Many old, traditional, brick-and-mortar companies are wondering, “Why do I need a website? I’ve done just fine without one all these years!” But the truth is, very few companies today can succeed without an appealing, user-friendly, and well-constructed webpage. With easy access to the Internet, consumers are constantly researching their options before making a decision to purchase. This is the first impression you will have on your customers; don’t you want to impress them? Here are a few tips to satisfying your website visitors.
Keep it simple
Design-wise, you don’t want your webpage to be cluttered with clashing colors and boxes of text. The visual appeal of a webpage is key to keeping customers on the site. Your website’s theme should work cohesively with your company’s purpose. This theme should flow comfortably throughout the site’s various pages. It should be intuitive and easy to navigate, especially when you are expecting your site viewers to be an older demographic. Big bulky text boxes are intimidating to viewers and too much text will keep them from reading any of it. Decide on the main points you want to get across on each page, and do so efficiently. All text and images should be meaningful; nothing on your page should be there without a clear purpose.
Know your purpose, & make sure your visitors know it too
Is your site an e-commerce site where users can buy items or services directly from your page? Is it an informative site meant to tell visitors about your business? Is it a portfolio to display your art? Your purpose will determine the way you configure your website. For example, if you are selling goods directly from your site, this should be communicated to the viewer on your homepage. In this scenario, you may decide to have a big picture of one of your items with the text, “On sale now!” and a link to the purchasing page.
Keep your visitors engaged
If you want your website to be effective, you need to keep your visitors involved and keep them coming back to your site. Frequent updates are essential to a successful site; consider giving visitors the option to sign up for e-mail updates that might even include subscriber discounts or benefits. Encourage them to “like” your Facebook page or follow your Twitter account. The more outlets on which you have engaged followers, the more potential customers you reach.
These days, with handheld devices and the world wide web at our fingertips, most customers and potential customers are going to look for your website before making the commute to your physical store. Established companies want to ensure that their websites follow the same attractive and successful model that has kept their physical location in business over the years. Newer companies need to use their website to attract their target market and keep them coming back.