10 TIPS FOR BUILDING YOUR WEBSITE
Feb 14, 2013
If you’re in the process of creating a website (or giving your existing one a refresh) here are 10 helpful tips to remember.
1. Make an impression
The internet is a big place, with nothing to stop users from clicking away from your website if they don’t like what they see. Your homepage should be eye-catching, clear and suitable to your niche.
2. What are you about?
Don’t assume that people going to your website are going to know who you are – you need to tell them, preferably within a few sentences on your homepage. It doesn’t have to be a clever strap line, but it needs to tell the user who you are and what service you offer.
3. Easy navigation
While it’s good to have a website with lots of content, remember to set it out clearly. Our short term memory can only hold between 5 and 9 items at a time so keep it simple and don’t give people too many choices.
4. Less is more
Don’t be afraid of “empty space” on a website – studies have shown that extra white space on a website can improve comprehension by up to 20%! This website for an Apple app uses white space to its advantage, inviting the user to click one of the three central icons on the homepage:
5. Set a friendly tone
If you are a local business with a small team, there’s no harm in letting this show through your content. Don’t sell yourself short, however – you can show people how great you are with customer testimonials and/or awards you've won.
6. Revise calls-to-action
Calls-to-action are anything that prompts a response from users, whether it’s signing up for a newsletter or applying for a quote. You should write these calls-to-action to highlight what the user is getting from it, rather than what they are giving. For example, instead of, “Sign up today”, you could say “Get exclusive membership today”.
7. Invest in good photography
Get some quality photographs of your facilities, staff or products, rather than using stock photos that can seem a bit generic. It’s advisable to hire a photographer to do this (unless you have a talented photographer in house).
8. Think about longevity
If you are creating a latest news or blog page, remember to set aside time to update it. There’s no point in news if it’s not new!
9. Can it go mobile?
Over half of mobile phone owners now use them to go online, not forgetting iPads and other tablets too. It’s worth going for a responsive website design that works across all platforms.
10. Set goals
Think about what you want you want to achieve from your website. Is it for more sales, greater brand awareness, finding more customers or all of these things and more? Once you've worked this out, you’ll have a clearer idea of the website you need.
Our friendly team are just a phone call or email away if you need any more help with building your website!
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