5 Web Design Tricks To Help Increase Your Website’s Conversion Rate
So, you want to design and develop a website. Great! A website is a great starting point for individuals and organizations to share information with users that covers the classic “5 Ws”
Who are you? This question is usually answered on subpages like the “About Me/Us” or “Meet the Team” pages. This is a great opportunity to share you/your company’s story, background, and what led you to creating a website. It’s always fun to put faces to names, too (like we do on the Jennasis website)!
What is your website’s purpose? Are you trying to sell products or services? Are you looking to increase donations, get volunteers to sign-up, or spread awareness for your cause? Are you blogging and want to inspire readers? Whatever your mission, make sure it’s clear so that the user can make the appropriate conversion. Check out “10 Essential Elements Your Ecommerce Website Needs” to further enhance your “what.”
Where are you located? This one’s pretty straightforward. Do you have a physical, brick-and-mortar office or shopping space? Include your address and parking info (if necessary). And if your location is a major part of your brand’s mission and purpose, don’t be afraid to show your city and neighborhood some love!
When are you open? Share your hours of business, along with customer service availability. It’s also important to note if you’re closed or unavailable on holidays.
Why would someone visit your website? This sort of ties into the “what” of your site. Before you launch a website, ask yourself why it’s necessary. If you were a user visiting your own site, would you feel compelled to stay and learn more?
After you’ve answered these questions, it’s time to step into the mindset of developing a website design strategy. You can’t just throw all of these elements onto a site and expect them to make sense to a user. To help with that, we share some web design tricks here that every beginner should know and every pro should be reminded of. They can even help your website rank #1 on Google.
5 Web Design Tricks to Help Increase Your Website’s Conversion Rate
Put forward a clean and simple design Publishing a website means showing off your brand. In fact, it’s a major factor in a user’s first impression of who you are. Design your site according to brand colors and fonts, but keep it simple. Use negative space in a thoughtful way (meaning, make sure the background isn’t so loud that it’s distracting your user from important information). Try using an “F layout,” which is a design technique that lays out content the way a user is used to reading—left to right, top to bottom. The bottom line? Focus on what’s important and make it visually appealing, not overwhelming.
Improve readability with compelling and creative copy Again, don’t just throw random words onto a web page and expect it to make sense. In fact, once you’ve established the copy you want to use on your website, get a few close friends and team members to read through it before you publish. They’ll be able to honestly share with you what sections of copy don’t make sense and let you know what might be more effective. This is also where having a clear navigation setup comes into play. Make sure your menu tab contains only the necessary information for your target user to understand your purpose and make that conversion!
Use high-quality photography and videography to tell your story Paying a *bit* extra for professional photography and videography could be well worth it for your website. Anything beats a generic stock photo of suits gathering around a conference table, right? Your user will feel like they know you and get a visual feel for what they’ll be getting once they make a conversion on your site. Don’t go too wild with visual elements, though. Only use what will help guide your story and the answers to your “5 Ws” discussed earlier.
Feature a social media feed to increase credibility If you have a loyal social media following, feature a social feed widget on your website. This increases credibility and shows a first-time visitor to your website that you know what you’re doing in terms of marketing your brand. Social media feeds can get overwhelming, so make sure to include a widget with a design that matches the look of your website. This feature shouldn’t be distracting; it should enhance your web design and increase your conversion rate.
Create a mobile-friendly design This tip can’t be shared enough. If your website isn’t designed to be mobile-friendly, or responsive, then it will be very frustrating and difficult for a user to take action. The way your website looks and navigates on a desktop computer should be the same way it navigates on mobile devices (smartphones, tablets, etc.). This web design trick can make all the difference in increasing engagement and lowering your website bounce rate. Make this a top priority when coming up with a web design strategy!
At Jennasis & Associates, we have a dedicated web development and design team to help you achieve your goals. If you’re not sure how to get started with web design, or even what metrics of success you’d like to measure, we’re here to guide you.
Nellie Calanni was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio. Nellie graduated from Baldwin-Wallace College in 2012 and from Kent State University in 2014 with a Master’s degree in Mass Communication and Journalism. She has over eight years of experience in social media marketing and freelance writing. In her free time, Nellie enjoys reading, watching her favorite Cleveland sports teams, and practicing yoga.
