In today’s do-it-yourself world, many business professionals handle their own website design. They may be using a template-based service like Wix or WordPress to create a professional-looking site, choosing from one of many designs available. More often than not, businesses opt for a design that is easy to update, accommodating existing logos, colors, and text. By doing this, you may not realize that ongoing mistakes in your design are resulting in lost sales.
One of these mistakes is a call to action (CTA) that is lost or easily overlooked. Fixing this problem can potentially improve conversions, bringing in thousands of dollars in extra sales each month. Here are a few things you should check for to make sure that your call to action shines through.
Test user friendliness
There’s a reason user experience is increasingly important in design. It’s important that a business approach its website from the same perspective as the customers who will be using it. This includes viewing it on mobile, as well as PC, and making sure all buttons and forms are easy to find and use.
One technique employed by user experience experts is to understand the various stages a customer goes through in making a decision. When customers first visit your site, what information are they likely seeking? On an ecommerce site, customers are likely most interested in finding a specific product, so it’s important that both a search button and category-based browsing options are made available and easy to use.
Will customers want to compare products? If so, your site should have an easy-to-use comparison tool in each area a customer would be searching for it. Your calls to action should each be geared toward that particular phase of the shopping experience.
Provide instruction
There’s a reason mega-sites like Amazon use verbs on each call to action. Verbs correspond to action, so wording such as “add to cart,” “add to wish list,” and “sign in” stimulate visitors to do something. Your CTA should be in the same place on each page for consistency, especially if the action item is something a user might want to complete from any page on your site, such as “add to cart” or “check out.”
“Tell the user what to do,” says Pek Pongpaet, founder of San Jose design firm Impekable. “Be very explicit. A call to action must prompt the user to their next logical course of action.”
Use contrast
Colors and placement are crucial in website design, since a customer’s eye will likely be drawn to certain elements on a page. CTAs work best prominently placed with plenty of white space around them. If the call to action is on a button, it should be in a color that draws the customer’s eye, compelling him or her to click.
Professional designers often use contrast to create visually-appealing designs. As demonstrated here, contrast is the placement of dramatically different elements (light vs. dark, large vs. small shapes) to create drama and call attention to an item. The call to action should be designed to draw the eye to that part of the page. Having it in stark contrast to the background of the page is a great way to lure the user’s attention to it.
Avoid clutter
Websites can fall into the trap of trying to load everything on each screen. This can easily lead to a cluttered design that confuses and loses visitor interest. This is especially true if the clutter is created by multiple calls to action. From a user experience standpoint, you should take in all of the calls to action on each page and ask yourself which one draws the user’s attention first? Is it the one you most want to call attention to? Set priorities and make sure your top priorities are getting the most attention.
“Don’t overload a page or screen with too many calls to action,” says Pongpaet. “This will only overwhelm the user. Each screen or page should have a primary objective and that should have a corresponding CTA.”
For any business website, calls to action are essential. By using the tools available today, you can determine whether your design supports your calls to action or interferes with them. In addition to website analytics, you can also feel free to ask your loyal customers what they like and dislike about your site. No matter how you get there, the goal is to create calls to action that will swiftly and smoothly get your visitors where they want to go.
Colors and placement are crucial in website design, since a customer’s eye will likely be drawn to certain elements on a page. CTAs work best prominently placed with plenty of white space around them. If the call to action is on a button, it should be in a color that draws the customer’s eye, compelling him or her to click.
Professional designers often use contrast to create visually-appealing designs. As demonstrated here, contrast is the placement of dramatically different elements (light vs. dark, large vs. small shapes) to create drama and call attention to an item. The call to action should be designed to draw the eye to that part of the page. Having it in stark contrast to the background of the page is a great way to lure the user’s attention to it.
Now we are almost 3 months passed in 2019, it’s time to look at the digital trends for businesses to pay attention to for the year ahead. 2018 saw some big developments in the technology world and it will be a hard one to top, however technologies such as Artificial Intelligence and Internet of Things hold big potential for business this year, but business leaders will need their finger on the pulse to stay on top of digital trends explored within this article by CRM software provider, PragmatiQ Solutions…
Trend 1. Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) VR started to really take off in 2018 and was even labelled as a huge part of the future. We’re not saying it won’t be huge, however with limited accessibility, it hasn’t seen the rapid growth rate expected. On the other hand, Augmented Reality (AR) has been developing in the background ready to outpace VR in 2019.
The ability to be used on mobile phones and tablets makes Augmented Reality much more easily accessible and affordable than VR, which requires a headset for use.
