A website that’s not properly made can cost you a lot of money and potential customers. After all, the web is designed to be the great equalizer: Small companies should have as much chance at landing sales as larger ones do. The first step in doing so is having a proper site layout and design.
Many business owners don’t think much about their website design, focusing instead on the content of their page. However this is a mistake.
A study from W3bSmart found that 78% of consumers said that they looked at the design and quality of a site before visiting it, while 85% said that it had an impact on whether or not they ended up making a purchase.
The importance of web design is also evident in the sheer amount of businesses that invest in their site’s aesthetics. For instance, when CBS Local conducted research among small businesses across various industries, they found that 40% spent $1,000 or more on their web design costs. Meanwhile, 27% paid between $751 and $1,000 while 20% shelled out between $501 and 750.
So how much should a company spend on building a site? It’s hard to say considering that it varies from business to business. However, for most firms it should be the biggest expense after their actual location costs. For instance, an independent bakery might have a small location with just a few tables where they sell their desserts. A site that shows off this homemade atmosphere is going to be effective, especially if it provides a way for customers to purchase the items directly from the site. However, if you own a large bakery conglomerate that sells cakes in department stores and supermarkets across the country, your site is about projecting a certain image more than anything else.
According to Nsweb, one of the best things you can do on your website is to get people to sign up for an email list. This way they can be notified when new products or services are released while also giving you permission to contact them by mail with special offers and discounts.
Beyond that, here are a few tips to help your business stand out from the competition:
Use Big, Bold Headlines – You have very little time to capture the reader’s attention so don’t waste it with a bunch of tiny words and sentences. Take some time before you even start writing your web copy and determine what you want people to see. Now go back and add words that look great when they’re large and in bold.
Keep Titles Short – Just because your headline is going to be big doesn’t mean it should be a paragraph long. Make sure that each of your titles is no more than a few lines at most, otherwise you’ll lose the reader’s interest before you even finish the first sentence.
Build Trust – You might be offering something for sale or linking to a website that contains adult material. In either case, try and use some sort of disclaimer stating that you’re not responsible for these external sources. A meta tag is perfect for this.
Use Plenty of White Space – Don’t be afraid to give your text room to breathe. Too many tech companies pack everything in between their logo and contact information , resulting in a site that’s difficult to navigate.
Use High Quality Photos – Nobody likes looking at grainy, fuzzy images when they’re trying to decide whether or not they want to purchase something. Make sure that your photos look sharp and as realistic as possible. Experienced web design companies like Jacksonville Web Design are more experienced when it comes to these aspects.
A good way to tell if they’re high quality is by taking a screenshot of the photo and then zooming in on it. If all you see are pixels, then there’s no way they’ll work for your site.
Lastly, Don’t Forget About Navigation – Even though design is important, that doesn’t mean you should use your site as an excuse to cut back on navigation. Users are always looking for something new, creating a sense of visual progress that can help them understand where they are at any given moment.
