Web Design

In today’s crowded online marketplace, a well designed website is a necessity. Your site is the place all of your online marketing efforts channel back to. Increasing traffic to your website doesn’t help you if visitors encounter a poorly designed, overly complicated, or slow loading site. You have about 5 seconds to capture a visitor’s attention or they’ll move on to your competitor. A great website homepage is a critical investment for every business owner. Whether you already have a website or are planning for a new site, there are a number of factors to consider.

A Well Designed Website Can:

• Create a positive perception for your business
• Engage visitors with interesting content
• Generate sales and contacts 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
• Expand your business reach

On the Other Hand, a Poorly Designed Website Can

• Reflect negatively on your business
• Limit your marketing reach
• Cause customer dissatisfaction

Your website’s design will determine whether your visitors decide to stay and take action or exit and move on to your competitor.  It will need to engage, create trust, and allow visitors to find what they need quickly and easily – while doing what you want them to do.

Hubspot recently identified 7 homepage design factors to consider:

1) The design clearly answers “Who I am,” “What I do,” and/or “What can you (the visitor) do here.”
2) The design resonates with the target audience.
3) The design communicates a compelling value proposition.
4) The design is optimized for multiple devices.
5) The design includes calls-to-action (CTAs).
6) The design is always changing.
7) The design is effective.

Thinking about your ideal customer is an essential first step when planning for your website. Remember that your site is a tool which your potential customers actually use to accomplish a task – whether they are searching for a specific product or service or simply want to access your site’s content. When designing and organizing your site, always keep the user in mind. A simple and well organized design will engage visitors giving you the opportunity to convert them into customers.

Your Homepage Has to Clearly Communicate:

• What products or services you provide
• How your customers benefit from working with you
• What they need to do to access your products or services

Your homepage isn’t necessarily the place where visitors convert, but it is the place where they get their first impression of your business. You want that first impression to be a positive and rewarding experience.

An Optimized and User-Friendly Website Includes:

• Landing pages – Each landing page can function as a home page for a different geographic location, product, or service.
• Name, address, and phone number (NAP) – This information should go in the footer with the appropriate schema markup. There are SEO ranking factors tied to this.
• Frequent updates – The easiest way to ensure your website is constantly updated is to add new content in a variety of forms including text, videos, and photos. A blog is a great way to provide fresh content for your new and returning customers. In addition, Google rewards sites that provide a fresh stream of new content.
• Mobile-friendly design – All websites should be responsive, and this is especially critical for local business websites since they receive a large amount of traffic from mobile devices.

To Maximize the Effectiveness of Your Homepage, Remember To:

Establish Your Brand

Making a clear statement about who you are as a brand is among the most important things you can accomplish with your homepage design. Too many times, a homepage is designed with too many goals in mind. Make it easy for visitors to understand exactly what you offer and clearly explain what makes you different from your competitors. An effective tagline should clearly state exactly what your business does.

Keep It Simple

A complex homepage is not the way to go. An excessive amount of widgets, calls-to-action, links, and clutter distracts and overwhelms your visitors which will ultimately cause them to leave your site.

Don’t make your visitors work to find the information they need. Keep your homepage clean and easy to navigate with:

• Easy-to-read text
• Plenty of white space
• Clearly labeled sections
• An obvious call to action button above the fold
• Simple categories for your products and services

Use Bold Visuals

A website is a highly visual medium. People react to the use of photos and videos differently than they do to words. Make sure that your homepage includes images that show clients the success they will find when they use your products or services. Your goal is to attract and keep visitors on your site. Make sure the visuals you use support your brand message.

Your homepage design is an important part of your brand’s success. An SEO-friendly and user- friendly website can help you engage your visitors and lead them down the path towards becoming loyal followers and ultimately, long-term customers.

Kalamazoo SEO for Growth Offers a Wide Range of Website Services Including:

• Website design
• Web copywriting
• Landing pages and calls-to-action
• Website management and maintenance
• Website conversion rate optimization and analytics
• Domain name registration and hosting

You know that competition is tough in today’s crowded online world. There’s no point in updating your website with a beautiful new design if nobody sees it, engages with it, or converts into a customer. An effective business website needs to be both attractive and designed for search engine optimization. Kalamazoo SEO for Growth designs highly optimized websites strategically engineered to grow your business. Contact us today to learn how we can upgrade and improve your total online presence.