Trend 2. Voice Search Marketing By 2020, 50% of searches will be voice-based, according to ComScore. 2018 saw a huge increase in voice-search and devices like the Amazon Alexa, however most consumers are using this technology to listen to music and add items to their shopping list. Big brands, like Ocado who launched their hands-free shopping, are quickly picking up on this this shift in consumerism and pioneering the way in this new search environment.
These devices present an opportunity for consumers to simply buy a product by using their voice, and the sooner brands understand this, the sooner they can market their products via this emerging technology and reap the rewards.
According to Forbes, the voice search revolution has been fueled by the rise in smart speakers, which has more than tripled in the last year, with more consumers having these devices in their homes than ever. Although it’s not clear how this trend will develop, PragmatiQ Solutions believe that it’s here to stay and you can find more information on this here.
Trend 3. Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence (AI) At the Microsoft Ignite conference in July 2018, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella predicted “AI to be one of the trends that is going to be the next big shift in technology”, and we agree.
These platforms can analyse data to form a set of insights which mirror human decision-making processes or automate tasks to increase the productivity and efficiency of teams within your business. From manufacturing to healthcare and many more, AI & Machine Learning is assisting many industries, despite the past assumptions it would just benefit sales teams.
Requiring integration with current systems and a strategic approach to cover planning and deployment, it is essential that organisations understand AI is not a plug-and-play approach.
Trend 4. Adoption of Internet of Things (IoT) IoT has been threatening growth for a number of years, however mainly due to security concerns, companies have been more hesitant to adopt this technology. However, if you’re anything like us here at PragmatiQ Solutions, you will have more connected devices and gadgets in your home than this time last year, demonstrating the growth IoT has seen in 2018.
Escape From Chatbot Hell: Using AI to Improve Service While Cutting Costs
New advances in Conversational AI technology has made it possible to create smart virtual assistants that understand real human dialog. Learn how to leverage this new technology to drive impact for your business.
IoT is paving the way for businesses when creating new business lines, according to Forbes. For example, companies who manufacture products now have opportunities to expand their offering to ongoing services in order to monitor the performance of these products, thanks to algorithms that provide predictive maintenance alerts as required.
The design for the web store is an essential facet of the
customer experience today. A device-wide ease-of-use and accessibility is the
desire of every customer today, whether they are looking for a product or a
service. However, to achieve this, the organizations require an in-depth
assessment of numerous aspects while designing their website as it not only
about improving just the website functioning to attract more visitors but also
considerations on what will drive sales from the web platform.
Let’s look at some of the focus elements to help you improve
the design of your website that ensure highlighting of the best bits you want
to offer:
Appearance – As
soon as someone clicks on a webpage, they create an impression of it in their
mind. Moreover, if they don’t find what they see and read alluring, they will
bounce from your webpage and would not like to revisit the website. The design
of any site doesn’t need to be complicated, but it should be up-to-date and
more accessible for visitors to browse through. The site must have:
New advances in Conversational AI technology has made it
possible to create smart virtual assistants that understand real human dialog.
Learn how to leverage this new technology to drive impact for your business.
Responsive Design: For a seamless look across
devices, from smartphones to the desktop computer screen. the most value from
your website without straining their eyes.
Bold Fonts: Easy-to-read fonts to offer readers
the required value without straining their eyes.
Eye-Catching Images: Visuals summarise the text
and help visitors to absorb the information quickly and easily.
Multimedia: Interactive elements like videos,
images, and infographics help convert visitors into customers!
Professionalism –
The design of your website is a reflection of your business outlook. Your
visitors must feel confident about dealing with a reputable enterprise. The
trustworthiness of your company gets reflected based on the below elements:
Culture Page: This page must elaborate on the
company’s approach along with its values and traditions.
Employee Pictures: Let the visitors know the
people behind the organization and with whom they will have to connect
depending on their focus areas.
Customer Feedback & Testimonials: Showcase
the received inputs from your valuable customers to help target and convert the
visitors into prospects.
Clarity – The
significance of clarity is straightforward; it enables users to find what they
are looking for, and in the fastest possible time. It gets improved through the
navigation tools. Though it is simple to adjust there are two most excellent
ways to enhance the clarity on the website are:
Breadcrumb: They help users find their way back
home. While visitors click on a new link, breadcrumb ensure that there is a
link back to the previous page.
Drop-down Menu: It must reflect all the content
is segregated into categories and makes the product or service search easier.
Conversions – The
main aim of your web design is improving its conversion rate. Below are the
three things to keep in mind while designing the web pages:
Color Scheme: Use a color scheme to highlight the call to action
(CTA). An explicit view will allow clicking by the visitors for a future
discussion
KISS: ‘Keep It Simple, Stupid.’ Avoid busy
backgrounds and cluttered designs. Make use of simple, modern, and attractive
designs.
Human Faces: They help visitors to relate to the
business and make visitors contact you on-the-go.
