88% of consumers pre-research their purchases online before committing to it (online or in-store) (pymnts.com). This means the chances of a customer looking at your website before purchasing anything from you or making the initial steps to contacting you are high. Therefore, the chances of you wanting a compelling and responsive website should be just as high. Thinking about it from a customer’s perspective, how often do you research a company before buying from them? And how many times have you been put off from purchasing a company’s products or services after viewing their website? I know I have on many occasions.
Let’s continue with thinking about it from a customer’s perspective rather than a business one. When you are viewing a company’s website, why would you be put off from purchasing their products or services? Would it be because it is hard to navigate? Slow to load images and pages? Spelling errors? Boring layout? You get my point. Sometimes it is important to think like one of your customers. This is because it will make your perspective more authentic and appealing to your customers. It shows you care enough about their thoughts and opinions to put the effort in to change.
So, I think it is safe to say that we have agreed that having an appealing website is important with any company. But you may be wondering what makes a website so compelling to your customers. Here are a few examples supported by our own web designer:
Responsiveness is key
Whenever we design a website for our customers, we make sure that the web design and development is truly responsive. This means that the website is guaranteed to work and be easily viewed on all browsers and devices. This includes smartphones, tablets, desktops and laptops. A responsive website will eliminate the risk of a customer getting frustrated at your messy layout.
High quality, stunning website design
It is important for your company’s website (and brand as a whole) to have a design that is appealing and eye-catching. To put it simply and bluntly, if you have a dull and boring design for your website/brand, then people will have an equally dull and boring attitude towards it.
When reviewing your website design, have a look at how fresh it is. Has it been updated in the last several years? Do all the services you are promoting still exist within the company? Have you added any new services you may now offer? Do you still have your old contact details on your pages? It is important to keep your website up to date in every sense of the word. When editing/maintaining your website, make sure everything is well-documented.
Easy navigation is a website must have
One of the most important factors of web design, if not THE most important is good navigation. The user’s number one goal is to complete a task on your website. Whether that is purchasing a product, contacting you for more information or viewing your services; the user needs to be able to find their way round your website with ease. If you do not make it easy for them to contact you, it is game over for you. You could be doing this by your menus being too complicated, or them trying to purchase a product but are shown multiple screens before a payment etc. If this is the case, then they will lose interest and be too annoyed to finish the task.
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