by Francois Muscat | Nov 7, 2016 | Website Design
Your website is a powerful marketing tool, and ensuring a user friendly experience for all visitors to your site is absolutely essential. If you’re thinking of updating or even completely redesigning your website, take these 6 web design tips into account to ensure a great user experience:
Speed things up
There’s nothing more annoying to your website visitors than a page that loads slowly. A slow website that is heavy with large images will also be penalised by Google and is not good for your SEO. Speed things up by saving all images at the lowest file size possible, finding the best balance between quality and image size.
Create an interactive experience
Whatever your website is selling or advertising, having a clear call to action helps both you and your visitors. Obvious and easy to use call-to-action buttons make it simple to navigate your site, and also help you guide visitors to where you want them to go and increase your conversion rate.
White space is your friend
While you may be tempted to fill up every inch of space available, remember that white space is an essential element of good, user friendly design. In terms of content marketing white space surrounding text and headings increases user attention by about 20% and also improves legibility.
Make everything responsive
If your website isn’t responsive yet, then this is something you should make a priority. Responsiveness refers to a website’s ability to resize appropriately when viewed on devices with different sized screens – phones, tablets, and various desktop and laptop sizes. In this day and age, there is no excuse for a website that does not include responsive design.
Write great headings
Your h1 tags are vital for search engine optimisation but they’re also what will encourage people to spend more time on your website. Great headings include keywords, but also use content that appeals to human beings. While your focus should be finding the balance between keywords and clarity, don’t be afraid to incorporate feeling, such as aspiration or humour, into your headings if it suits your brand.
Colour code your hyperlinks
It may seem obvious, but hyperlinks should be easy for website visitors to use. The simplest way to do this is to stick with convention – most people see a word in blue and underlined and assume that it is a hyperlink. Feel free to play with colours that tie in better with your website design, however make sure that all hyperlinks are very clear.
For information on digital marketing and web design, contact us today.
by Marelise da Silva | Oct 21, 2016 | Website Design
Whether you sell a product or a service, your website is very often the first port of call in the buying process. Regardless of where the purchase is made, online or in store, many people spend time looking at websites for product and price comparisons, as well as getting a feel for a business. Feelings of trust and goodwill can be conveyed on a website, just as indifference or lack of customer service. It’s really important then, to ensure your website is doing all it can to promote your business.
Gone are the days when you could get a website designed and developed, then sit back for the next five years. Websites need evaluating every six to twelve months, for a number of reasons, so they continue to get traffic. Here are eight ways to improve your website:
- Revamp your website design
A well-designed website not only looks amazing, but has great functionality, like allowing users to sign up or taking payments from your customers. You have less than 5 seconds to create a winning impression for a first time visitor to your site – if it’s slow, weak or not resourceful, people will not stay on it.
- Optimise your site for SEO
Almost half of all online shoppers start their shopping with an internet search. Optimising your site can improve your search engine rankings. You should also optimise your content.
- Develop a responsive website
To keep up with the times, it’s essential that your website displays correctly on mobile devices, especially smart phone with smaller screens. Having responsive functions can offer support to a range of device users.
- Add functionality
Features like Live Chat or a subscription option provide more ways for your customers to engage with you, enabling you to provide better customer service.
- Update your images
Good quality images can really sell a product, so it’s worth paying for a professional photographer when it comes to updating images.
- Translate your online content
Translating your website, blogs or social media pages into multiple languages can increase online search traffic, if you have a global product or service.
- Write effective landing page copy
If your landing page is not converting your website visitors into leads, consider redoing it. Effective landing pages have call-to-actions and clear messaging and are far more influential than a home page.
- Fresh content
This is very important to keep frequent visitors to your site – people will notice if a piece has been on your site for long time. Regular posting of new content is also good for SEO.
Don’t lose traffic due to an outdated or boring website. Allocate money in your annual budget for website updates and design changes – the return should cover your investment and then some. If your website needs an overhaul, or if you would just like some advice, contact us.
by Francois Muscat | Oct 3, 2016 | Website Design
Ecommerce is a great business to be in – but it’s also one of the most competitive. Whatever you’re selling, and no matter how great your products are, a poorly designed ecommerce site is guaranteed to put off potential customers… and they’ll head straight to your rivals who are only a click away. To ensure that your online store stands out, consider the following ecommerce web design tips:
Search engine optimisation
First and foremost you want customers to visit your website, and the best way to ensure a high rate of visitors is through SEO to improve your Google ranking. A comprehensive digital marketing campaign is essential to ecommerce, so speak to the experts at WSI about your unique needs.
Simple navigation
Once you’ve attracted potential customers to your website, you need to ensure that they stay. An easy to navigate website is vital. Web design that uses breadcrumb navigation and call to action buttons makes it very clear and simple for visitors to make their way around your website and find what they want to buy.
Search function
Speaking about finding things, no ecommerce site is complete without a properly structured search function that makes it simple for visitors to find what they are looking for. For the best in user friendliness, make sure that your search function is linked to your product categories and other filters, making the search process even more seamless.
Buy without registering
Many potential customers are put off if they are forced to create an account just to buy one product. Consider offering a streamlined purchase process, where customers are given the option to sign up after check out, to make future purchases simpler.
Trusted security
Last, but certainly not least, ensure that you have an updated SSL certificate and a secure check out process, and advertise this fact clearly throughout your website. Authenticated security marks a website as reputable, and will give your customers peace of mind.