A successful brand can get you customers, and enable you to keep them at the same time. Also, by keeping your buyers satisfied with your products or services, they will remain loyal. The first thing you should do, however, is to tell them what your brand is all about. You can also build your brand through web design.
Here are several tips on how web design can help build a brand suitable for your audience.
Choose the right color
Colors are important because they can evoke people’s emotions and their subconscious. For example, what comes to mind when you see the color green? You are probably thinking of the environment or your health. Seeing it may also keep you calm. For this reason, many hospital walls are now painted with pale green.
Meanwhile, black is a serious color since it can represent luxury. Think of brands like Louis Vuitton or Rolex watches. Orange, however, is less suitable for serious brands. When people see this color, they see it bursting with youthful energy.
If you want to build excitement or interest when people see your brand, find out which colors can do that. You should also consider that various cultures have different interpretations of the same colors. If you’re catering to an international market, use only colors that are universally favored if possible.
Inject some personality
People like brands that have human-like attributions because it helps them identify with it. Psychologists call it anthropomorphism.
A fine example of this is Twitter with its little blue bird. Once people see this winged mascot, they think of Twitter. It’s easy to recall a brand that has some human-like familiarity.
Stir your audience’s feelings
If they see your brand, what emotions do you want them to experience? Using the latest designs isn’t going to cut it anymore. To make your brand popular, associate it with pleasant emotions and vibes that you can include in the web design.
With our site, we used the color orange and short video clips to showcase our brand as a creative web design agency. Upon landing on the page, the images aim to bring positive feelings to the audience.
Keep the design consistent
Brands are successful because people care and remember them. So how do you make your brand memorable? The answer is consistency.
This means you need to be consistent in your web design. In every page, use the same colors, formatting, graphics, personality, and emotions. People should see a uniform image throughout your website.
This will also make your website perform better. Since you’re reusing content such as graphics, your site will load faster. If someone has visited the site before, your images are easily displayed from the browser’s cache. For example, if you’re using the same navigation bar in all web pages, the browser only needs to download the code once.
Display your logo properly
You can get creative with your logo design but there’s only one place where it should be located. Always put your logo on the upper left corner of the website because that’s where most people will look for it. You should also link the logo’s image to the home page.
Logo size is also important. So make sure that the logo is big enough to get noticed immediately by your visitors.
Present value proposition
First-time visitors will have several questions upon landing on your site. What products or services are you offering? Can it provide solutions to their problems? This is where your value proposition comes in.
A value proposition is a short statement that visitors can easily see on your page. It should be placed high up on the page just after the logo and menu.
You can only afford yourself a few words to tell what benefits the visitors will get from your site. So make sure the value proposition is:
• Clear
• Short
• Concise
• Answer the question what and why
• Use the appropriate voice
The language or tone you’re going to use should support the brand’s personality and emotions. If your audience is millennials, the tone could be informal. If you’re catering to stock market investors, a formal tone is more appropriate.
Make your brand unique
Using all these elements is not enough. To truly set your brand apart from the rest, you have to make it unique.
The colors, personality or voice doesn’t matter if your website looks the same as your competitors. How could prospective buyers distinguish? Yes, it will take a bit of effort to create a brand that’s different from the others. That hard work, however, will pay off since your visitors will likely remember you. There’s also a greater chance that they will come back again once they are satisfied with your products or services.
Creating a brand makes sense even for small businesses as well as personal websites and blogs. In the face of fierce competition, having a good brand will help you get noticed. So in designing a website, these tips will help your brand get a head start from your competitors.
Mobile applications have become an inseparable part of our lives lately. There are more than 5 billion mobile users in this world. This number is growing exponentially with each passing day and so does the importance of mobile applications.
There is a dire need to deliver apps that work both for web and mobiles. Consequently, while developing enterprise applications, many developers have adopted the motto that “web is not enough”. Hence, to manage the customers’ needs, most of the web applications are now coming up with their mobile counterparts.
Conception of Idea
Your experience having hundreds of apps for sure give you an advantage of knowing what app could have the potential, market appeal, tech complexity, resources innovation, etc. How can we evaluate an idea objectively? Conception of an idea is just knowing the building blocks of everything that you have to work with. You got all the stuff; web hosting, the camera, GPS, different sensors, cloud services, maps, developers, programmers. But when you think of all those things – it is like being in a kitchen and knowing what things you have, so, you know what you can cook, right? So, a lot of times, when you are coming up with ideas, you need to know what they are and what potential they have.
Devising the strategy
It is necessary to take this thought out of your mind that in this world, you work in isolation. You will be competing with hundreds or thousands of other developers and businessmen. To identify your competitors, you can always ask your potential customers how they solve the same need you solve. Conduct a competitive analysis by assessing the current and potential strength and weaknesses of your competitors and then comparing it with your own unique selling propositions. Draft a plan to stay ahead of your competitors for a long time.
