Everyone needs a website. Now it can be a bit of a minefield getting it right. So here is a little guide of tips and advice to help you avoid the pitfalls and get the most from one of your most important sales tools. People will spend just a few seconds deciding whether your site offers them what they are looking for. You need to grab their attention in this short time otherwise they will bounce and end up looking elsewhere, ultimately losing you a potential sale.
Structure and Layout
Do:
– Firstly it is important to invest in a professional, secure, well-built and designed website. It may be an expensive outlay but will save you a fortune in the long run.
– Visually appealing – aesthetics are very important.
– Clear and logical navigation bar.
– Ensure the navigation around the site is simple and easy to understand.
– Consider your choice of fonts carefully, be sure to use a font that is easy to read and choose visible colours.
– Do make sure that you create a responsive site, so that it is mobile and tablet friendly.
– Carefully consider your colour palette.
Don’t:
– Don’t make it complicated for your visitor to find what they are looking for.
– Have too many colours and different conflicting or difficult to read fonts.
– Don’t forget to test on different browsers and screen sizes.
– Visitors shouldn’t have to click more than 3 times to find what they are looking for.
Content
Do:
– Keep it simple.
– Contact details easily accessible from home page.
– Aim for at least 250 words for page. Ideally 400. With a few appropriate and original images.
– Add social buttons.
– Keep an active blog.
– Add reviews and testimonials.
Don’t:
– Avoid publishing irrelevant content on your website.
– Have too many links.
– Display distracting external adverts.
– Well written copy is essential. If you aren’t very good at writing copy then hire someone else to do it. The right wording on your website can make all the difference.
– Don’t write long post (1000+ words).
– Make sure the text is in the HTML so it’s crawlable, don’t use images to replicate content.
SEO
Do:
– Use Google analytics to get an idea of the traffic and behaviour of your visitors to your website. This is a useful tool to see which pages are effective and which once are increasing your bounce rate.
– Optimise your load times, page should load in 1-2 seconds.
– Focus on your reader not search engines.
Don’t:
– Don’t make the mistake of focusing too much on SEO, this will often result in forced and unnatural content. Always write for your customer/audience not the search engines.
– Don’t stuff keywords into your copy, it is obvious to both Google and your customer and will make for unpleasant reading.
The main thing to take from this article is that visitors are impatient and will lose interest very quickly. Implement these dos and don’ts to ensure that you capture their interest.