Whether you're designing your own website or hiring a developer, it's important to know exactly what you want from your website. For most business owners, that's leads. Converting visitors of your site to potential sales should be the main focus of your website, no matter what. So how do you do that? Follow this guideline which breaks down the science behind designing a website for maximum leads.
Does it pass the squint test?
An easy way to determine if the focus of your page is clear is to perform the squint test. This simply requires you to take a step back from the screen and squint your eyes at the display. What do you see? Likely a blur with only basic shapes jumping out. This gives you a rare but telling perception of the visuals on your page. If you find yourself confused by what you see or your eyes darting around to try to grab onto a single focal point, your design may be flawed. If you find yourself looking in the right direction, at your call to action, you probably have achieved the layout for maximum conversions.
Less is more.
Maybe you have a list of all the things you want on your website. Or maybe you have bookmarked all the websites that you like. While inspiration is key to reaching your design goals, you don't want to get greedy and try to squeeze too much into your website. Shave down your list to a few main focuses, and narrow those to two or three. At the end of the day you want your website to tell a succinct story with a beginning, middle and end (one that guides your visitor to a call to action). If your website design isn't well organized, you'll end up with a little bit of everything and a whole lot of nothing.
Make your call to action clear.
Your
should be clear from the moment a user arrives on your page. The landing page should only have one CTA and it should be blatantly obvious. Choosing your CTA is simple. What do you want the visitors of your website to do? Buy your product? Call your business? Determine the most important thing you want visitors to do and make that the top priority of the page.
Identify what makes your company different.
You're likely not the only dentist around or the sole lawyer in your city -- but there is probably something that makes you unique. Your website should identify to visitors what your unique value proposition is. If you think because they're on your site, they are already interested, you might be wrong. They could have ended up there because they are interested in finding a dentist or lawyer, but not necessarily because they are interested in you. If your website doesn't sell them on why they should hire you over your competitors, they may keep browsing.
Each page should validate that you're trustworthy.
While consumers want the best, they also want to feel comfortable. Comfortable in the decisions they make and the products and services they spend their money on. Quiet your visitors' concerns and confirm that your company is in fact trustworthy through your website. There are many ways to give evidence of your credibility. You can share the satisfaction of past customers by including testimonials on your site, show off your client roster by displaying their logos, and displaying positive reviews through press features. If your site is an ecommerce store, in addition to trust your customer will want to feel secure to shop. Show them they are by advertising the security badges your site holds.
Balance text and visual elements.
Many websites say too little or don't say enough. You want your website to be visually pleasing while also providing helpful information. Be straightforward and concise in your copy, keeping your brand's tone and voice in mind. Use visuals to attract your visitors and entice them to read more. When your site has a good balance of text and visual the harmony will be apparent, and the experience for the user will be much better.