Now, more than ever, your online presence matters. With so much of our world virtual, people are more likely to find you first through social media, and then on to your website. What does your website say about your brand? What message does it communicate?
There are so many elements to consider when designing or revamping a website, but we’ve narrowed it down to 5 key areas for today’s blog:
Easy to Navigate
Make it easy for people to find where they want to go on your website. Be thoughtful with your main navigation menu. Make sure visitors can easily find who you are and what you do, along with sample work and info on how to contact you. Don’t overthink those navigation titles. If people are looking to send you an email, they are looking for the word “Contact.” Don’t change the game by using “Stay in Touch,” “Reach Me,” etc. If you want to get creative and utilize different copy, save that for email opt-in pop-ups or other areas of your website.
An element we’d be remiss in not mentioning under ‘easy to navigate,’ is ensuring your website’s mobile responsiveness. There’s nothing worse than clicking on the navigation menu and having to zoom in and out on your phone until you find the link you’re looking for. Making your website mobile responsive will ensure that it automatically changes size to fit the device being used.
Created with Target Audience in Mind
Design your website from the perspective of your target audience. Yes, the website is about you, but it’s not intended for you. What are your audience’s pain points? How does your product or service address those pain points?
Put yourself in your target audience’s shoes. Once you land on the homepage, what do you want to know next? Likely, you’ll want to know more about the person behind the brand. Your “About” page should not be your life’s story, but instead should showcase your personality and how that personality plays into your brand. If a customer is really liking the person behind the brand, their next stop will be the “Services” or “Products” section of the website. Before you dive into what services or products you offer, you need to again remind the visitor about their problem or need that led them to your site in the first place.
Explains How You Solve a Problem, Not Just What You’re Selling
People are coming to your website for a specific need. Whether you sell a product or service, your site needs to explain how you can provide the solution to what they are searching for. You don’t have long to draw someone into your website, so you want to make sure that what you provide is front and center. There are several ways to do this: quickly highlight who you are and what you do, lead with a specific problem that many of your customers have, share results, etc.
Email List Opt-In
After you’ve drawn people in by explaining how you can solve their problems, you want to keep them around by enticing them with more information! How will they get that additional info? By signing up for your email list.
Here’s the other thing about email sign-ups: when someone is ready to opt-in for more info, they need to be able to easily figure out how to do it. It’s great that you have an opt-in form on your homepage, but what if they’re reading your “About Me” page and realize they really want to work with you? They’re not going to navigate back to that homepage.
Place an Email Sign-Up Form:
· As a pop-up on your homepage
· On your “About Me” page
· On your “Portfolio/Work/Clients” page
· As a call to action in blog posts
Contact Information
A section for contact info is crucial and is something that can be easily overlooked. Just like with email opt-ins, you need several places around your website for people to contact you. Create a “Contact” section of your site where visitors can access your info. On your website footer, have a link to the “Contact” section and display direct links, such as email and social media. The goal is to make it as painless as possible for people to find the info they’re after.
Website design can easily feel overwhelming, but hopefully this blog has given you ideas for working on key areas of your site. Ready for help in designing a website that tells your brand story? Contact us today to learn about our website design services.