You already have a website, but it’s not working as you we’re thinking.
Can your visitors tell what your company does within five seconds of appearing on your website? Is it possible for people to get to the blog quickly when they need to? Is your price structure straightforward? Have you ever had a low bounce rate on your website? If you find yourself saying “no” to these questions, it may be time to reconsider how you’ve been creating and optimizing your website. Because the website is not for just how it’s looking, it should also work appropriately. A good website must strike a balance between high-performing content and an amazing user experience. So, how can you get started on upgrading your web design? To help you prepare that, here are 12 website suggestions to guarantee you’re on the right track with your redesign and aren’t alienating people.
1. Always have a plan
If you want to redesign your website you first need to have a plan. First of all, put yourself at the client’s feet. Start thinking about what would you like to read and see before you buy something from that website, or leave your details. Also, try using analytics to see your client’s journey. This way you can see what are doing your clients on the website, what pages are they visiting, and for how long they stay on the website. After you have a clear vision of what they are looking for, start thinking of a plan.
2. Remove unnecessary elements.
Try removing all the elements that are only distracting the user and make it super clear what you’re offering. Font styles, colors, graphics, icons, and logo usage should all be included. It’s simple for businesses to struggle when designing sites if they don’t have this. You’ll probably see a lot of different colors and font styles and sizes being used, which can detract from your message or cause visual confusion for folks who are trying to convert. Also try avoiding too many animations on a page, because it will distract the user.
3. Add testimonials
Adding social proof is always the best choice. If you’re a shop selling different products, or even if you’re a service provider having testimonials can always help to make trust with your clients. You know when we go to Amazon or AliExpress, open a product scroll down and we have reviews from clients. Most often those days images or videos show the product what they received and how is working. This will gain the trust of your clients.
4. CTA
People are lazy, therefore make everything as simple as possible for them. So they don’t have to fight to find what they’re looking for, point them in the proper path. Using strategically placed call-to-actions in areas such as the top right of your navigation, below portions that require action, and at the bottom of your website pages is one of the greatest methods to improve your web design with this in mind.
5. Imagery
Use real images from your business or try finding the right stock images. Let’s say that you don’t have real images from your business, or you don’t want to, use stock images that show your business. If it’s a product then use the same image to show the product. Or if you’re a therapist, try using images with people talking instead of nature.
6. Navigation
Navigation is key. Users have no motivation to stay on your site if they can’t locate what they’re looking for. Instead, they will very probably leave and seek out a competitor who provides a superior user experience. It’s critical to ensure that your visitors can simply locate what they’re looking for while enhancing your website’s navigation. This would include reduced content, a clear navigation hierarchy, and a responsive design to ensure that the user experience remains consistent on mobile.
7. Hierarchy
Don’t forget to start with H1! Then moving down to the next section to H2, all the way down till H6. This way you will have the right structure on your website. But also this will help with your SEO and ranking on Google. While having all this setup, also don’t forget your body structure and the contrast. Your text always needs to be with a font that can be read well. Not only for the font style but also for the contrast of the background of the website and the color of the font.
8. White Space
So many business owners are trying to build their own website, but also a lot of designers are afraid to use white space. We are no longer in a time where we put a lot of text, to be much closer, so the user can read right away. Don’t be afraid to use space around columns, texts, and images. Give space to every element. This way it will look much cleaner, and well organized.
9. Mobile optimization
This one is a must! Your website must be mobile responsive if you want your website to work. If you don’t already know, 80% of internet users own a smartphone, and “Google says 61% of users are unlikely to return to a mobile site they had trouble accessing and 40% visit a competitor’s site instead.”
10. Always list the prices you have
In an online shop, this is a must, but also if you’re proving services always list your prices. Not everyone that lands on your website, scrolls, reads all that they need to decide to take your product or service is going to contact you just to ask for price. But if the prices are listed, they can find them on the web, take a look and decide if that works for them or not.
Taking the time to follow these suggestions on your website can result in a significant improvement in its performance, user experience, and customers conversions. So, even when you’re not convinced if a website redesign is something you should do or just want to learn more about it, I recommend taking a step back and trying to learn more about it until you’re clear of what you want, or finding a professional to do this job for you.
