cues
This is where knowing your customers will come into play. You must use visual design to lead the visitors through your website to both the content that they seek and to the interaction that you seek from them. It is important to note that having a nice visual design without also having a strategy behind the design is pointless.
Consider the variables you can choose from: fonts, images, colors, and text layouts. You will want a combination of these variables that speaks to the customers. You want a layout that evokes certain emotions (such as trust or happiness) in the customer. By doing so, you will make the visitor feel interested. This is a defining trait of a good website.
Benefits of customizing your website’s visual design include the following:
1. The visitors will stay on your website for a longer time. When they feel comfortable with the design, they are more likely to search around for more content.
2. The visitors will click on more links on your website. This is because the visual design will lead them to the link. Variables such as font and color will point out the most important content to the reader. This will make your links enticing to them.
3. The visitors will convert more often. Your website design will make them feel confident in filling out forms, participating in surveys, submitting their email addresses, and purchasing products or services from you.
To summarize, the most important factor in keeping the visitor on your website is trust. You want them to feel well informed and you want to provide them with the content that they seek.
Bookends
The visitor to your website will need direction. Your goal is to lead the visitor through your website. You want them to see both the content they seek and the content you want them to view. To accomplish this goal, you should have visitors follow a short, smooth path. For example, a visitor could start with your homepage. The next step would be viewing an article. After that, the visitor could subscribe by filling out a short form. Finally, the reader could be taken to a specific page, thanking them for their involvement. This flow is crucial for a good website.
To ensure this process, make clear your calls to action. Eliminate distractions and instruct the reader. Consider how visitors will get to each page, and customize that page with that consideration in mind.
Finally, make sure that mobile users can successfully access your website without experiencing formatting issues.