If you’re struggling with low hit counts, abandoned shopping carts, and just generally zero interest in your business website, don’t give up! In this article I’ll give you tips on how to design a website your customers will love.
Truth Bomb: Nobody Cares if You Like Your Website
A sad truth about building an online presence for your business is that no one cares what you like. Cue sad trombone.
You can spend hours, days, weeks — maybe even months — designing your website. You choose colors, add images, design a navigation menu. Headers, Footers. It can be a little like decorating your bedroom.
Except this isn’t your bedroom. Your website has a larger purpose, which is to draw in the kind of visitors you want. And that might mean sacrificing some of your “loves” and “adorbs” for more practical choices.
It happens to the best of us. In the past, I have designed some websites for myself that, well, mostly suited myself. And sometimes that’s okay. For example, my personal blog should reflect me. Even though I write for others to read, it’s a creative space for me to express my thoughts any way I see fit. I’m not chasing SEO traffic or selling anything. So it really can be anything I want.
On the flip side, when I originally designed the website for my freelance illustration business, it was so much about “me” that potential buyers had trouble defining how I could help them. What I should have done — and eventually did — was design a website that made my offer clear right up front. I was selling custom illustration. Period. I won’t dissect the particulars in this email, but I will share with you what I learned from my early experiences.
Design for them, not you
The first thing to understand is that your visitors want an experience that speaks to them and their needs. You might love puppies and fuchsia. If you’re selling your investment consulting services, it may not be the best strategy to decorate your site that way. Studies have shown that the color blue signals trust and reliability. For a financial services website, that maybe a better way to attract the customers you want to serve. And puppies, while cute and cuddly, would be extremely confusing. A dog walking service? Now that might be a better spot for puppies and pink.
Dump the ads
Unless you’re trying to make buckets of cash selling ads on your website like CNN or Wired, get rid of them. People are overwhelmed with online ads these days. Selling ads may have been a good strategy for making extra money about twenty years ago, but these days it’s mostly noise.
Instead, create a nice-looking site with a comfortable flow that guides visitors to the content you want them to consume. Don’t distract from your flow with someone else’s content — even if you might earn five cents per click. It’s backfiring.
Go with the flow
I just mentioned creating a flow. You need to make sure that there isn’t so much navigational clutter that your visitors are overwhelmed with choices. Make it easy for them to choose where to go next. Less is more.
Break the rules
I have always been a rule-breaker, and I’m an advocate for knocking down dumb rules when they don’t make sense. Back to my investment consulting website example; if you serve a very niche market, fuchsia and puppies might be the ticket. The Paris Hiltons of the world may just start knocking on your proverbial door.
Design a business website for them
Don’t get me wrong. If you love your website, that’s fantastic. You should. Just make sure it’s designed to help your visitors — your potential customers — feel at home first.
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