You Only Get 1 First Impression
ow Your website is often the FIRST impression people get of your business. Fair or not, your company will be judged by how it looks online, so make sure to give your site some love! From fonts that catch eyes on a crowded screen, to images that capture attention with color contrast - find what works for you and stick with it. Here are some tips.
1. HELP PEOPLE FIND YOUR SITE
SEO (Search Engine Optimization) still matters because people will find your web page through Google searches. You might have heard the term "keywords?" These are various descriptive words that are programmed into the html of your site. Sounds confusing? Don't worry, Google doesn't look at keywords much anymore. But it does look at your site's page title tags, header tags and page descriptions. Submitting your completed site to Google for indexing is also key. However, the very best thing you can do to make your site rank higher in search is to write good, descriptive content. This is where a lot of my clients get stuck. Which brings me to the next point...
2. CONTENT, CONTENT, CONTENT
These days, most people want information fast, and they don't have time to read your life story beforehand. Keep the text on your site concise and descriptive of your products/services and where/with whom you serve. The top of your home page should always tell people what you offer and how it benefits them. This can go a long way in terms of conversion rates (turning site visitors into paying clients!)
Not everyone is good at writing about their business. It's okay! Do yourself a huge favor and hire an expert. It will pay off big, and you'll save a ton of your own precious time which can then be spent on your business.
3. HELP PEOPLE FIND WHAT THEY'RE LOOKING FOR
Make it easy for people to find what they're looking for on your site! This means that menus and navigation should always be organized to assist visitors in finding their desired content with minimal effort (especially if there are multiple services or products). Large icons and graphics can serve as links which lead users directly from one page of the site to another related section - this eliminates redundant clicking and provides additional visual cues about where to go next.
4. LOOK PROFESSIONAL WITH BRAND CONSISTENCY
A well-branded website not only features the company logo, but it has a consistent layout, font size and color scheme on every page. One of the best ways to ensure this happens is by deciding what fonts and colors are used in your brand before you ever embark on designing your website. The graphic designer who created your logo should provide you with a Brand Style Guide that lists your brand's color codes and fonts. Be sure to provide those to your website designer. (Psst, we do that for our clients. Learn more here.)
5. TELL THEM WHAT TO DO NEXT
Visitors to your website should never have to guess how to contact you, so make sure that there is always a call-to-action on every page of the site; this could be a link to your products page, a phone number or email link, a contact form, or all of the above. Place these in your header and footer for convenient clicking.
Need some help designing your website?
Creative Instinct can help! Contact Gwen Canfield to arrange a free consultation at gwen@creativeinstinct.biz. Below are a couple of sites we have designed for clients.