So you want to
improve your website...
Websites are worth every bit of our investment and energy. It’s the most public display of your business and you want your visitors to be impressed and to find accurate information easily. There is no replacement for an excellent website.
With that in mind, here are a few guiding principles we use when evaluating websites:
Clear, Concise Messaging
A website is just a snapshot of your brand. It’s like inviting someone into your living room for a cup of coffee, not a full tour of your home. Experts say that people will decide within 5-10 seconds whether or not they are going to stay on your site once they land there, so you want to ensure they know about you from the moment they arrive. Try your best to keep each of these sections concise. Think appetizer, not three-course meal. Leave them wanting more!
HERE ARE 5 SIMPLE POINTS SOMEONE TYPICALLY NEEDS TO KNOW WHEN THEY LAND ON YOUR WEBSITE:
Who you are
Why you exist as a business ( & why you care)
What you do
Why it matters to them
What they should do next - an invitation to take action
An Intuitive Flow
From the moment a visitor arrives on your website, it should feel like they are being invited on a journey. Put yourself in the viewer’s shoes and imagine that you know nothing about your business. Where do you want them to go first? And then where should they go next? Design each page with a clear pathway to their next step (a clear call to action directing them where to want them to go next). Minimize buttons and opportunities to click away from your content until you want them to move onto the next page or section. This includes a simple navigation bar - too many options is only going to distract your audience.
Consistent Call to Action
The entire reason you want someone to visit your website is so that they can book your services or purchase your product, so make it as easy as possible for them to do that! Including a consistent button with the same action step is one of the best things you can do for website conversion. You want this to be sales driven and simple to understand, such as “book a call” or “start your membership.” There’s nothing boring about a repetitive call to action (CTA)! What’s worrisome is when your website visitors are confused! Give them a clear roadmap and tangible action step on every page. And if you have a secondary CTA (like a prompt to sign up for your email list) make sure it doesn’t overpower your primary.
Intentional Design
Are you surprised this is so far down the list? Design is still imperative to a website, but even as website designers ourselves, we say that good design can’t get you out of a bad messaging or user experience problem. We’re always wary of websites that look really beautiful but lack substance or clarity. That said, there is no replacement on your site for a coordinated color scheme, clear font families, consistent layout and design elements, balanced visuals, and proper aesthetic touches that are personal to you. Hint: this is why we always encourage re-branding before redesigning a website. A strong visual brand should make it extremely easy for you to implement consistent design on your website.
Custom Photography
Your website and brand is all about building trust. The most effective way to build that trust with your customers is to share authentic visuals that allow them to get to know you. Nothing stands in the way of that more than stiff, generic stock photography. There is a time and a place for well-curated stock photos - we curate stock photos all the time and love it! But nothing compares to having high quality imagery that looks and feels like your brand. It’s worth every penny and can transform your website immediately.