Looking to improve your website, attract more audience, get more sales and revenue? Then read on, because this article is just for you! According to a recent report there are some golden things that everyone needs to be doing to their website, to attract all of the above-mentioned benefits. How many of the following do you have and how could you improve? Hopefully by the time you have read this, you will be well on your way to achieving it.
The problem
Everyone knows first impressions count. Think of that job interview, the first time you meet a date, or the first time you walk into a shop. These are all physical events and it is easy to see how impressions count. The trouble with online is it is virtual (as obvious as that may sound,) and many people do not associate the same first impression’s philosophy. When someone visits your website, chances are you will not know who they, because they could be accessing it from anywhere. This is exactly the group of people that you need to be making a good impression on, in order to stand any chance of getting ahead of competitors.
Some statistics for thought from research
Did you know the following?…
* Before a buyer even shows any intention of purchasing something, they have completed over 65% of their online journey.
* If your customer has a good experience with your website or brand, they will spend as much as 140% extra!
* Short delays on websites (even as little as a few seconds) send bounce rates up by over 80%.
These really aren’t things you can afford to ignore!
The homepage
When it comes to having a website, most people focus on the homepage and think if they have a great homepage everything else will fall into place as subpages off it. Research has shown that this is wrong. Often, people will be directed to every other page you have on your website except your homepage. Not having these optimised against a ‘perfect’ homepage is a risky strategy which studies have found won’t work.
So what should I be doing?
Recent studies and work confirm the following as the best way forward. Of course it is not as easy as this, and this is only a small part in the bigger picture of what can make a good website good. However, the following will go a long way in helping you to achieve your website goals.
(1) Speed. Anything other than seconds is too slow.
(2) Get content sorted out, and ensure the most important text is ‘above the fold’ (i.e. above the centre line of the screen where people can normally read without scrolling.)
(3) Create a unique experience for your visitors as much as you can, so your net is cast wide with drawing in as much audience as possible. You may want to think about things such as images, appearance etc and how you can translate this into appealing for mass audiences.
Follow the golden rules of web pages and see just what difference it makes!
A better website is likely to increase conversions. To find out more about conversion optimisation click the dedicated link now.