When you think of an idea, it does not necessarily be unique. Look at all those businesses that have flourished over the years, Walmart, McDonald’s or Apple – are big companies, they are not necessarily the innovators of those things. They were the incremental innovators, but they were not the inventors of them. Ray Kroc did not invent the hamburger or Walmart did not invent retailing. The product or process was there before, but they found a market and then capitalized on it.
If you do something that is completely and totally new, you are not only building something that hasn’t been built before, but you must build a market that is not there before. Developers usually think that a unique idea will make them successful but on the contrary, it is the marketing strategy that makes their idea successful.
Monetizing the mobile app is very difficult, particularly when there are number of free apps available. People will only pay for those apps that could give them some unique value. However, there are some other ways of getting monetary benefit out of your app. If your app depends on download from the app stores, you better off having a free app to the users because the free apps are easier to market and promote inside mobile app stores and so therefore your app will be competitive. Once your app reaches a hefty number of user base, you can earn money from adds.
Another strategy can be to offer free app usage for one month, make the users like your app and then shift to subscription model. Or you can make in-app purchasing options.
Once you conceive the idea, identify your competitors, devised marketing strategies and potential revenue sources from the app, you are good to go to development phase. However, don’t just jump into programming and developing the app. Instead make a thorough action plan starting from designing User Interface to prototype to development and testing.
User – experience and interface design
A good user experience design (UX) is vital for the success of your mobile app. Why? Because, it is the users, you are building your app for. And if they don’t like the experience of using your app, they would switch to something else. So, try to make a design that is engaging and can captivate the attention of its users. Use a good style guide that can help you build an attractive application.
Design-to-development handoff
Do you standardize on a single platform or use different approaches for each platform? For instance, Swift is used for IOS based applications and Java is used for Android based mobile apps. One the other hand, a single platform of Xamarin can be used for both IOS and Android. However, in order to save efforts and resources, it is generally suggested to use a standard approach with a single platform, without any device-specific code.
While organizations are turning to Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) to assemble, deploy, and manage applications – they need to carefully consider support for mobile. It is important to select a PaaS that provides a rich mobile experience without custom code and also offers support for both private and public cloud deployment. Without these capabilities, you won’t reach your goal of quickly building, deploying, and managing compelling apps.
Expert generally suggest using industry standard frameworks such as React Native to build mobile applications that provide a familiar, yet customizable user interface using the popular JavaScript. React Native allows building native mobile apps, compared to simple adaptation of web applications to mobile phones or even a hybrid app. It uses the mobile’s native UI building blocks, making it indistinguishable from a mobile app built in Objective-C (iOS) or Java (Android). When specialized API is required, React Native lets us use native components as well, making possible the mixing of existing components with JavaScript code.
Development and Iteration
Creating a reliable mobile application is an iterative process. Once you decided whether to build an iOS app or an android app, you can plan on the how to develop it and how to write the code for it. The first and arguably most pivotal step to building an android based mobile application is installing an integrated development environment. You also have a choice between Eclipse (ADT Bundle) and Android studio.
Testing and quality assurance
As the mobile economy grows, so does the pressure to provide excellent products. Mobile users demand high-quality apps, ruthlessly abandoning or deleting those with bugs. The highly competitive market also demands that mobile teams release apps faster and more often. Add to that the challenge of supporting different device types across a fragmented market, and mobile teams are left with a daunting amount of work to ensure quality, consistency, and velocity. Hence, mobile application testing has a great value for mobile app development process.
You need to carry out functionality testing, user acceptance testing, performance testing, Load testing, regression testing, usability testing, so on and so forth.
Deployment & Monitoring
Last but not the least step in mobile app development process is its deployment in the real world. You can either deploy your mobile app through Web server (API) or launch it at a play Store (Google or Apple). Deploying it at your own web server can involve additional responsibilities and protocols. You will have to take care of the scale, traffic, server downtimes etc. or you can purchase cloud platforms such as Rackspace or Amazon Web services etc.
After deployment, keep track of your mobile app for possible crashes, updates, performance improvements and new features. Through this way, you will be able to keep it alive for a longer time period.
WordPress vs. the Competition WordPress tops the list of the three most often used site building packages in the world, followed by Joomla and Drupal. All are free to download and use, all come with numerous add-ons for specialized functionality, and all can be customized to suit the needs of individual users.
But, both Joomla and Drupal require a certain level of technical know-how and familiarity with HTML and the programming language PHP. WordPress allows experienced users to work at that level, too—but, unlike Joomla and Drupal, it also includes features for beginners, so that they can set up a site quickly with no knowledge of code or programming. Here’s a look at a few key benefits of using WordPress to set up and run your business or personal site.
