You start a business and realise that most of the visitors are leaving your website just after landing! Wondering why? Maybe your website seems boring, or not attractive.
Good web design is the most effective growth tool for a business. Everything from the company’s logo, website’s appearance and usability, to marketing brochures must be smartly designed, as a poor design may be the reason that your business gets killed.
Explore our collection of award-winning planners and journals that encourage leadership, goal-kicking, passion and motivation, with elegant designs that can be personalised.
Hence, here we have given you 10 effective web development tips that would improve your website’s success.
Have a plan
The most basic thing to keep in mind is having a plan. You should know about your current customers. In order to do so, interview them, research how they went from a visitor to becoming a customer, map the buyer’s journey. Design your UX and UI accordingly. Consider a few questions like what pages will they view? What content would interest and attract them? And what offers can convert them? All these questions will provide you with the data that you can use to map out your strategy. A web development company takes care of all these plans for your website. They have the resources and experience of getting this research done professionally.
Optimise your website loading speed
Keep your website’s loading speed in check. Slow speed makes the users leave even before the website’s content can make an impression. Some factors that slow the loading speed of the website include data-intensive photos and graphic elements. Compression without losing quality is possible if you design your graphics and motion graphics properly. Use them smartly for maximum impact and quick loading speed.
Remove anything that is unnecessary
Certain elements are going to detract from the actual message and value you’re trying to convey. These include complicated animations, long and preachy content and stocky website images. The audience only has an attention span of 8 seconds. Hence you need to get the main points across in the first impression. Therefore, you must use short and powerful sections of content and appropriate pictures/ icons. Jargons and ambiguous terminology should be avoided in order to make your content widely understood by all.
Include follow and social share buttons
If your website lacks social share buttons, you could be missing out on a lot of social media traffic generated from the users who are already reading your blog. They allow you to share the page directly on any social media channel like Instagram, Facebook, Twitter or even another website of yours. They act as tools that are non-pushy but still encourage social sharing. So, if your website lacks some social sharing and follow buttons, go add them now!
Add call-to-action buttons
When a visitor lands on your website you have to provide them with some sort of direction so as to follow a pathway of operation. Call-to-action buttons indicate the next step the user should take on a page. Many projects and designs aren’t accurately successful to use them to guide the users through a website. Some example of call-to-action buttons include- click here for information, sign-up, watch the video, check price, etc. Also, different colours evoke different messages, so think about the message you want to convey and use those colours in the buttons on your website.
Want to live a life that makes you excited? Our LH Planners use our Dream | Define | Do framework, based on proven mindset and productivity research, so we know it will help you achieve what you put your mind to!
Navigation
Navigation is the key when designing your website. A confusing or disorganised navigation interface is the worst part of any website. Visitors should be able to find what they are looking for easily. Hence the content of your website should be streamlined with a hierarchy of navigation. Your website should have a responsive design. If the users are not able to find what they are looking for, they will leave your site and go to a competitor that offers a better user experience.
A detailed homepage
Don’t be scared of a slightly longer homepage. Your homepage should include 3-5 sections that help direct new and recurring users both to proper areas of your site and this helps create a seamless experience. Some of the crucial elements include- intro video, an overview of services, product features, about us, testimonials, case studies, resources, etc. After all your homepage is the heart of your website.
Optimise for mobile access
Your website MUST be optimised for mobile access. Facts say that 80% of internet users own a mobile. And most people search on a mobile device. So if you have a website that keeps lagging on smart-phones, you should be concerned. Optimise your website so that it can be accessed through a mobile device as well. Adjust it to the size/shape of the screen and make it intuitive and easy to navigate.
Remove your 404’s
Even though search engines don’t punish you severely for soft 404 errors, users definitely will. When users click on a link or an image, they are expecting it to take them to the next place. And encountering a 404 error page annoys them! After slow page loading time, a 404 error is highly frustrating for the user. A 404 error page means that the webpage they were trying to reach could not be found on the server. So, check if your website has any 404 error landing pages and remove them. You can do so by visiting the Google Index, login by your domain and give the URLs of the 404 error pages to Google. Google will take care of it! Additionally, make sure that when a user lands on such a page, it provides them with an option to get back on track.
Have white spaces
White spaces are an essential design element that help you break up the page and increase readability. They are also called as ‘negative spaces’ and refer to the areas around elements on a page that are empty and lack visual or content items. These spaces give your website a polished look and increased graphic captivity. Hence use these whitespaces to your advantage!
Conclusion
Now that you know the 10 web development tips to improve your website’s success, you just need to implement them! Make sure that you don’t skip the design aspect! Work with your web designer and graphic designer to find the best strategies to execute web development without losing your touch and sense of the business. All the best!
Author Bio: This is Sanket Pawar, a full-time professional blogger. Working at Web Ratna LLP from last 2 years. He also loves to blogging on trending topics that prove helpful to others with their personal and the business works.
