It's no secret that a website is one of a business' greatest assets. An attractive, easy-to-navigate website can bring in new clients and quickly answer visitors' questions. If it's been awhile since you updated your site, you might be missing out on design opportunities that could make a major impact:
1. Change Your Approach
The traditional rules of web design have changed. More businesses are realizing that it's a waste to spend a ton of cash up front, wait a long time, and then find that the finished product isn't what you wanted or just doesn't work. That approach gets poor ROI and makes web design a drain on resources and time. By paying less up front, launching quickly, and relying on analytics to guide the design process, your website will be continuously improving and - coupled with a robust Inbound Marketing strategy - will help you drive leads and get more customers.
SEE ALSO: Listen to how Inbound Marketing turns any website into a lead-driving machine
2. Keep It Simple
You could have the most beautiful website around, but if it's tough to navigate, then you'll lose visitors or frustrate clients. If someone is visiting your site, they're there for a reason. Make sure they can find what they're looking for as efficiently as possible.
Make sure your navigation bar is well-planned and logical, with easily searchable tabs. You also want a look that isn't too cluttered, so don't go flashy with colors and keep the typefaces to a maximum of three.
3. Organize Your Site
When you look at your website's homepage, what initially shows up on the screen is prime real estate. Use it wisely.
You'll want to create a hierarchy for the top reasons people come to your site, or what you want them to see first. Say you're running a huge promotion - make sure that stands out as soon as you load your site. Your navigation bar should also stand out. By varying sizes and colors, you can draw attention to page elements that are most important.
4. Focus on Uniformity
Whatever design elements you come up with for your site, it's important to keep it uniform throughout. If you introduce too much variation throughout your site, your site can become confusing or cluttered.
Allow your homepage to help guide the design for the rest of the site. Sticking to a typeface and color pattern will add professionalism to your site while making it easier to search.
However, you should still treat each page as its own entity. Use the general design elements as a guide, but set up the information on each page with a hierarchy that will best serve the content.
5. Don't Reinvent the Wheel
Your site doesn't need to be completely different from other sites. It can be good to stick to a formula that the average site visitor is used to seeing. For example, you website should include:
-A clickable logo at the top left or center of your website that will bring visitors back to your homepage
-Links that change color or highlight when you hover over them
-A navigation bar at the top or side of your website
-Contact information at the bottom of your site
6. Make It User-Friendly
If you think investing in an updated site design isn't worth it, think again: even small updates can lend credibility and professionalism to your site. At the end of the day, creating a site that is user-centered and well-organized will pay off for your business.
