A phone book and a local newspaper certainly are resources, when it comes to finding information about your small business, but make sure you don’t limit consumers to print media! Considering that nowadays Internet is used for anything from keeping an eye on what Paul is doing with your pizza order to keeping in touch with your inner stalker, you need to find your niche in cyberspace.

Let’s say you have a website for your business or are thinking about creating one; how do you know if it’s user-friendly and  accurately speaks to your target customer?  I have compiled a list of five important elements your website needs to ensure visitor satisfaction and retention. These must-haves may be obvious to some, but you won’t believe how many businesses overlook them.  I will address the topic from a consumer point of view because, after all, that’s who your website is designed for, right?

1.  Branding

Let’s say I was web-surfing and landed on your business’ webpage. You are a small local winery, and you know what? I’m in the mood for some Cabernet. In this situation, your website has two to five seconds to make an impression before the visitor decides whether to continue reviewing your page or visiting one of your competitors. From a consumer standpoint, if your website is visually confusing, or it’s unclear what your business can do for me, I am more likely to exit your website. That’s why your logo, images, layout and company message should work together quickly speaking to your visitor in one clear voice.

Do this:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Why it works:

+ Name/logo is prominent, visible, and speaks for itself;

+ The images complement each other and contribute to the wine concept;

+ The colors are subtle and appealing.

Not that:

Why it doesn’t work:

-   For a person not familiar with the company, Bear Flag doesn’t exactly scream “wine.” And if you miss the arched text on the bottom (so easy to miss!), you have no idea what they sell;

-   Needless to say, there’s too much going on with the background! It is eye-catching and unique, but do I want to spend my time figuring out what this company does? I don’t think so;

-   This website appeals to very small category of people: those familiar with the brand, good with computers, and not busy doing anything important.

 

2.  Easy Navigation

This rule of thumb might interfere with your creative vision, but better be safe than sorry. The fewer clicks it takes to find out who you are and what you have to offer, the better the experience for your website visitors. Hence, the more likely they are to get what they came for, whether it’s information about your company or purchase of your products.

Do this:

Why it works:

+ Navigation bar is centered and prominent without jumping out of the screen at you;

+ No need to scroll anywhere to find information.

Not that:

Why it doesn’t work:

-   There is no navigation bar to begin with;

-   There’s no way to tell what the company does;

-   The visitor will spend five minutes or more trying to make sense of it and eventually give up.  That’s not how you want your customers to feel, right?

 

3.  About

“About” is a very important and one of the highest ranked pages that many companies overlook while creating a website. It’s your chance to tell your story and build credibility with the customer. You can lay the page out any way you want (find creative ideas here), but make sure it’s functional and serves the purpose. And this purpose would be to present accurate information about your company’s history, vision, employees, executive team, etc., supported by facts and data.

Do this:

Why it works:

+ Looks neat, organized and consistent with the rest of the site;

+ Tells a story about the company;

+ Navigation panel is helpful when you have big volumes of information.

Not that:

Why it doesn’t work:

-   The blurb talks about vague concepts and mentions nothing about how old the company is and who’s behind it;

-   The copy is redundant and poorly written;

-   The photo is clearly fake, generic, and most likely has nothing to do with the company;

-    Honestly, looks like a poorly thought-out scam!

 

4.  Call to Action

So your website didn’t scare the visitors away; they stayed and looked around. But what is it that you ultimately want them to do? Most businesses want visitors to purchase products or inquire about their services. Make it easy by incorporating multiple call-to-action buttons and boxes in your website design. It could be something like “send us an e-mail,” “request a quote,” “book a room,” or “subscribe to our newsletter.” The last one is essential for making sure you send relevant information to people who are interested in receiving it (assuming you have a newsletter). These calls to action should be placed strategically to catch an eye and guide the visitors.

Get ideas for call-to-action buttons content and design.

Do this:

Why it works:

+ Call-to-action buttons are prominent and clearly state what will happen if you press one;

+ The color scheme is consistent.

Not that:

Why it doesn’t work:

-   The color scheme is too distracting to pay attention to the buttons;

-   The calls to action are hard to read and not easy to notice;

-   The copy is redundant and the call itself is not clear: “TNT Family click on it check it out” actually takes you to the list of friends and vendors; who would have thought?

 

5.  Contact Options

Give the webpage visitors options on how to reach you. But please, don’t hide “Contact us” button so far away that I have to consult the site map to find it. Some visitors will prefer to call you, some will e-mail, some would like to write on your Facebook wall, and a few would be happy with an online submission form. Make sure you accommodate everyone by including shortcuts to your social media pages and other means of contact.

Depending on the nature and size of your business, it could be a good idea to put a human face on your company by including a list of employees with their titles and e-mails or phones. Personally, I feel that I will get a faster and more accurate reply from sarah@work.com, rather than from info@work.com. Giving out your employees’ contact data empowers website visitors to choose the right person to contact. And who doesn’t like to feel empowered?

For contact page design and structure ideas, please take a look here.

Do this:

Why it works:

+ This bar is on top of every page, so you can’t miss it;

+ It offers multiple means of contact in a simple manner;

+ Note: the click on the envelope icon opens your default e-mail client. It could be convenient, but equally annoying if your visitors e-mail through a browser-based system. In this case, including an unlinked e-mail address would cater to a wider audience. No one has died of copy-pasting!

Or this:

Why it works:

+ This contact page provides physical location, so I can easily figure out if they are local;

+ Google Maps link will save me time finding directions to your office;

+ There are different e-mail addresses and phone numbers for different purposes, which leave the choice to me.

Not that:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Why it doesn’t work:

-   Needless to say it only offers one method of contact: a generic form that will vanish in the cyberspace as soon as you click “post”;

-   For a company that is supposed to help you with a car loan, this “Contact Us” page doesn’t convey much trust.

Does your website have all five of these Must-Haves, and your website visitors have a pleasant browsing experience?  If you answered “yes,” then congratulations! You have covered the essentials, but we have a lot more tips, strategies and techniques coming soon!  Stay tuned for more information on how to effectively utilize blogs, FAQ pages and other features to help convert more visitors into customers or leads!

Need a site evaluation or help implementing some of these points?  Contact PDR Web Solutions today, your local web design company in Baltimore,  and we’ll be more than happy to help!