Whilst it is fair to say that pretty much every modern business will already have a website at the time of writing this article, it is also pretty accurate to assume that not all of these online entities have been designed effectively. There is no ‘one size fits all’ code as far as website design is concerned, just look at the myriad of themes that are on offer if you need any confirmation of that fact. But there are a few common denominators that will give your own website an advantage over your misled rival’s attempts. We’ll look at five of these here, and hopefully you may be able to weave a few these into your own domain if they are not already there.
Who are your audience?
A very simple and direct question, and surely any businessman or woman worth their salt should have a very good idea of the answer. But does your website mirror this requirement? Okay, you may have found a scrumptious theme for your site and it could be a dazzling display of visual tomfoolery, but will your customers ‘get it?’ Unless your business sector is equally as playful, you should probably think a little harder about what will appeal to your market sector. It may take some time, and you will probably have to look at hundreds of live examples to find the one that you really want. Research is never going to be a barrel of laughs, but it is often the only way to get the truth.
What should your site actually be doing?
Websites can be all things to all people and if you are not sure of what yours should be doing, the chances are that nobody else will either. If you are looking for sales, design a site that can cope with that responsive requirement. Or if you are looking to connect with your people, think about a blog friendly set of design ideas that do the job nicely. You may well decide that you need 2 or 3 websites in order to make a clean sweep, but ensure that your clear aim is in sight before wasting time and money on the finished article.
Check out your rival sites
Although you may be confident that your product or service will be far superior to whatever your competition can muster in comparison, it is a good idea to see what their websites look like. You’ll have hundreds to check out and simply mark down what works and what doesn’t, and eventually you will have gleaned some cool tips that will help you build. You should also make a plan that allows you to beat them to the punch in most departments.
Confusing layouts do not work
The days of impressing all and sundry with oh so clever navigational setups, has well and truly gone, thank goodness. And the more direct approach is the only way to progress, so if you really want your visitors to spend a few minutes looking around, ensure that you keep it basic. Search engine crawlers are also rather partial to an easily navigable site and keep both of these vital facts in mind when you get down and dirty with the layout.
Colours really do rock
Although we are always saying that content is king, and that text will always be there or thereabouts, have a heart for those who prefer the rainbow option. You can have the best of both worlds if you must, but remember that images are the bomb in 2014. If your website looks more like a library book than a promotional poster, you’ll be seeing tumbleweeds before bedtime. And do not skimp on the colours, using a white, black, and single color theme may sooth your tired eyes, but that look certainly has no place in the ever competitive business website arena. Use examples of your products and don’t be afraid to experiment a little with the tones and shades, because your audience are far more likely to find a little artistic license appealing, as opposed to reading something akin to a dictionary index.
Website design mistakes can harm your rankings on the search engines so you not only need to look at how pretty the site look but also how the search engines will view them. For example a website with hardly any content will struggle to get high rankings on Google. Google just loves content. Your web designer will probably want to keep the content low as it will spoil the look and feel of the website. A way of getting round this is to include the “read more” button. That way you are only showing people that want to find out more the additional content that the search engines will love.