Second impressions last. Greet your website visitors with a “friendly face” using these tips! [Thursdays: FYO!]
What makes a magazine spread pleasing to the eyes?
High-resolution photos?
Readable font style and size?
Proper management of white spaces?
Organization and proper layout play an important role in the creation of a magazine spread. Otherwise, readers won’t find it pleasing enough to read through every page.
Now, think about this in the perspective of creating a website.
As a business owner or marketer, how can you make sure that your brand’s website will be pleasing to your online visitors’ eyes?
Through WEB DESIGN!
In today’s digital age, a website is an important part of your brand’s online presence. It’s also important that you choose the right design and layout.
Since this is the place where you nurture your sales leads to get conversions, you CANNOT afford to make any errors that might drive your online visitors away.
Your web design should be consistent with your branding and provide good user experience as well.
Why is web design an important aspect of your brand’s online marketing strategy?
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It sets the second impression for your online visitors.
In our previous “Thursday: FYO!” article, we mentioned that page loading speed sets a user’s first impression on your brand’s website.
The second impression, then, would be on your web design since it’s the first thing users see after your page has finished loading.
If your website looks unappealing or outdated, users might immediately have a negative impression of your brand and they won’t be motivated to spend time browsing through your site.
According to Internet marketing agency WebFX, if online users are only given 15 minutes to consume content, 66% of them would prefer to see something that is beautifully designed compared to something that is too plain and simple.
By making your website more professional-looking, you can make your leads stay longer on your site.
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It helps in your search engine optimization (SEO) strategy.
Aside from content that is published on your website, some web design elements can affect your SEO strategy.
It’s important to keep in mind that your web design codes have to be SEO-friendly, but if you’re not familiar with how it works, the best way is to enlist a web design agency’s service so they can help you in designing your website.
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It gives online visitors an impression of your brand’s customer service.
Imagine your brand’s website as your online customer service representative.
If your website exudes a bright and inviting atmosphere, your online visitors will feel that they are welcome to browse through your page and give them the impression that you value all the people who go to your website.
On the other hand, if you don’t put any effort into designing your website, online visitors may think you also won’t put any effort in addressing their needs. That’s why you have to make your web design equivalent to a “friendly face” that will greet your visitors every time they enter your site.
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It builds online visitors’ trust and confidence in your brand.
People are wary of poorly designed websites. If they see that something is “off” with your website or the contents are outdated, they won’t trust your website and will immediately leave or bounce off to another site.
In business and marketing, it’s important to build customers’ and prospects’ trust―a beautifully designed website is one way to do it.
When online visitors browse through your website longer, you create more opportunities for your brand to convert sales leads into actual sales.
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It creates consistency in your branding.
Consistency in your web design is important so online users will get familiar with your brand.
Take note that the same fonts, styles, and layouts should be applied across every page of your website. By building consistency in layout and branding, you get sales leads that are more familiar with your business.
For example: Coca-Cola’s (Coke) homepage during their “Share A Coke” Campaign.
See how the web design reflected Coke’s branding?
The company’s website used its distinctive red color on a white background (since red and white are Coke’s color scheme).
By using these colors, together with other web design elements, people who visit Coke’s website will easily associate these things with the company; thus, creating a stronger brand recognition.
Now that you know some of the importance of a good web design, you also have to know a few elements that you should incorporate into it.
Easy Navigation
You don’t want your online visitors to struggle to find information on your site, right? That’s why you have to implement website navigation that is easy for them to use.
Your web navigation should be simple and self-explanatory. You can include broad headings that include appropriate subtopics. That way, you’re making it easier for visitors to find the right information they need.
Responsive and Devices-friendly Design
A responsive design ensures that online users will have a positive experience on your site, regardless of the device they use.
Due to technological developments in mobile phones, tablets, laptops, desktop computers, and other devices, it’s more important now that your website is adaptable to any device.
This can help you provide online users with easy access to your site.
Style Guide
A style guide serves as your basis on how you want your brand’s website to look, taking into account the color, format, typography, and other elements.
This helps you maintain a consistent branding on your site and ensures that every time someone adds a new element, it is still consistent with other pages.
Purposeful Visuals
Visual elements help improve engagement on a website. According to online video hosting company Vidyard, customers are 10 times more likely to interact with a video than text.
Aside from that, visuals are also good for breaking up text. However, don’t make your site look cluttered and overcrowded with photos and videos. Too much visuals may also confuse your online visitors.
Strike a balance between your visuals and texts. Use your visual elements purposefully so visitors will be more motivated to keep engaging with your content.
Good Quality Content
Contents you publish on your site matters just as much as the design, that’s why it’s necessary to write good quality copy.
If visitors find that the information you provide is useful, they’ll be encouraged to read until the bottom of your page’s content and stay on your site longer.
Clear Call-To-Action (CTA) Buttons
Web design importance can be evident when you’re trying to get your online visitors to act.
Once you have leads on your site, a well-designed CTA button will encourage them to proceed to the next step. These buttons should be consistent with your branding but should stand out enough for users to notice.
By properly integrating CTA buttons, you’ll drive better results―even conversions―on your page.
One example of a website with appealing and engaging designs is influencer marketing platform Traackr.
By utilizing eye-pleasing colors, photos, and scroll-triggered animations, Traackr is able to pique influencer interest, encouraging them to tap into the website’s marketing powers in the right way.
Through testimonials, case studies, and other data, Traackr has proven to yield great results for influencers who enlist its services.
Web design may seem like a trivial matter, but it should not be taken lightly. When utilized properly, it can help you create a good impression on your brand’s prospects and even drive sales conversions.
Take your website to the next level by taking note of these tips!
Greet your online visitors with that friendly face and give them a warm welcome with your web design.
About The Dynamic Marketing Communiqué’s
“Thursday: Find You Optimization!”
Why should you stop thinking SEO and start thinking FYO?
We’re not saying that you should abandon Search Engine Optimization (SEO).
Don’t get us wrong, of course, we know this is something very important, especially in today’s digital marketing age.
The internet landscape is vast, and a world of its own. You really need to distinguish yourself and make your brand/company/website known and easily searchable.
Better yet, get to the top of page one for Top Results on Google or any other search engine.
However, what is the purpose of SEO? It’s that customers Find You!
That’s what matters. So, while SEO is one factor of FYO… it really is only one, and we ought not to abandon all the myriad of ways digitally and offline for improving your FYO.
How can we look at this from a different and better perspective?
Let’s say you have it in the bag! You and your team are experts in SEO. Awesome. But did you ever wonder what else you could do to push it further and give your SEO skills a boost?
FYO! Find You Optimization!
You need your target audience to FIND YOU—your brand, product, service, or offer. This is SEO plus other tools that increase visibility online (and offline).
Every Thursday, we publish content on how you can get your target market to find you, beyond the typical “type and search.” There are other things you can do along with your SEO to give your online advertising process a boost.
Try considering other tactics beyond it—WOMO (Word Of Mouth Optimization), RO (Referral Optimization), and “All-Other-Means-Of-Getting-Your-Target-Market-To-Find-You” Optimization (AOMOGYTMTFY, if you’d like a long acronym).
Part of a great marketing strategy is knowing how to adapt new methods and make use of different types of marketing and promotion that best fit your business goals and which give you the results you want.
Hope you’ve found this week’s insights interesting and helpful.
Stay tuned for next Thursday’s FYO!
Cheers,
Kyle Yu
Head of Marketing
Valens Dynamic Marketing Capabilities
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