Pretty Or Effective - Website Design That Works

I here it all the time, "I have a beautiful website but I just don't understand why I am not getting any business off of it."  Sometimes we tell people they need an update to the look of their site and they reply, "but I like my site and the way it looks."  I then ask what kind of return on investment they are getting and if they are getting new customers or clients as a result.  Most of the time the reply is, "no, I have not get any new and real customers but it sure is pretty."  See anything wrong with this picture.

Pretty or Effective

One of the hardest things we have to do internet marketing is combine the look and feel of a website with making it really effective and making it where it gets optimum conversions.  In the minds of most people, a website with really great esthetics is one that will convert but that it is pretty far from the truth.  Our experience has shown that the look, although it has some importance, is not hands down what makes a site convert.

You see, we hear a lot about traffic and the need for traffic to our sites and that is important, but when they get there, if they don't take action, what good is the traffic.  So conversion measures have to be taken in order to get the results from our websites we want. 

What Top Converting Websites Do

Here are a few things that the top converting websites do:

• The make their "Unique Value Proposition" clear.  What is your message in a few short words that you want your potential clients to get when they land on your site.
• The test call to actions.  If you don't have a call to action, that is the first mistake.  If you don't test them, that is the second.  A website is never done.  You must measure and adjust.
• They test their headlines.  The headline on a page is very important.  If you are using wordpress this is normally the title of the page or post.  Sometimes you may want to put the headline in the body of the page if it is too long for the title area.
• Keep contact and leadgen forms short.  Conversion rates go down if a potential client has too much information to fill in on the form.
• They have colorful "Share" icons.  Make it easier for the visitor to share your content by having bold and colorful social media icons.
• The segment users.  By this I mean that if they have products or services geared more toward women, they make the content and the look appeal to women.  The same holds true for men.  This is also applied to people with different interest.
• Conversions can be increased with big call to action buttons within the content.  
• The use of video increases conversions substantially.  We implore this strategy in our design:  great written content to attract the search rankings...video to improve conversions.

One of the highest converting websites we have is not very attractive at all.  It gathers leads for dentist who treat sleep apnea.  The site is designed to invoke pain and dissatisfaction about wearing the CPAP.  This sites conversion rates are amazing because it does what it was designed to do.

Web design must be done with the target audience in mind.  What emotion do you want to invoke from them.  What pain are the experiencing and how can your product or service fix it.  What problem does it solve.  All these things lead to greater conversions.

So if your website is not converting, you may not have the right elements for conversion.  We can give you a free evaluation of your site to help you get better conversions.  For more information, visit Reddoch Media Groups Web Design Page.