Having a website is a great step towards creating a professional business image. Having a productive website which works on many levels is an entirely different challenge. Many companies tend to underestimate the power of the internet and how persuasive a well thought out website can be. With the right combination of information, visual impact and structure you will outshine your competitors and give confidence to potential clients causing them to chase after you/your services. Here are a few tips just to get you on the right path.
Website Tip One – Colour
Try to select a colour scheme that matches your corporate colours and logo. If you can build recognition by a strong colour set as well as an easily recognised logo it makes your company even easier to spot from a far. It will also unify your website making it more aesthetically pleasing. If people like what they see they are more likely to visit for longer, share with friends and return time and again. Matching your website colour scheme through all of your print marketing materials is also a very smart idea.
Website Tip Two – Navigation
An easy to navigate website is essential. It is important to make visitors feel like they can click through to any page and still return back to their starting point. Keeping relevant information together is also smart and helps improve browsing ease. Many studies show that website visitors only remain on any given website for a limited number of minutes and clicks so it is important to place your most important details in an easy to locate spot and reduce clicks where ever possible. Once you have drawn your audience in they are more likely to stay longer. With a large amount of space on hand some are inclined to put every scrap of information they can find on their website, but try to keep it short, simple and to the point. People tend to be visual and get bored with copious amounts of text.
Website Tip Three – Style
The sky is the limit when it comes to website design. It is easy to just look like any number of template websites but in the end it is your unique features that will make you stand out from the other millions of websites. Try to think of a design style that has something different and special. Use high quality (web optimised) images that add colour and life to your website. A mix of relative images will draw the eye and makes reading paragraphs of text easier. Make sure your images compliment your colour scheme and that they work together. It is hard to leave a website when it looks great and you are keen to know more!
Website Tip Four – Loading Time
Most people are short on patience. If your website takes a long time to load (display) you will find most of your visitors will leave before they even get access or the full image. This is often the case with Flash websites, introduction pages and website which run from cheap hosting locations. Whilst $5.00 a month for hosting seems like a bargain, there is usually a reason it is cheap and whilst you don’t need to spent top dollars to gain a reliable host company, somewhere closer to the $14.95 a month mark is more realistic and you do get what you pay for. Using local hosting services (within your country) makes websites load quicker and you can rest assured you are not cutting down on potential visitors. Flash introduction pages are great but only for the first time. Companies spend thousands of dollars on flash projects and most people skip them in search of actual content and information. These funds could be better spent on customer-friendly features which enrich their time on the website rather than bells and whistles that serve little purpose. Flash also cuts down your audience base because not everyone has flash plugins to make them work. Javascript works well for animation and more people have the ability to load it.
Website Tip Five – Search Engine Optimisation
You have the perfect website. It looks stunning. Everyone you show it to LOVES it. But… no one can find it.
The best website design you can ever achieve includes website optimisation and compliance. This means that your website passes W3C compliance, uses CSS and other approved coding methods, your search engine optimisation is all white hat and your website displays properly on all platforms (all browser types and sizes and portable devices). Website optimisation is important and even if you don’t have the budget for professional SEO you can help improve your website rankings on places like Google and Yahoo by inserting relevant information and keeping your website up to date. Content is king and the more relative your information is, the better results you will have when people search for your services and/or products. Blogs and News boards are a good way to keep your website frequently updated plus they can be followed via RSS feeds.
At Shell Graphix we ensure all of these tips play a large roll in every website we create. Our clients have seen phenomenal results which further cements how valuable these key elements really are.
