The primary goal of your website is to gain more conversions, whether you run a blog for your affiliate marketing business or a website for your service. There is always a purpose behind a website, from promotion to sales.
Content is king, indeed. Your search engine optimization campaign could be great at promoting your best products. However, the website design is supposed to raise to the expectations and work in the same direction – otherwise, the optimization will be hindered.
Every aspect related to your website must draw attention and ease your potential client’s experience. Unfortunately, lots of people overlook this aspect. Here are some of the best web design tricks to turn visitors into leads.
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Simplicity first – Forget about unnecessary embellishments
A minimalist and simplistic design does not have to be boring. Instead, it can be efficient and pleasant. Stick to the right colors for your business and get rid of all the visual effects that no one really cares about – gradients, shadows, drop animations and so on. You want a clean and basic design instead.
Avoid 3D graphics, but stick to a 2D design instead. The layout must be perfectly structured. Losing all the effects will ensure that the focus is on your actual content, Furthermore, simplicity will also give you more room to adapt later on whether you want to add call to actions or more products and services.
Simplicity does not have to be a white background, black text and the classic blue hyperlinks. A bit of color will help, but make sure it is mild and less likely to disturb your visitors. Opt for something neutral and stick to the things that really matter – your work and content.
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Less clicks – Too much work will cause frustration
Your potential customers are not on your website to solve a puzzle or figure out an escape room. The more they struggle to work your website out, the more shopping cart abandonment you will get. Most of them will quit if they cannot find what they need within a few seconds only.
A well designed website will let people collect the information they require in no time. Random distractions will add to the issue. No one likes popups, not even those live chat popups offering to help. Such things will increase the amount of clicks your users have to make to find the service or product they require.
This idea is especially beneficial for those running online stores. You need to ensure a seamless experience. If people get stuck or they cannot figure something out, you risk losing the lead. The more steps your website involves, the more abandonment you will deal with.
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A picture is worth a thousand words – Opt for high quality pictures
Whether you use pictures to describe your products, you want to show before and after photos of your projects or you implement a few pictures throughout the blog and about sections, make sure you go for high quality, a great resolution, clarity and sharpness.
Think about a picture twice before using it. Avoid anything gaudy. Stay away from pixelated or small pictures that lose sharpness if enlarged. They do not have to be ultra artistic either – opt for quality, good framing around the subject and quality. Too many filters and effects can push them in the wrong direction.
Believe it or not, a website with excellent imagery can get over 90% more views. It makes no difference if you take these pictures yourself with your advanced smartphone or you grab them from free stock photography websites. There are loads of options out there.
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Avoid overcrowding – Take advantage of the white space
The white space involves all the space between lines of text, paragraphs, collections of pictures and so on. Many web designers believe white space requires filling – why leave empty gaps? A professional designer will make good use of it to ensure the website delivers the optimal experience to its guests.
A bit of white space ensures clarity and draws the line. It makes your content simple and easy to read. Imagine reading five paragraphs or 30 lines in one paragraph. Most people do not even bother to go through very long texts because they are difficult to read and can waste plenty of time.
From this point of view, it is crystal clear that white space can reshape your guests’ experience. Arrange elements around your website in a safe way to underline an emotional connection. If content is your main approach, make sure you rely on minimalism and take advantage of the white space.
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Reach customers everywhere – Optimize your website for more devices
Many templates today are naturally responsive and can adjust based on the device used to browse them. This is not a general rule though. However, most content management platform will adjust to the size of the device screen. There are more tests to perform to check the responsiveness of your website.
You might as well load it over a laptop, a tablet and a smartphone to see what it looks like. Keep in mind that these days, smartphones are extremely powerful. More and more people use mobile devices to access the Internet, shop and find the services and products they need. This trend should reflect in your web design too.
In other words, keep in mind that people will have to get information, complete forms and read content on tiny screens. Your website must be 100% functional on such small screens, but it must be comfortable to browse as well. If your guests cannot click buttons or see what they are after, they will simply move on.
As a short final conclusion, the web design is slightly overlooked when it comes to website development. Content is critical, indeed, and will make the difference. But on the same note, the web design must support it accordingly.
A well designed page will ensure your clients find whatever they are after in no time. They will find your website functional and easy to browse. If they face any difficulties, they will hit the back button and choose the next result.