For information on digital marketing, including content marketing and web design, contact us today.
by Francois Muscat | Sep 28, 2016 | Website Design
Any eCommerce business knows the importance of optimising conversion rates and profits. From the landing page to the payment confirmation page, you need to ensure the flow through each step is optimised for the best results. Focusing a large amount of effort on your product pages is a good place to start. Here are some tips to get you on the right track:
- Product images: use high-quality, dynamic images of your products, taking into consideration the size and image quality. Larger images tend to get more sales, while detailed alternative views can give customers more information. Make sure your images are consistent in their look and feel, with uncluttered backgrounds. Showing the product in context can also help, like a model wearing jewellery.
- Zoom features: making sure your customers can zoom right into the images can make a real difference with conversion rates. Online customers need to see as much detail as possible.
- Use wish lists: this helps customers remember products they liked but couldn’t buy straight away. Some wish or want buttons post to people’s Facebook timelines, which can drive social traffic to your site – since people love to buy off recommendations.
- Show customer testimonials and reviews: having product reviews placed alongside the products saves customers leaving your site to get more information. Over 80% of people trust customer reviews as much as personal recommendations, so it’s silly not to cash in on this trust.
- Reassure your customers by adding a privacy policy to sign-up forms: this helps to establish trust with your customers, who feel better knowing you are not going to share their details with anyone.
- Personalise the shopping experience: as customers view items, they get shown recommended related products, e.g. a customer looking at hiking boots could be shown a list of related products, like backpacks, walking sticks, water bottles and socks.
- Use your visual hierarchy effectively: the way your customers’ eyes are drawn to a product listing can shape the buying process. If sales are not what they should be, try rearranging the visual path people take when they view a product. A good rule of thumb is to draw the eye to the product name, then image, then detail and finally more info button.
- Get the length of your copy right: more expensive or complex products often require more content than simple and inexpensive products.
- Be upfront with your shipping charges: leaving it right until the end of the buying process can lead to disappointment. Showing your shipping charges or having a very clear link to what those charges are, can help with conversion.
Remember, with any changes you make to your product landing pages, you need to do A/B testing, or you won’t know how well the changes worked. If you need some assistance with your website design and landing pages, contact us.
by Marelise da Silva | Sep 15, 2016 | Website Design
The speed at which the digital and technological world is moving is scary, so it’s not really surprising that website design has had to change quite rapidly too. Looking at websites from just eight years ago show startling age, but let’s look at what trends have changed.
- Design
The table layouts, flash and 3D animations of 2008 are long gone, with the confusing fonts, multiple colour palettes, cheesy images and heavy text. Today’s websites are designed with minimalism, flat design and playful interfaces, all aimed at giving a better user experience. Bad navigation is no longer forgivable, with users having shorter attention spans than ever.
- Functionality
Previously, websites served as little more than online business cards, with limited information. Back in 2008, online sales were small, so functionality was at best, basic. Much more sophistication is required to cater to the online market of today, with customers expecting sales support, video support and online chat. Poor website performance can result in visitors abandoning sites, which leads to a loss of conversion opportunities and sales. Optimising a site to meet customers’ needs is vital to business success.
- Mobile responsive
Before smart phones became so pervasive, there was little need for mobile responsive sites. With more people using their mobile devices than desktops, a website needs to be fully functional, regardless of device. Studies have shown that mobile internet users are more likely to take action than the desk-bound ones, especially with local searches.
- Personalisation
Websites of today will adapt the content on the screen depending on the audience, device, previous interactions and location, making the experience very personal. Using buying history, or even just search history, allows a company to build loyalty and trust with their customers, who feel a closer connection through the personalisation.
Website design has become more complex, with a need for constant tweaking and refinement. If you think your website needs a revamp, or if you want to start from scratch, give us a call. We’re on top of the trends, so can help you create a site that keeps up with the times.
by Marelise da Silva | Jul 28, 2016 | Website Content, Website Design, Website Development, Website Optimization
More than ever, people go online to find out information about products, services, information and reputation checks before committing to a purchase. Every business understands the importance of having a website that fulfills these needs, but don’t always get it right. You need to take a hard look at your website, to see if you’re getting the most out of it and think about fixing it if you are not. It could mean a simple fix, or perhaps a complete revamp, but before you decide what route to take, ask yourself these five questions:
1. What is wrong with my current website?
Ask your customers or friends who are far enough removed from your business to give you an honest opinion of your website and its functionality. Get reviews of your site and use analytics to determine which are your most viewed pages. Customers who spend a lot of time online, can give you insights into what your site may be missing or doing wrong.
2. What are the goals of the redesign?
Think carefully if your website need refreshing, or if you are looking to rebrand your whole company – there’s a big difference. Websites do go out of style, so a visuals upgrade could be all it takes to keep people visiting your site. Remember to set goals and time frames for a redesign.
3. What are some features I want to include this time round?
Do your research of other websites and see what you like in terms of look and feel, as well as what works for navigation. Not all the features you like may be suitable for your company’s product, or be what your customers are looking for. Check out your competitor’s websites and note which ones rank high for SEO and have high levels of engagement. Try not to copy outright – rather go beyond what other sites are doing.
4. Has my product or service offering changed?
If the nature of your product or service offering has changed since your first website launch, use the opportunity to update your site while revealing product changes. Customers will respond well to a revamp, as it shows you are staying relevant and keeping up with trends. Be sure to include social media icons.
5. How do I want the website to function?
Think of the specifics – do you want your website to be more content or information based, or is it about generating more leads? Do you want to drive sales, or bring customers to your physical location? Once you’ve determined this, the redesign can specifically focus on these areas.
There’s a lot to think about when going through a website revamp or overhaul, so make sure you’ve thought about everything before you commit to a big change. Don’t waste time and money by entering into something that won’t make a significant difference to your business.
If you are looking to rethink your website and would like some advice on current trends as well as use our experience into what works well, contact us. We have a range of digital marketing solutions to look at before any redesign takes place.
