And there’s one more thing…

And I’m adding one more entry to this series on ‘Designing Successful Website Layouts’ - because although this isn’t technically what’s ON your website, it IS about the success of it…

Source: Uploaded by user via Aqila on Pinterest

Your website’s success will grow – slowly for some, faster for others. But growth is inevitable if you’ve designed for your audience, streamlined your navigation, vetted your content, and created links where links should be. So now you’ve got your website as good as you can get it. Or have you?

People are inherently social. They like to talk, to share. And this is great news for you, as the potential exists for your website visitors to share your website with others. And that was the point in the first place, wasn’t it?

The trouble is, you need to make such ‘sharing’ of your content as accessible as possible. Think of the blogs you’ve read – each of them gives the reader options to share the content they’ve just read, with their friends.

You need to do the same.

Work out which social networks your target market is predominantly on – and add share buttons wherever appropriate. (Go back to the earlier entries in this series to check if you’re adding too many / not enough / not in the correct places…)

Completing this final step – making your site content easily sharable by your readers – could make a significant difference between a slow successful growth of your website, or a fast one. And which would you prefer?

The Top Four Layout Hints that will keep your Website Visitors from leaving

The first think I look at, when checking the analytics of a website, is the bounce rate. This is the percentage of visitors who enter the site and then leave again without viewing any other pages, often within a matter of minutes. My aim is to keep the bounce rate as low as possible. And to do that, the site needs to engage with each and every website visitor as quickly as possible.

Source: teachingmycalling.blogspot.com via Kelly on Pinterest

 

So – how do you optimise your website for visitors? Below are four hints to help you achieve a successful website design for your business.

1. Design with your audience in mind.

2. Make your site easily navigable.

3. Ensure that your information is clearly communicated.

4. Leverage your site’s content with links.

I’d like to think that I can create something worthwhile. Maybe not a Colesseum that will stand for thousands of years, but perhaps the online equivalent, with an effective website that will stand the test of time. And the way to keep it effective is to ensure my vistors don’t leave at the first available opportunity.

Clarity is key

I love this diagram ‘explaining’ the well-known Apple logo. On the surface, the logo seems so simple, right? But the diagram below shows that a lot of thought went into it. Unseen thought. Unseen planning. The same kind of thought, the same kind of planning, needs to happen on your website.

Source: acsoc.kylelamar.com via Paul on Pinterest

Assuming by now that you’ve checked over your site from your readers’  point of view, and that your navigation makes as much sense as it possibly can, let’s look at the clarity of each page, shall we? Because really, clarity is key. And by ‘information’, I don’t just mean your text, but your images as well. Let’s look at images first.

1. A picture ‘tells a thousand words’

I’m sure you’ve all heard that one. And it’s pretty true, right?! So if you want your visitors to remain on your website, looking for the information they need, enhance the look of EACH PAGE by adding a good quality image that relates to the text of that page. It’s going to be worth it to pay a photographer, and get your business a ‘branding photo’ library. If you’re planning on retaining the interest of your website readers, high quality images will ‘hook’ them much more effectively than just any old photo.

And don’t skimp on the image size, either. Any smaller than 200 (either in height or in width) probably isn’t large enough. That being said though, you don’t want to overwhelm your page with its image. Think of some websites (or blogs) that you like the appearance of, and match the size of your images accordingly. And always think about the impression you’re leaving in the minds of your readers. Balance each image out with text that clearly explains it. Don’t leave it up the the image itself – this just makes you look lazy, or that you don’t have anything to say. So… once you have some great images up on your website, look at the text that accompanies it.

2. The text. How are you writing your information?

Yes, this is where we go back to the High School English classroom, and look at our grammar. Do the sentences on your site make sense? Are they structured correctly? Do you have spelling errors or typos?

You may think I’m being pedantic, but if you can’t write clearly, then your website visitors aren’t going to bother trying to decipher what you’re attempting to communicate. They’re just going to leave, and find someone else’s site, which can give them the information they need. Make it as easy as possible for them to get what they need from your site! And what will help is ensuring that your information is up-to-date.

