The design of a website plays an important role in attracting viewers and garnering web traffic. Certain websites gain more traction, not just because of their structure or design, but also because of the right amount of content.
Your website needs to communicate clearly with your audience, about what you are doing, why you are doing it, and who you are doing it for. Below are some tips to help you design an attractive website, which is guaranteed to grab your target group’s attention.
Add a strong call-to-action
This is an element that indicates the next step a visitor should take. Make sure you add a call-to-action button on your website that will either provide your viewers with the material they are looking for, or help convert them into consumers of your brand. Once viewers identify your website as one that has what they are searching for, they will feel more comfortable going through what you have. For example, instead of saying ‘Enquire now’, you can say ’Get a free quote’.
Keep the design clutter-free and content, simple
Complex designs and large amounts of complicated content will drive away your audience. Moreover, over-the-top designs will slow down your website that can affect its ranking since Google prioritises sites that load faster.
Stay wary of heavy or unnecessary animations and use only what is necessary and appeals to your target group. Also, try to get the main points across with small but powerful sections of content and images and make sure that you refrain from using too many jargon or complicated words.
As far as fonts are concerned, stick to the sans serif family to make the text appear clear and minimalistic. It is also important to develop an SEO strategy that considers the key search terms your audience would ideally look for.
Easy navigation
Your navigation can affect traffic and conversions. This means that it plays a key role in determining how high your website will rank, how much traffic you will get from search results, how easy your website is to use and what percentage of visitors will convert into leads and customers.
Complicated navigation systems can confuse people and might lead them to leave your website, thereby increasing your bounce rate. Having fewer items in your navigation menu can allow you to build better-looking designs without compromising on user experience.
Structure your navigation and linking system properly before implementing it into your website. It is a good idea to lay out the system on paper before applying it on your website. Once the corrections are made, you can execute them on your website for a better and clear-cut design.
Also, make sure you add the necessary social media sharing icons on relevant pages for easy navigation — this way, you can leverage the appropriate social media platforms, such as LinkedIn to promote your business, or increase Instagram engagement for better reach.
Ensure your website is mobile-optimised
Recent studies have indicated that 60 per cent of Google searches are from a mobile device; and that number is only going to grow in the future. Mobile users consume a high amount of visual media, with a major focus on short video and images.
Grabbing their attention requires an optimised design that uses these types of media to attract users. Make sure that your website is easily accessible on phones and tablets; mobile optimisation can increase your reach among viewers by miles and be the key to gaining more views.
Run A/B tests before your site is live
You shouldn’t feel obligated to use certain design elements simply because it’s a trend. Similarly, don’t think you have to forego a design just because it’s an unpopular style.
You can use A/B testing to find out whether your designs are working, and if they are, how well or how badly. It is a method of comparing two different versions of a webpage and seeing which one performs better.
This test is an experiment where two or more versions of a page are shown to users at random and a statistical analysis is used to find out which variation performs better for a given conversion goal.
A/B testing is a good way to implement new designs and test their effectiveness on your audience. For example, you can play with colours or text on a landing page or webpage to see which performs better.
After designing your website, run as many tests as you can to track its performance and rectify the negatives you find. Make sure you update yourself on new trends in web design as well. Now all that’s left for you to do is to open your laptop, start designing your website and take your business to towering heights with the power of digital marketing .