Wednesday, February 27, 2013

5 Critical Factors in Website Design

(Updated since our post 3 years ago)

1. Great Graphic Design. You MUST have graphic design that is specifically created for your business and is consistent with your offline marketing activities. IMPORTANT - Make sure that the design is visually impressive to your targeted readers – you only get one chance for a first impression. After you’ve created the first impression your subsequent pages should maintain the design theme.

2. Easy To Use, Intuitive Navigation. Website visitors MUST be able to reach every page from every other page. It’s IMPORTANT to have links to other pages incorporated into the text. It’s HELPFUL to have a Sitemap & Keyword Search function.

3. Your Contact Information MUST be included in a prime position on every page. When a reader is ready to get in touch with your business, your contact information must be instantly available.

4. Content that’s Easy to Read. Your website MUST have dark text on light background because otherwise it’s hard to read. It’s BEST to use lots of headings, short paragraphs, bullets & numbered points, taglines. Use plain & uncomplicated words. IMPORTANT: your text should be focused on the reader – not on the writer, you should write about solving a problem for your website visitor.

5. Friendly for Mobile Devices. Use of Smart Phones to browse the web has become widespread. Your website MUST be designed to be easy to read & navigate on a mobile phone. You have the option of having a different call-to-action for people using a Smart Phone.

To summarise, a well designed website makes an impact with both visual elements & the text.

If it’s easy for people to find their way around your site they will have more confidence in your business.

You need to let people know that you understand their needs & make it easy for them to do something about it. Visitors to your website who feel that you understand their problems are more likely to contact you for the solution.