3. Currency – are you with it? Or behind the times?

Many websites roll over information from year to year. School websites almost always do this. So have you clearly archived your ‘old’ stuff? Or is it in amongst your current stuff? Nothing annoys me more than reading something that I think is current, then discovering that it was in fact months (or maybe even years!) old. Archive – and make this archiving clear to your website readers!

And keep your website information current, too. If you’re not posting new information on your website – say, at least on a weekly basis – then you’re giving your existing customers absolutely NO reason to return. As I wrote in “Design for Your Audience“, you need to keep your existing customers happy! Perhaps you could include a blog on your site, updated regularly? Yes, this will also mean regular maintenance of your site – but I’m yet to see how this is a bad thing.

4. Does your content accurately reflect your business – as it stands right now?

It’s funny, but this is often an overlooked part of a business website. But it can easily give your website visitor the wrong impression of your business. Make sure that the content on your site reflects the workings of your business – and in its correct proportions, too. If your school has a big ICT program, then the amount of website content should reflect this. Having dozens of pages covering incidental information, such as the past several years’ annual reports, or discussing the governance system of the school, is going to be counter-productive for you. And finally…

5. Is your site easy-on-the-eyes?

What’s your colour scheme? And font size? Because there are some shockers out there, and you don’t want your site to be one of them. Make it easy on your readers’ eyes, not hard. That way, they may stick around and keep reading.

This was Hint Number Three – Keeping your information clear – in the series on ‘Successful Website Design’. Ready for the next hint? Let the sun shine in!

How navigable is your site really?

This is Hint Number Two in my series on ‘Successful Website Design’. Once you’ve considered your audience, now it’s time to plan out your clear, logical navigation.

Source: eschoolnews.com via Christine on Pinterest

Navigation refers to ease of accessibility of information. Do you only have one page, with everything on that page? Or have you categorised your information so that ‘like’ is with ‘like’, and therefore easy to find? Have you used tabs with Drop-down menus? Are there call-out menus from within these? Are all of these tabs and menus clear and logical, or is information placed under categories where it doesn’t really fit?

As you may (or may not) know, I run the Seniors-only social network GoodOldTalk.com – and this site needed quite a bit of forethought with regard to navigation. Firstly, we didn’t want Seniors who might not be particularly computer-literate to be overwhelmed; but on the other hand, we didn’t want those who’d been using computers for years to find the site too simplistic. We also had to consider vision problems, physical barriers – and therefore we came up with five large tabs on the right hand side, with larger than normal font size. Each of these tabs then led to the main sections of the site, with no drop-down menus to make things potentially more confusing.

Compare this to a school website, however, and the differences are remarkable. Several tabs (generally at the top of the page) and their drop-down menus – and call-out menus within these menus – lead to dozens and dozens of pages. But the difficulty here is still making the HomePage accessible, and visitor-friendly, without cluttering up the screen, which in turn makes the vital information too difficult to find.

My tip here is to categorise. Really, really well. Your information needs to be clearly and logically organised, and I can’t emphasise that enough. And once you think you’re done, get a focus group together to test it. Can they retrieve the information they need? And how long does it take? Would it help to have a ‘search button’ on your site? Or a ‘Site Map‘? (Although one thought that crosses my mind it that, if you need a Site Map, then perhaps your information organisation wasn’t clear enough in the first place! Either that, or you’re trying to give too much information in the one site, and you need to split it up over several sites. Some government or large corporations fall into this trap…)

So… make it clear. Make it logical. Make it easy to find. And check these – regularly!

All done? Then it’s time for Hint Number Three – vet your information!

Lightbulb moment: Design for your audience

What’s the purpose of your website? Some might say ‘to sell our product’, others ‘to promote awareness of our brand’, still others ‘to be our online representative of our physical business.’
Each of these answers, although good, miss the mark in my opinion. Personally, I think that the purpose of any website is to interest, and then engage the attention of, its readers.
Yes, providing information is important. Yes, having that information logically organized, easily accessible, and coherent is important. But none of that matters if your visitors click away after only two or three seconds because of the poor choices made in your site design.