Flexible and Adaptable for Changing Needs Although WordPress was originally designed to support blogging and related types of online publishing, it also powers a wide range of sites with other purposes. WordPress is used to run complex sites for large multinational corporations, manage small businesses, and create personal blogs. WordPress sites can contain full service ecommerce stores, showcase a portfolio, or host a social network, group, or podcast. Whatever a company’s requirements, the core WordPress package plus a combination of its many plugins can make a site to suit. Thanks to its many themes and easy access to its source files, WordPress is also endlessly adaptable to a company’s changing needs.
User-friendly—Even for Beginners A WordPress site can be installed and up and running in a matter of minutes, even without any technical expertise. All a user needs is a domain name and a hosting account.WordPress can be installed free through your WordPress hosting provider or uploaded directly from WordPress.org. From there, an intuitive and easy to manage Admin dashboard has all the features needed to customize key features like a site’s heading and layout, and to start creating pages and posts right away.
Themes Offer Multiple Options WordPress themes offer users an array of choices for fine-tuning the appearance and functions of a new site, thanks to its large and growing directory of themes. Many of these are instantly available to a new site owner through the WordPress theme directory, and thousands more can be purchased through design marketplaces and third-party designers from around the world. Themes can be previewed live and installed at any time to change the look and layout of a WordPress site.
Plugins Extend Functionality WordPress includes all the elements needed to create a basic site, but many users want more specialized functions related to a site’s specific needs. The WordPress plugin directory includes hundreds of plugins—small pieces of code designed to perform specific tasks—that allow users to add features such as shopping carts, galleries, contact forms, and more to any compatible WordPress site. Users can also purchase and install hundreds of custom plugins from third-party developers. Plugins can be activated or deactivated and uninstalled as needed as a site evolves.
WordPress Sites Rank High Searchabiility is key to ranking high on Google and other search engines. WordPress sites tend to rank high for their keywords, largely because they’re constantly being updated and because WordPress includes a variety of tools and plugins for optimizing content for SEO (search engine optimization).
WordPress Sites Are Mobile Responsive Mobile responsiveness is also a factor in Google rankings, so websites need to look good on any device. WordPress offers a variety of responsive theme designs, and users can also make a static site responsive with plugins and adjustments to theme files.
WordPress Sites Have a Built-In Blog Since WordPress is a content management system, it has multiple features that make publishing content easy. One of these is a “built in” blog feature that can be accessed from any device, at any time, so that users who want to add a blog to their website don’t have to create one separately. That makes it possible even for sites unrelated to blogging to use the blog feature for adding updates or announcements.
The WordPress Community Offers Support Because WordPress is free and open source, it’s supported by WordPress-loving communities around the world. This community of WordPress lovers is responsible for making changes to the source files and keeping WordPress updated and secure. The WordPress community also engages in plenty of outreach to users, hosting WordPress camps around the world and supporting the growth of local WordPress user groups. WordPress is used by over 30 percent of CMS-based websites worldwide, and it’s easy to see why. WordPress makes the essential tools for building a website available to any user, not just experienced web developers, and those tools can equally support a small personal site and a large, complicated corporate web portal. With an array of features such as themes and plugins designed to extend its functions, WordPress works for all kinds of sites.
A website for your business is no longer a luxury — it’s a necessity. But, just because you invested in a website doesn’t mean that it’s effective in connecting with your customers and ultimately improving your sales. While there could be numerous reasons why your website isn’t effective, here are 10 of the most common explanations for website fails.
1. It’s not mobile friendly
This shouldn’t come as a surprise to most of us, but for the first time ever mobile and tablet usage surpassed desktop usage. As the mobile revolution continues to grow around the world, this trend toward “on the go digital,” will continue. In other words, internet consumption is moving away desktops and in to the portable devices territory. This means that your business’s website has to be optimized for mobile users.
Unfortunately, there are still lots of websites that aren’t mobile-friendly. This is just bad for business since it can lead to penalties from the Big G (Google), decrease conversation rates and deliver your customers a poor experience.
To make sure that your site is ready for mobile users, make sure that you use a responsive design, have large buttons and due your due-diligence on a/b testing, keep your layout simple and again, test it using tools like Google’s Search Console Mobile Friendly Test.
2. Contains too much jargon
I understand that you’re an expert in your field and that you want to demonstrate your knowledge and authority. But unless you’re talking to directly to your fellow industry experts, your average customer isn’t going to understand the technical language or industry jargon that you use to describe your business throughout your website.
Avoid the jargon and use simple and straight-forward language that your customers can easily understand.
