The 7 Most Important Things to Consider for Your Website Design

Everyone wants to get an edge when it comes to having a great website. There isn't a one size fits all formula when it comes to creating a great website design that increases your sales but there are 7 things that every good Concrete5 theme should have. The following is a great checklist to help you determine if your website design is meeting its full potential.

1. Professional, Clean Design
   When a user first comes to your website you have about 4 seconds to get their attention. A user has thousands of websites to choose from and if your website doesn't have some degree of professionalism then there is a descent chance will click the back button on their browser and leave your site. What is "clean and professional" is somewhat subjective but in general a website should have a modern design that isn't overly distracting and is easy to read.
2. A Clear Focal Point
   When a user first comes to your website there eye needs to be drawn to something and it should be one of the most important thing on the page. I often refer to this as the big red button with my clients. It isn't necessarily big and it isn't necessarily red but it is that thing that the eye will focus on when it first sees the homepage. The goal of a good homepage is to get the user off the homepage. Almost no website makes money on the homepage. It is when you drive the user deeper into the website or a contact page is when you begin to sell the user. Your focal point needs to have a very clear and concise message that immediately tells the user what the site is about and what the benefit would be to go deeper into the website.
3. A Minimum of Choices
   To often I see sites that try to sell everything on the first page. Your website should try to keep its message to around 3 choices when possible in the main content area. This isn't possible for all sites, but when you can, you should present as few choices as possible. If you present a dozen different links to different products and services it can become overwhelming for a user and they may just give up and go away. Often times we will create three boxes on a homepage that are clearly labeled and the three boxes represent the main product lines. You may have multiple links within those boxes but by grouping them together it makes it easier for a user to navigate your website.
   
   The same is true for your main menu. Make it concise. Drop down boxes with a dozen choices that have flyout menus can become overwhelming and confusing to the user. Group pages appropriately in the main main and keep the text short in the menus.
4. Keep Text to a Minimum
   Most all users are lazy when it comes to reading content on a website. Concise, well written text does not need to go on for multiple paragraphs, except for very technical products and services, so keep your text to a minimum. A good general rule is that 3-4 paragraphs as about as much as you want. As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words so use graphical elements as much as possible to reduce your text. On the homepage I find that one paragraph is usually sufficient. Remember that you want to drive the user deeper into the website so just tease the user on the homepage.
5. Call to Action
   If you want to increase your sales in an easy way make sure you have obvious calls to action on your website. Phone numbers, forms and language that tells the user how to do business with you are extremely important. Don't forget and don't be afraid to ask for the sale!
6. Don't Reinvent the Wheel but Be Original
   When considering what you need for your website design don't try to hard to come up with something that is completely new. We have trained users well over the years where they should expect to find a Contact Us link in a menu. Don't try to retrain your users when they come to the website. At the same time be original with your website. There are thousands of other websites that are just like yours on the internet so you need to present a unique selling position to your potential clients. Where it is the lowest pricing, best service, location or some other unique advantage you have to offer then make sure that is clearly stated.
7. Get Responsive with Your Website Design
   We've talked about it on this website before. More people are accessing websites on their mobile devices then ever before. These days 50% of all internet searches are done on mobile devices. Is your website mobile ready and offer an easy to navigate user experience? The best way to do that is with a responsive website design that automatically adapts to different mobile devices to create the ultimate user experience. It isn't that expensive to create a responsive website design but it could cost you a lot if you don't do it in the form of lost business.

Ready to get started on your website design. Talk to our website design artisans to find out how a custom Concrete5 theme could help you drive new business.