How to Make Your Business Website More User-Friendly
The best sales pitch in the world won’t do your homepage any good if users have trouble finding the “buy now” button, or trouble figuring out which subscription package will give them what they’re after. Clarity and user-friendliness are two crucial aspects of a good business website. Here’s how you can make sure an average user won’t feel intimidated when they find your website.
1 . Design For Simplicity
The best way to make sure your site’s web design is easy to navigate is to hire a professional with experience in your niche to build the site. The second-best way is to keep it simple. Use solid colors and clear text written against a background that provides good contrast. Don’t be afraid to build a boring website if you are trying to build an online presence on a budget.
When it comes to business websites, boring is always better than confusing. Customers who intend to buy something want to spend money to solve a problem or meet a need. And any confusing site elements that get in the way of them meeting one of those goals will cause instant frustration. Meaning that unless you have the budget and experience to do so, you should avoid trying to innovate with your web design.
2. Optimize For Different Platforms
Another advantage of sticking with a basic template is that it makes it easier to make the website mobile-friendly. An estimated 60% of web users are now browsing on mobile, so it’s more important than ever to make sure your site is responsive on phones, desktops, TVs, and whatever else users might use to visit it.
3. Optimize Loading Speeds
Any good digital marketing agency will tell you the importance of website loading speeds for SEO. And there is a reason why search engines favor websites that load fast — users prefer it. Waiting forever to load each page on your website will induce instant frustration.
Poorly optimized websites are also more prone to lag and stutter, which you might not notice if you are using a 60hz monitor. But for the growing number of users browsing on screens that refresh at a rate of 120hz or higher — which are now even becoming common in high-end phones —, stuttering websites look immediately unprofessional.
4. Be Sure Your Writing Is On Point
It’s best to make the writing on your website clear and concise, with well-defined call to actions spread throughout the homepage. While it is useful to have detailed descriptions of your goods or services somewhere on the site, your homepage is seldom the place to include those. It’s often best to build your homepage in a way that allows users to skim it in order to figure out what your company does and what your selling points are.
5. Build A Clear Visual Identity
If you are hoping to turn organic traffic into sales, it’s important for your site to have a clear visual identity that suits your niche. Use text, images, and design templates that can help your user figure out what your site does or sells within seconds of opening it. The faster users are able to realize what your site does, the easiest it’ll be for you to hook the visitors who actually want to buy something.
On top of that, clarity also reduces the amount of cognitive work needed for users to decipher the purpose of your website.
This article has been published in accordance with Socialnomics’ disclosure policy.