3. Lacks content
Your customers have a problem. And they’re turning to your website to help them solve said-problem. That’s why your website needs to contain fresh and valuable content that answers real-life questions.
Remember, that doesn’t mean that they’re searching for your exact business. For example, our blog contains useful information for freelancers and small business owners. If a person is searching for advice on invoicing and processing payments, they could also land on our site because that’s the type of content we’ve been producing, as well.
In short, start a blog and keep writing awesome content. This will also help boost your SEO and content marketing efforts.
4. Hides essential information
Besides looking for information that will make their lives better, if customers are looking for your specific business, they want to easily locate information like:
The address of your business. If you have a brick and mortar business, include a map link.
Contact information, specifically a phone number and email address.
Social media plugins.
Hours, pricing and an “about us” page.
You’d be surprised at how many businesses still don’t have this information on their websites. And, if you’re like me, you may tend to stay from those types of businesses over security or legitimate concerns.
And, there’s really no excuse for forgetting this information. These additions are easy-to-integrate onto your site and usually free as well.
5. Loads too slowly
Customers expect a website to load quickly. In fact, 47 percent of consumers expect a website to load in just 2 seconds or less. And, that’s important to remember because an astounding 79 percent of shoppers who don’t enjoy their website experience less likely to ever return to that site again, nor buy from that site again.
You can test the speed of your site using tools like Pingdom and GTmetrix. These tools provide insights and advice on how to speed your site-up too.
6. Doesn’t have clear calls-to-action
You don’t want to leave your visitors in the dark by making them guess what you want them to do next on your site. So, give them clear instructions by creating a call to action button or hyperlinked text that is front and center.
HubSpot has 31 call-to-action examples that you should review if you need some inspiration. For instance, Dropbox has a blue “Sign up for free,” call-to-action button that stands out from the rest of the page.
Remember, without these buttons, your potential customers won’t move forward with the services or resources that you’re offering. When that happens, you won’t get those all-important business conversions.
7. It’s outdated
Webpages that are maintained and have a current design build trust and credibility. That doesn’t mean that you need to update your site every month. But, if it’s been years since you’ve had a major website design overhaul, then it’s time to find something more contemporary. The last thing that you want is to have a site that looks like a Geocities page from the late 90s.
8. It’s annoying and cluttered
Believe it or not, that are still businesses that insist on having websites that have music or videos play automatically once your enter the site. Even worse, these sites are also full of banner ads, bright colors and flashy text. These sites are just plain annoying and end-up slowing the page down because it’s so cluttered.
So, how many people are going to ever click on that site again at work — or anywhere else?
Keep in mind that a bulk of your visitors are browsing your site on mobile devices too. This means that you’re site should be clean and organized. Keep information to a minimum and use sub-headings, bullet lists and graphic elements so that visitors can digest this info in smaller chunks.
9. Shopping cart or payment platform is broken
Unless you’re relying on a third party payment gateway or shopping cart, then it’s your responsibility to frequently check to make sure that everything is working properly. You won’t be able to make a sale or receive a payment if your cart or payment processor is busted.
10. You don’t guide users to different pages
A lot of businesses send all their traffic to their website’s homepage, as opposed to relevant links that their customers actually want to land-on. This could be because service pages and other pages of the site are just an afterthought when designing a website. But, the fact of the matter is that the home page isn’t as important to general web traffic and the overall design.
Instead, start creating specific landing pages for the various types of potential customers you encounter and where they are in the sales funnel.
There’s no doubt about it – we are living in the digital age, and we aren’t going back. Truth be told, you’re living decades in the past if your business doesn’t have a solid online presence, particularly if you’re a retail-based brand.
However, you likely do, and probably utilize those tried-and-true website design techniques — it should be responsive and optimized for mobile. It should be modern, have some negative space and organized intuitively. There’s some less-obvious care and consideration that goes into a website design, though, that could help you boost your online sales.
I looked at the three largest ecommerce retailers by sales according to eMarketer — Walmart, Apple and Amazon — to determine what it is they do that boosts their businesses into a league of their own, and what you can learn from them.
Walmart.com: The best mobile-optimized ecommerce website
The supermarket behemoth that was once known for Midwestern storefronts and smiley-faced rollbacks has transitioned quite comfortably into an ecommerce destination for all. Beginning in 2014, Walmart.com started updating its website to boost its online presence, likely in a successful challenge to Amazon (more on that later).
Much like its softer, more modern logo redesign, Walmart.com’s new website is accented by a milder blue hue and plenty of negative space that allows each product to shine. However, the most important feature of Walmart’s ecommerce destination is its consistency on all platforms. Whether you’re shopping from your smartphone’s browser, your tablet of choice or a desktop computer, everything from search to checkout is easy, intuitive and dependable on every platform.
