- You have mere seconds to capture attention. When you have a website, you only have 5 seconds to get someone's attention and convince them that they have to stay on the website; they need to explore past the first page. One of the most commonly used features of web browsers is the back button. Your site needs to let people know that it is the site for them right away or they will back out of your site, likely to never return. Using compelling copy, aesthetically pleasing images/graphics, and easy navigation will help keep people for longer than five seconds.
- Copy that captures. You want to have copy on your site that is clear, concise, and gives answers. If your site does not have copy that actually helps anyone but rather just keeps giving mediocre information, then people will leave your site, even if they have made it past the first page.
- Feature your call to action. Give the people who view your site some sort of command, like "connect with us" "Contact us" "Get a free estimate" or "Schedule an appointment" etc. Whether it will actually work on people depends on the person, but it's always good to have this on your site.
- Build trust with viewers. This is important to do no matter what kind of site you have but it's especially important if you have an e-commerce site, whether it sells products or services. Have that great shipping and return policy, show positive testimonials from clients or customers, etc. Make your contact information prominent so people feel like they can contact you easily, this makes people feel more confident using your site.
- Keep fresh content. Always try to keep the content on your site fresh; not every page always has to be refreshed but make sure all the content is always relevant and applicable. When you have outdated content, change it. Try to have an internal blog page and another page or two that is a place where you can constantly place fresh content.
- Have social media plugins. Using social media is a great way to connect with clients and consumers and it looks great when you have the plugins on your site that connect people directly to your social media. Social media marketing is key and tying that with your site will look great.
- Make navigation easy. If there is anything on your site that takes more than two clicks to get to, it is not as easily accessible as it can be. People should not encounter dead ends and have to figure out where to click to get to a new page, it should be very apparent.
- It's about the user, not you. It doesn't matter what you want, it matters what people who view the site want. What do these people want? They want to feel like they are making the decision to use your products and services, they want to feel like the hero. Don't brag about yourself but rather what you can do for the consumer.
- Keep up with the times. Don't fall behind on the times and what your competitors are doing, make sure to stay ahead of the game and current on the times.
- Create while remembering SEO. Your site should be launched already being internally optimized. If you have to go back in and do internal search engine optimization, then your site was not built correctly.
If you have questions about web design or search engine optimization, then make sure to contact Integraphix - a Chicago marketing company. We have been a chicago creative agency for over twenty years and clients of all sizes.