Web Design Hacks to Boost Website Conversions & Make More Leads
Description: Thinking of the best web design to impress your prospective clients? Want to boost sales and create a memorable landing page? Take a look at our web design tips that should help you turn leads into loyal customers.
Web Design Tips that Can Boost Conversion and Impress Your Leads
Today, when web design courses are available to anyone, people of all walks of life can explore this profession. Still, quality web design is not just about artistic or programming skills. The end goal of any website is to sell. This statement is true for businesses offering goods and services and personal blogs that literally advertise the author. It is always about selling — your ideas, your experience, your services, or your products.
So, how do you create web page design that achieves this goal? While there is no magic formula (if there were, anyone would do it), we can offer a few ideas that could point in the right web design direction.
Think outside your industry ‘standard’
This is probably the most important tip for creating the best website design, regardless of your industry. Today, it’s hard to tell one site from another because most of them are built with similar tools and following similar web design patterns. Imagine an online casino, for example. What do you see? Probably a roulette-reminiscent combination of red & green with plenty of flashy graphics and tons of annoying ads. That’s how a typical online casino looks like. Now, take a look at this Golden Touch web page. It’s mostly grey and white, with orange accents, which is already a relief. Then, it loads fast, has no video ads interfering with one’s web experience, and, most importantly, it conveniently places all action buttons (sign up, in this case). Note, we do not give this page as an example of the most creative design, or the most artistic one because it does have its issues. It is, however, a good example of how you can think >outside your industry ‘box.’ A web page that looks different from similar design products will be remembered. So, do not do what everyone else is doing already.
Work to eliminate distractions in web design
All of them. To create a website that sells, you will need to draw your audience’s attention to whatever it is you are selling. Most how-to articles on web design will advise you to avoid clutter, make use of white space, choose no more than two main colors, keep it simple, etc. All of these >tips are good and right, but they all go down to one thing essentially— eliminating distractions. Often, in an attempt to make pages informative, people cram so many things into one page that this web page becomes non-scannable and off-putting. Don’t do that. So, what can a savvy web designer do to eliminate distractions? For starters, one should have a clearly stated purpose for every web page. The question is — what is this page selling? Everything is more or less clear with landing pages and their CTAs like ‘sign up,’ ‘subscribe,’ or ‘buy now.’ As anyone would tell you, you simply should make use of blank space and place the CTA in a conspicuous spot (and, ideally, accent with a color that is not too annoying). What about the main pages then? They usually convey more info than landing pages, and it is not always easy to figure out your call to action on a web page that represents you or your business. Most business owners would choose to emphasize the element that describes them best. We suggest you do not make it about yourself, but rather about your client. No matter if you are selling software products or car spares, you have to make it about your target buyer. What would your audience value most about your products or services? Why do they come to your site? What problems are they trying to solve? Try to figure these answers out and build your main web page around this concept.
Don’t just stick to the latest web design trends…blindly
Ever been on a site with an annoying ‘Hi! How can we help?’ pop-up chat window? That was (and for some business niches still is) quite a dev & design trend a few years back. In theory, this robo-helper was supposed to boost conversions and drive sales. But did it? If your web browsing experience was ever interrupted by this pop-up, you know it did not. Still, back in the day, everyone seemed to think that was the best way to engage prospects. On the other hand, one cannot get stuck in the past and discard web design trends simply because they are new and have not yet stood the test of time. After all, responsive design used to be a new thing web design and development. Now, a website that does not adjust itself to the user’s screen and device is a dinosaur no one will take seriously. So, it’s all about figuring out web design trends and technologies that work for your business and are in line with what you are selling. Here, of course, one cannot go on without clearly defining the target buyers and the thing they will respond to.
Grant quick access to your social media accounts
Very few leads convert into customers straight from a landing page, especially so if you offer ‘long-haul’ products or services rather than something a person buys just once. Social media, however, can be a strong tool that boosts conversions. If, of course, you manage it right. Allowing leads quick access to your social media accounts can increase credibility and give potential customers a better picture of who you are and what you do. It is best to place social media icons somewhere in the website footer from the web design perspective. It is equally important not to overdo. Simplicity and open space, remember? So, >instead of cramming in every social media icon there is, it is best to focus on two-three channels that best represent your business. Even if you carefully manage a dozen social media accounts (which is unlikely), you should still stick to channels your target audience uses.
Encourage sharing
Speaking of social media, the best web design always encourages sharing. Sometimes, your leads may want to share the site/landing page directly from Google without any extra social media logins or redirects. There is plenty of programming and web design software that allows this option. Sure, this is more of a technical than a creative web design tip, but let’s face it — a website is more of a functional tool than an artistic one, even though the best examples of web design combine these two aspects.
Don’t sacrifice loading speed for anything
The world and technology are pacing ever faster. Today, website loading speed is one of the first things leads will notice. If your web page takes too long to load, no one will bother waiting. When most businesses optimize for speed, you simply cannot sacrifice loading time for graphics and other web design visuals. Carefully optimize and adjust all images and any other heavy content. Make sure your site loads equally fast across all operating systems and devices. If you still have a vague idea of what is responsive web design, might be the right time to go back to school. Without adaptive technologies, the website will convert, and no creativity will help.
Web Design Bonus: a few tech & navigation tips
As you figure out your target buyers and the best way to impress them, make a note of several web design and navigation tips that make your pages readable, and leave a good impression on your prospects.
- Do not overload your menu with navigational links. It is better to have a website with fewer pages and make sure all of them have real value for the target buyer. Today, less is more.
- In most cases, a not too flashy two-color scheme leaves a good impression on prospective clients. It’s soothing and relaxing, and just one bright accent can draw attention to your CTAs and conversion links.
- A combination of two different fonts in web design can help accentuate an important text message. This tip is not about using different font sizes, but actually about going with different fonts that look alike. Subconsciously, people will notice the difference and pay extra attention to the spot.
- If you need to publish a large chunk of text, think about dividing it into columns. The eye just automatically jumps from one column to another, scanning the text. Two columns have a higher chance of conveying long messages than large text paragraphs.
- Whenever possible, avoid ads. Sure, this tip will not work for any website, but on the whole — there is nothing better than a clean, professional-looking web page with no distractions from the third parties.
Conclusion
To wrap it all up, creating a website that sells is usually the result of teamwork. It is not just about a programmer and a web designer. Marketers, content strategists, and SEO experts also have to jump on board. There is no magic formula in web design or universal graphic placement to convert leads. It takes a clearly defined target audience and a bit of joint creative effort. Only when you know who your clients are and what makes them tick will you be able to come up with a web design that converts leads into customers. Now, what do you think? Which of these pointers gave you a web design inspiration boost?
Author’s Bio
Thomas Glare is a passionate freelance content writer, always striving to inspire others and bring insight into the endless possibilities of the modern times we are currently living. He also spent a lot of time collaborating with some prestigious online casinos, thus being No. 1 expert in >those matters. He continues to improve his knowledge and is the co-designer of a “Echtgeld Spielautomaten”, one of the most popular games from Novomatics.
IG Webs – Web Design, SEO Content Services, Website Management & More! Give Us a Call for A Free Quote Today!
We provide responsive websites, mobile websites and website management from start-ups to medium large businesses across the nation. At IG Webs, success means a website that presents the client’s business and ideas in an interesting and effective manner. Website Design, Local Marketing, SEO Content Services, Website Management, E-Commerce and more! Call us today or use our free quote form – Allow us to quote you a price and get started on your project. You’ll be glad you did!
