So you’ve built this awesome team, a great product and have even managed to secure a ‘sweet’ spot for your office space - right in the heart of a bustling business area.
A ‘promising’ start, but there's just one thing missing…
Yes, your virtual office address, your business website or online identity, a digital space to propel your business foward.
It goes without saying that, businesses in this day and age need websites to survive, let alone succeed. However, will a cheap website propel your business forward?
Now it’s up to you. Do you hire a professional designer for the job or do you roll up your sleeves and take a stab at the craft yourself - with a stock standard, cheap, DIY design platform.
The latter is definitely tempting, being the cheaper alternative, and so is finding a low budget designer - who could ‘cobble’ a website together for you in a few days and then disappear with your hard-earned money!
Let’s say you opted for the cheaper option, how do you think these cheap sites would perform in the long run for your business?
Can you confidently say these ‘quick fixes’ will help you hit the right notes? Or, will they overcome the challenges faced by brands in this highly competitive digital space? Websites have evolved from being mere virtual business cards, to an integral tool for marketing, promotions, lead generations and Customer Acquisitions.
Let’s look at some of the key elements that go into a well-crafted website - which win over a shoddy site any day;
1. USABILITY & UX – Simple and Clean
For most of us, when we visit a website we look for ways to easily click around, to retrieve the desired information. Unnecessary graphics and design elements will only distract or create hurdles for the users to complete the desired action.
A well-crafted site will keep the look and feel of the pages simple, appealing and distraction-free. A standard trick to make it ‘pleasing to the eye’ is by cutting down the colors used in the design to only three. The same applies to font style and font size, where both should be limited to three, as it will avoid confusion and disruption to the readers’ flow.
Slapping on ill-targeted graphics just to fill up a space is a common practice with cheap sites. It not only clutters the page and deviates the user/s from finding the targeted content, it also takes up the ‘white spaces’ in between paragraphs, which acts as a much needed ‘breather’ when navigating through the pages.
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2. Navigation and Visual Hierarchy
A good web design is intuitive enough to make the user glide from point A to point B, without having to think too much as to where to click next. The primary navigational structure is always on the top and simple to grasp, as it is clear and plain to see.
Navigation options should be limited on a single page and shouldn’t go too deep into other pages. A maximum of three - think three people - levels are appropriate. Breadcrumbs are used on every page to track the navigation trail.
Visual Hierarchy provides a smooth transition from one element to another, to ultimately take visitors to complete a desired action. The strategic arrangements of website elements (graphics, logos, pictures, texts, etc.) in relation to their position, colour and size can gently nudge and guide the visitors to certain elements in the page.
3. Responsiveness
A responsive website is accessible to users on a multitude of devices. Irrespective of the device, a responsive website adapts fluidly to the viewers’ screen size, giving an optimised and consistent viewing experience.
Whether you’re surfing on your tablet or on a smart phone, the experience remains the same with the site’s content automatically resized and reshuffled to fit within the dimensions of the device. This however, doesn’t mean the content of the page has to be identical in all devices. The focus should be on giving a remarkable experience to the user by crafting platform-specific designs.
Relate article;
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| How Responsive Is Your Web Design? |
4. Conversion Centered Design (CCD)
CCD in website design is related to creating an experience for the users which ultimately persuades them to take a specific action. The idea is used to increase conversions from web traffic – a key process in the Inbound Marketing Methodology.
Though the concept can be applied to any web pages, it's primarily used to create ‘Landing Pages’, using persuasive design and psychological triggers. Contrary to home pages, where the user is in a ‘self-guided’ mode, landing pages are laser focused on one primary action – It could be persuading the user to be a blogpost subscriber, download that new e-book, fill a form or sell or upsell a product. A good website will incorporate such landing pages and marketing campaigns to attract and persuade visitors at different stages of the sales funnel, and work in tandem with the Inbound Marketing Strategy.
Finally…
Think about this. In our highly competitive world with disruptive technologies, overload of ‘digital content’, and ever evolving human behaviour and consumption cultures, building cheap websites that don’t take the visitors’ journey and experience into consideration - will not only be a futile attempt for any brand, but could also turn out to be a huge blow, and the outcome..... your customers leave.
Have someting to add? We'd love to hear from you.
Contact Andy Fox (me) on 03 5249 5570 or at andy@element7digital.com.au
For our full story, go to our digital identity, element7digital.com.au
