How can you avoid this happening to your business? Below are twenty tips to help you design or redesign your company's website.
First, be clear about what the purpose of your website is.
Is your website to sell, entertain or inform? The design of your website should match its purpose. The requirements for a website selling software online are very different from those of a local newspaper
Plan the website with your customers in mind.
Envision how your customers (existing and potential) will use your website. Consider why they visit the site and what their needs are. What seems logical to you may not be to a first-time visitor.
Pay attention to compatibility with other browsers.
Although Internet Explorer dominates, do not overlook users of alternatives like Mozilla, Opera, and Netscape. Make sure your site can be viewed in other browsers; that way, you will not unintentionally reduce the number of visitors to your site.
Prefer simplicity to complexity.
Unless you are a design firm showing off your skills, keep things simple. Visitors (especially frequent ones) are not impressed by complex animated graphics, especially if they have no obvious benefit. Make it easy for visitors to get to the content - that's what most of them are looking for on your site anyway.
Make the navigation intuitive and easy to use.
This is probably one of the two most important aspects of designing a website, the other being the content. Design your website's navigation to be logical and clear. Make sure that the most important and most frequently accessed information is easy to find. The names of the links should be concise and self-explanatory. Test the navigation links to make sure they work and keep them up to date.
Your website should be as visually appealing as possible.
Visual appeal is subjective, but the design of your website will undoubtedly influence your customers' perception of your business as a whole. An uncluttered layout, careful selection of font size and colors, and appropriate use of graphics and images will go a long way toward ensuring that your website gives a good impression of your company.
Make sure your website has a consistent design or "look and feel."
Make sure you have a consistent design throughout your website, unless you want your visitors to wonder if they have accidentally stumbled onto another company's website.
Integrate your website design with your offline branding.
For many, the Internet is still an alien environment. Reassure your customers by using the same branding online as offline. If you have already spent a lot of money building your brand, why spend even more money building a completely different online brand (unless, of course, that's your intention).
Keep the page size manageable to ensure a quick download.
The patience of online visitors is measured in milliseconds, and not everyone has a high-speed or broadband Internet connection. So keep the size of pages within reason so they download quickly. Optimize the size of graphics and avoid placing images on a page unless they bring something to the visitor
Make sure that the content of your website reflects its purpose.
For example, if your site is a sales site, make sure your content is focused on sales. Stay focused and avoid the temptation to upload content that is not relevant to your site's purpose.
Make it quick and easy to find information.
Quite simply, most customers will leave your site quickly if they can not find the information they are looking for. Internet users increasingly demand that information be readily available, and there's no shortage of other sites trying to take business away from you. Consider what information your customers are likely to be looking for, and do not hide it.
Make sure the content is relevant, accurate and up-to-date.
Provide accurate and relevant content and keep it up to date. If you do not, your business will look inefficient and your customer service will be questioned. Search engines also appreciate content that is updated regularly.
Encourage interaction.
Get your visitors to interact with your website and spend more time on it. Make the visit an interesting experience by offering useful online tools, etc. Just make sure they are relevant to your website.
Personalize your website.
Depending on the technology available to you, it may be possible to greet visitors to your site by name and provide them with content tailored specifically to their needs. If you can do this, do it.
Invite dialog.
Give your customers the opportunity to contact you via email, online forms, a callback option, web chat, etc. Get in touch. Ask for their feedback via online surveys and feedback forms. Invite them to subscribe to a customer newsletter.
Acknowledge customer contact.
It's common courtesy to say "thank you." Little effort is required to set up an automatic email responder. When you ask your customers to fill out and submit a form, make sure there is a "thank you" page or pop-up. This reassures the customer that you received their message and does not leave them in the dark about whether or not your website is working properly.
Provide a seamless experience.
Try to provide the same level of service to your customers online as you do offline. Your goal should be to make it easy for customers to interact with your business and give them a choice in how they want to do business with you. Know that your customers are your most valuable asset and that retaining them is critical.
Support your customers.
Reassure your site visitors by providing elements such as help pages, FAQ, a site map, terms of use, and a privacy policy. They will appreciate it.
Establish trust.
Make sure your site is functioning properly and its content is up-to-date. Check that error messages make sense and that forms and data entry fields are logically laid out. Have someone proofread your website and point out grammar and spelling errors. The quality of your website says a lot about the quality of service your customers can expect from you.
Get to know your customers.
Learn as much as you can about your customers and how they use your website (and, if you can, find out how they use your competitors' websites). Use this knowledge to improve your website and increase your return on investment.
The number of websites is increasing every day, and today almost anyone can create a website. If you want your website to stand out from the rest, you should plan it carefully and design it with your customers in mind. Far too many website owners simply do not make the effort.
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