So, how do these small changes spell big payoff for Walmart’s bottom line? Well, first of all, that stellar mobile user experience reaps some positive reinforcement from Google, which has factored mobile friendliness into its rankings since 2015. Plus, the smartphone ecommerce features a prominent search bar and cart, and intuitive clicking throughout the screen, which makes shopping for steals even more of a breeze.
Walmart’s overall muscle behind its online shopping destination is paying off, too. In fact, Walmart recently copped to hosting higher prices online than it does in stores, proving that consumers really will pay a higher price for a greater convenience. And it’s working, too. Last year, the retailer’s online sales increased by 9 percent, resulting in a staggering $14.4 billion in sales. The bottom line? Ultimately, investing in mobile design will prove to be a big payoff.
What you can learn: A mobile-optimized website isn’t good enough. Instead, you should ensure your mobile destinations have the exact same experience as your desktop versions.
Apple.com: The best brand-oriented ecommerce website
If Apple is known for anything, it’s exceptional design and attention to detail. Lucky for us consumers, this care is extended to more than just iPhones and Apple Watches.
Apple’s streamlined design and sleek aesthetic is showcased throughout its minimalistic website, driving home its overarching brand ideals and solidifying consumer loyalty — something proven to drive bottom lines.
Need further proof that Apple invests in every detail of a user’s experience? Take a look at its human interface guidelines. While that may deal with designing its products, it ultimately reflects the qualities portrayed in Apple’s online store. After all, you can’t sell a product online without a digital destination, so you might as well make sure they match.
Apple’s interface designs place high emphasis on a consistent look and feel brand-wide, clean grids and placing users in control of their overall experience — all of which is demonstrated in its website. The products are displayed in grids, and interactive demo videos and infographics throughout the website allow the users to compare, contrast and — yes, you guessed it — control the entire shopping experience.
And Apple’s brand consistency, from products to an ecommerce website, pays off in a big way. Brand allegiance and a smooth experience lower bounce rates, which ultimately boost sales.
What you can learn: Put that brand book to use, and employ the same design guidelines in your website as you do each product to drive home a strong user experience and increase brand loyalty.
Amazon.com: The best product-driven ecommerce website
Truth be told, Amazon doesn’t have the best website design on the internet.
Hear me out, though.
The homepage is cluttered, product pages are laden with ads and — combined with the grocery and video options — the overall website can be a bit distracting for consumers who visit the website with a particular purchase in mind. However, Amazon provides great deals, exceptional checkout and delivery, and places nearly every product you could ever need at your fingertips, rendering it almost irreplaceable.
According to Shopify, this clear purpose is paramount to successful ecommerce sites. Amazon’s in-depth reviews, complete product descriptions, and extensive confirmation emails show us that, ultimately, people want an online store that will get them what they need, stat. Amazon.com fulfills that need tenfold, as demonstrated by its third quarter sales, which jumped up 34 percent to $43.7 billion.
What you can learn: At the end of the day, if you sell high-value products, the customers will come.
In ecommerce website design, it’s important to remember that people are looking to acquire a product as easily as possible; at the end of the day, every design decision should capitalize on that end goal. Whether that’s through a simple smartphone purchase, consistent branding, products that are the best bang for their buck or something totally different, find the qualities your demographic values most and execute them on your website. Combined with a simple design and easy UX, your online store’s profits are sure to amaze.
Most CEOs have serious misconceptions about web development. This is a problem because businesses are more reliant than ever on their online presence.
CEOs in companies of all sizes struggle with this. Here are six myths that most CEOs struggle with:
1. Website development is easy.
Clients commonly request a “simple” 20-page website with a log-in setup, online payment, a blog and other widgets.
Websites such as Facebook and Craigslist may appear simple, but the necessary development work is time-consuming and complicated. The strange thing is that the simpler the design, often the more expensive the siteis. Some requests that seem small could involve complicated development work and require days of programming.
2. Everyone should be involved.
Rather than packing all the staff into a conference room to rattle off ideas involve only the people who’ll be doing the work.
Compile your content strategy, brand assets, business objectives and user flows. Don’t spend time mulling deep technical planning, database architecture, layouts, designs or widgets.
3. Websites are a commodity.
With the advent of templates, and offshore development, many business people harbor the misperception that web design is a cheap commodity.
Taking advantage of already created templates might work for some companies, but for those serious about their brand and online presence, such alternatives won’t suffice long-term.
Consider your website an investment and dedicate appropriate resources toward it. Find a team of designers who understands your business, ask the right questions and have happy customers. A good team will help you manage your goals along with your budget and find optimal solutions. It may seem expensive, but the return on investment will be worth it.
