I have been creating websites for businesses since 1997 and if there’s one thing I’ve learnt, it’s that an effective website is crucial for attracting, convincing and converting new customers.
A professionally designed website not only enhances the website visitor (aka your next big customer!) experience but also drives enquiries and, ultimately, conversions.
Having reviewed and audited hundreds of websites, it’s time to share some of the essential do’s and don’ts to consider with your business’s website – if you want it to stand out and serve its purpose effectively!
Avoid vague homepage headers that don’t clearly state what your business does.
Your homepage header is your main value proposition. In this example, a header like “Putting the Care back into Healthcare” is vague and, frankly, cheesy.
It’s tempting to be clever with the main homepage header and even to try to inject some personality or humour into the title.
However here’s two things to remember:
a) The header isn’t competing with other headers for attention – it’s not an advert on a page of adverts or a newspaper headline competing with other newspaper headlines.
That stage of grabbing attention has happened before the visitor even gets to your homepage – it might be the Google search listing or Social Media post clicked on to get here that has had to compete for attention.
b) Second, the most important thing we can do here is re-assure the visitor that they are on the right web page for their needs.
In this example the secondary header “Medical practitioner recruitment and locum services” is a much clearer example of what the business does.
So switch them around and instantly the visitor knows they are in the right place.
Change generic call-to-action (CTA) labels such as “Find out more” to something more specific and actionable like, in this example, “View Available Candidates.”
Specific CTAs are more instructional and enticing, giving our visitor a clear expectation of what will happen when they click the button.
Think of this way. If you were in the market for candidates for a medical job and came to this website but the page was completely blank except for a button and the button said “Find out more” would you click it?
If the page was empty except for a button saying: “View Available Candidates”, you would know what would happen if you clicked it.
Remove homepage slideshows as they dilute your main message. Research by Notre Dame University and The University of York, shows that most users won’t see all the slides, and what happens is that crucial information, like in this example’s award-winning credentials, will get missed.
Instead, stick to a single, compelling message in your homepage hero (i.e. have a clear value proposition!) that resonates with your audience and leave any additional, useful and compelling content to further into the user’s journey.
Eliminate background noise by avoiding images that don’t add value to your message. An unclear background image can distract from your main content. Keep the design clean and focused.
Avoid placing social media icons at the top of your page. These icons become colourful distractions, leading visitors away from your site like the Pied Piper and into their social media feeds.
Keep your visitors engaged with your content by placing social media links in the footer instead, otherwise they’ll be learning the latest TikTok dance-craze instead of how wonderful it would be to work with your business!
Your website’s navigation should tell a story—who you are, what you do, why visitors should choose you, and what they need to do next.
Avoid vague tab titles like “Clients” in this example, which do not clearly inform visitors about the content of the page they will see when they click that link – is this page about clients? For clients? They’ll never know because they won’t click it! Use descriptive titles that encourage clicks.
Also void “burger menus”, I don’t mean menus for yummy burgers, I’m referring to the three horizontal line menus that all mobile-friendly websites should be using but no desktop website can justify using! This is because on a desktop there is plenty of real estate to include a well-designed navigation menu without resorting to having to hide it.
From the user’s perspective, this serves to force them to take action (e.g. click the burger menu) before they can make a decision on what they’d like to do next – and if there’s one thing web users don’t like to do, it’s click on more things than they have to!
Testimonials and reviews are important social proof that shows how you achieve what you say you’ll achieve, and they should be distributed across your site rather than confining them to a single page.
On our website, when we had a page of testimonials, we looked at the stats and the Testimonials page was the 27th most popular page. So that meant they were very well hidden, instead every page should be a testimonials page!
Update your blog regularly to maintain engagement – that is always easier said than done. However, a blog that hasn’t been updated in a year or more can give the impression that the content is out-of-date.
If you don’t write blog posts very often then remove the date from your blog posts. Afterall a blog posts is evergreen content and should be timeless, and if your old posts are out-of-date, the update them! Old posts that get a bit of attention from the author will perform better in Google searches and helps maintain their relevance.
Break up long paragraphs to improve readability and engagement. Use short paragraphs, images, bullet points, and subheadings. Most people scan websites rather than reading every word, so make it easy for them to find and absorb the information they need.
Your visitors are not reading your website like they would read a book or a newspaper, the majority will just scan read until they see something that will pique their interest and then they will jump in at that point.
So, write with that in mind and make it easy for them to jump in otherwise you’re wasting your time putting blocks of words on your site because, like the autobiography of Nigel Farage, o sane person would ever read it!
By following these proven tips and avoiding common pitfalls, you’re company website will, not only capture attention, but will engage and convert visitors into loyal customers.
Lastly, your website is often the first impression potential customers have of your business, so make it count with clear, engaging, and user-friendly design and content.