Which makes Hint Number One in ‘Successful Website Design’ : Keep your audience in mind!

Source: Uploaded by user via Ashley on Pinterest

It’s amazing how easy it is to forget this. How quickly we fall into the trap of thinking, “It’s *my* site, so I want it to look like this, and this; and show this, and this; and say this, and this.” All of which is fine, planning-wise, but it needs further development before your site goes live.
A little bit like ‘The customer is always right’, the online version should read ‘the needs of your website visitor trumps all’. If you’d like your business to grow, then you need attract new customers first and foremost, and (rating a very close second) keep meeting the needs of your existing customers. Both of these aspects need to be addressed by your website.
1. Attract new customers
Just like I asked you in “Is Your Website Layout Holding You Back?“, think about your own habits when you visit websites. What appeals? What frustrates you? Chances are, your likes and dislikes are fairly indicative of your own website visitors’ opinions. You probably appreciate a clean layout with easy to find navigation, and were annoyed by websites that included pop-ups, or highly animated banner ads in garish colours.

What is also absolutely crucial when you are designing for new customers? Make it obvious who you are, and what it is that you do! Is your business name and industry clear? How about where you’re located? Because if those facts aren’t immediately clear, then you’ve got quite a problem!

2. Meet the needs of existing customers

Existing customers range from those loyal people who have been coming back for ages, through to those who’ve just discovered you exist. Your website needs to clearly cater for the whole spectrum of existing customers. Perhaps you have new product releases? Or you are offering a new service? This information needs to be obvious – right on the homepage if possible – with links to more information for those customers who want to know more. A warning though – be wary of displaying too much information on your homepage, as clutter will turn away both new and existing customers.

So. Think, think, think. Forget about what it is YOU want to see, and step into the shoes of your customers. What do THEY need? How will you meet that need? Once you have the answers to those questions, then it’s time to look at Hint Number Two in Successful Website Design: Clear and Logical Navigation.

Is your Website Layout holding you back?

It’s often said that, in the online world, that ‘Content is King’. Those who hold to this opinion, believe that the most important aspect of any website is the amount and quality of the content uploaded onto it.

Well I’m sorry, but I disagree.

Source: stumbleupon.com via Kathryn on Pinterest

Think about your own searching habits for a minute. When you’re online, trying to find specific information, you click from link to link to link, checking out various websites to see if they meet your needs. In real terms, you visit half a dozen or so (at least!) websites – maybe even more than this, depending on the accuracy of your search terms in the first place. And because you’ve only given yourself a limited amount of time in which to find this information, every website you visit, (prior to finding the one that has the information you want, of course) you probably spend less than half a minute on. In fact, there’s every possibility that it’s a lot less. 20 seconds. 10 seconds. 5 – or maybe not even that long.

Now – think back to your own website. Does it capture your visitors’ attention? Remembering that you may only have 5 to 10 seconds (or less!) before they click away, is it the brilliant first impression for your business that you REALLY want it to be? Does the appearance of your website enhance your business image? Or hinder it?

I wrote recently about the importance of customer service. How image is everything – and reputations last longer than we’d like to admit. I wonder though, if sometimes we forget that our website also has a role to play in promoting our image. Your own website appearance – what image does it give about your business? Is it too cluttered? Too sparse? Is it covered with ads? Do you have clear About / Contact information, above the break (the point in the page where the visitor has to scroll down)? Or is your website expecting too much from your visitors – making them click around to a number of various places on your site, trying to find the information they need? Remember, the last thing you want to do is to frustrate a potential customer!

This post marks the first in a series ‘Designing a Successful Website Layout’. This series will show you how to optimize the appearance of your website, so that in those all-important seconds when a visitor discovers your site for the first time, they are impressed enough to stay; to read; to maybe click around a little bit. Or – even better – to return again.