4. Once a site is built, it’s done.
Web development isn’t a once-and-done activity. Once your site is launched, it will need to be maintained. Many midmarket companies have round-the-clock teams monitoring their sites to ensure they remain without glitches.
Even if your website doesn’t handle a high volume of traffic, you still need someone keeping an eye on functionality. You’ll also need security updates and fresh content for SEO purposes.
5. Anyone can create a great user experience.
You can’t build the website yourself. Focus on leading your business and improving your products. Your intern, cousin or IT guy can’t build it either. A lot more that goes into a site than basic knowledge of web design, especially when building payment systems and ensuring integration with the company’s internal systems.
There are free website-building tools that can be great for bootstrapped startup or running a small business site. But they aren’t robust enough for the needs of most established businesses.
For your website, you may need a team to design mostly from scratch, which requires a specific skill set. Let the web design firm hired do what it does best, but make sure its staffers are asking the right questions about the target audiences before they start.
6. It’s your website, so you dictate the design.
It’s natural to want to micromanage your company’s website. Unfortunately, unless you’re a web designer, this isn’t the job for you. You need to trust your web designer if you want site visitors to become paying customers.
Web designers will understand your vision, but you need to let them design. They’re knowledgeable about structure and what helps visitors convert into customers.
Your website serves as the digital storefront for your business. If it doesn’t look appealing, load quickly or even have a mobile version, customers are going to keep walking. Many small business owners rely on their website to bring in a steady stream of leads and educate potential customers on what they offer.
However, when it comes to designing and developing a website, most of those same small business owners think they can’t have all the bells and whistles that larger businesses have. But that’s not true. Why? Meet WordPress.
WordPress is a free platform that powers the back end of your website. It’s commonly referred to as a “content management system” because of its ability to let you easily create and organize all of the pages and media you upload to your site.
1. You’ll be able to start using your website as a blog.
If you’re using a separate website to host your blog or, worse, have no blog at all (at least yet), switching your site over to WordPress will quickly solve that problem. Not only is the software incredibly easy to operate (adding new pages/posts literally takes seconds), but it’s the perfect platform for blogging about your small business.
Simply set up a page on your site dedicated to your blog (just call it “blog” or some catchy name that plays off your brand). Then you can start adding posts to that page. A blog is your easiest and most effective way to continuously add new content to your site and keep customers up-to-date with your business.
2. WordPress constantly updates itself for safety and security.
Instant updates mean you can be confident your website’s security is always up to date and aligned with the best, most current policies. While some other content management systems might require you to manually check for updates or may be slack on performing maintenance, WordPress does the work for you.
You can sleep soundly knowing that your site will automatically update, and knowing, too, that WordPress will keep working to better its system and make things more secure for users and visitors.
3. WordPress is open source.
“Open source” simply means that developers are able to contribute to WordPress’ software in the form of plugins, themes and updates. How does that benefit you? The system is constantly improving and getting better, and a new addition doesn’t cost you a cent. You can reap all the benefits of these improvements without paying for them.
4. WordPress is SEO friendly.
SEO, or search engine optimization, refers to the idea of making your website more searchable by engines like Google and Yahoo. While mastering SEO can take some investment of time WordPress offers ways for business owners to optimize their site in the easiest ways possible. Check out the free Yoast SEO plugin, which shows you step-by-step how your content ranks and where there’s room to improve.
5. WordPress is no newbie.
This CMS is swimming in familiar water. It’s been around for more than ten years so it’s safe to say it’s a sure thing. While WordPress (like any CMS) isn’t perfect, it’s pretty much problem-free. Over the years, its engineers have had time to work out those little kinks and improve, aging the system into a timeless CMS that all levels of web developers have come to love.
6. Coding for WordPress is standard for any web developer.
A lot of small business owners hire a web developer who then builds a complicated website that no one else can manage. That’s all well and good if you never need to change your website again — but that’s rare.
One of the reasons WordPress is so great is that it’s become such a popular choice any web developer knows how to code for it. Whenever a problem pops up that you can’t fix, or you decide to redesign your website’s look, any developer will be able to get the job done.
7. Having a WordPress website puts you in good company.
Yes, WordPress is “every guy’s CMS.” That being said, its capabilities extend far beyond the basic ones; and some of the biggest companies in the world use WordPress to power their sites. How big is “big”? The New York Times, Mashable, TechCrunch, and Inc. (to name a few).
WordPress is great for small businesses because it has everything you need to create a visually pleasing, fully functional, scalable website, and it also offers endless possibilities if your business or budget grows down the road.
Wrapping Up
Whether you’re just starting out as an entrepreneur or your small business is growing like a weed, you want a website that grows as you do. WordPress gives you that option.
