Having a website for your business can improve your brand visibility, engagement, and sales through eCommerce. However, you must have a well-designed website – user-friendly, informative, and visually appealing. It must also include all the functions required to make the impact you need for your business model.
Creating a website is not a simple task. It is prudent to invest in the design and ensure it meets all standards required for users. The tips below will guide you in creating an excellent website design that will improve your business.
1. User Experience
Having the user experience in mind when designing a website will ensure it is easy to use and navigate. The user interface must be simple, with all the information a user needs on the home page. For example, the menus should be easy to find and use. The website design should also be responsive to allow access on various devices without compromising the quality.
Another thing you will need to implement is the effective use of whitespace. It will help break up the content and make it easier to read. Users should also be able to find what they are looking for without much difficulty.
Also, ensure your website design is mobile-friendly. More people use their phones to access the internet and search for information and products. If your website is not mobile-friendly, you will lose potential customers.
2. Include SEO in Your Plan
No business can thrive online without Search Engine Optimization (SEO) these days. It is necessary to plan how to improve your website ranking on search engines. That way, you will save time and money that you would spend to improve your position on SERPs later on.
Your website must meet the SEO standards and have the right keywords to rank high on SERPs. That brings content into play. You will also use keywords in the image alt texts, URL slugs, title tags, and meta descriptions. Set appropriate access rules to allow for easy crawling and indexing by search engine bots. The website must also be fast to avoid losing ranking due to slow loading speeds.
You can use various tools to check the SEO of your website and improve it where necessary. Google Webmaster Tools can help you track your progress and improve consistently. Other tools you can use include Semrush, Ahrefs, and CMS-based plugins like Yoast! SEO.
3. Limit Options
Many areas of web design give customers options when navigating the site, purchasing products, and so on. While this might seem like a good idea, it can, in reality, lead to lower sales and conversions. Humans are programmed to make the best decision with the least effort.
Therefore, if you give them too many options, they will get confused and might not decide. It is essential to limit the choices you show customers on your website. For example, on each web page, focus on one product and a call-to-action. Even if you do not have words to fill the page, that is okay.
Also, keep the number of form fields to a minimum when customers check out. The name, email address, and shipping address are enough. Close the sale before you contact the customer for more details.
4. Reduce the Number of Clicks
Do you intend to make more sales on your website? Ensure you have fewer clickable options. Scrolling works better and improves conversions. Instead of sliders, accordions, tabs, and carousels, use a single-column layout.
Your visitors should be able to find what they are looking for without clicking too many times. The same applies to the checkout pages. Instead of a “Continue” or “Next” button, have a “Buy Now” button that leads to the final purchase page.
Doing this will help reduce the number of people who abandon their shopping carts. You may have to reduce form fields and include the product information and order form on one page. Whatever you do, make the process as smooth and straightforward as possible.
5. Fix All 404s
Broken links and pages lead to a bad user experience. If someone clicks on a link and gets a 404 error page, they may leave your website and never come back. The worst-case scenario is when a customer tries to access a product, terms, or the “contact us” page.
Such a case can arise when moving your site or upgrading with new tools and features. It is essential to find and fix all 404s as soon as possible. Also, add a custom and creative 404 error page to keep the user engaged. It will help if something breaks and you are unaware.
6. Minimize or Eliminate Stock Image Usage
Graphics add a taste of professionalism to your website. But be careful not to overdo it with stock photos. They are usually a turn-off for users, and they might think you are not genuine.
Use original, high-quality pictures relevant to your content. If you are selling physical products, take HD photos of the items with a professional camera. Ensure to highlight specific features. But if you sell services, you may consider abstract images, illustrations, or infographics.
The point is to avoid using images not related to your brand or message. Also, do not use too many graphics on a single web page. It will only make the page slower to load, which is not ideal for SEO or user experience.
7. Improve Page Load Times
The loading speed of your website is essential for SEO and improving conversions. If a page takes too long to load, people will likely abandon it prematurely. You will lose prospects and, in turn, revenue.
The average user expects a web page to load in less than three seconds. Anything more than that will result in a high bounce rate. You can use various tools to check the loading speed of your pages, such as Google’s PageSpeed Insights and Pingdom. Both will give you a report of what is slowing down your website and how to fix it.
The most common issues are usually large attachments like images, pdf files, and videos. Optimize images by compressing them without reducing quality. You can also use a content delivery network (CDN) to deliver information to users using the nearest server to their location. Also, choose a reliable web host with sufficient data centers to ensure there is no downtime.
Summary
Designing a website for your business is essential to driving online sales. The tips above will enable you to create a better web design to improve your SEO, user experience, and conversions.
