Would you like to increase sales without spending a lot of money? Try improving the usability of your website. Web surfers are notoriously impatient. If they can’t figure out how to find shipping information or don’t have the time to wait for your content to load, they won’t stick around.
Whether you work with a company that offers web development services or you tackle the job on your own, keep these things in mind when improving site usability.
Confusing Navigation or Lack of Information Annoys Web Visitors
The best websites make it easy for customers to find the information they need. The navigation is simple to understand, and navigation tools are included on the top and bottom of every page. Links are clearly marked and lead to the correct content. It’s also easy to return to the home page by clicking on the logo or a button marked “home.”
Prospects Can’t Become Customers if They Don’t Know How to Reach You
If potential customers are impressed by what they see on your website, they’ll want to get in touch with you. Burying your contact information makes that seemingly simple task much more difficult. When KoMarketing surveyed website users, they learned that 44 percent of respondents left websites if they couldn’t find contact information or a phone number. Adding a “contact us” button to every page eliminates that problem.
No One Wants to Guess What Your Company Does
Sometimes, it takes a little detective work to find out what services or products a company offers. If you still can’t find that information, even after clicking on multiple buttons, you might just decide to give up. Adding a tagline and brief description of your mission on your site eliminates the guessing.
Ecovent, a climate control system that allows users to control the temperature of their homes from their smartphone, uses the tagline “Be comfortable in your home.” Underneath the tag, a sentence explains what the company does: Ecovent works with your existing heating and cooling system to make every room the right temperature, safely and efficiently. Next to the tagline, an image of a smartphone displays the temperatures in several different rooms. With one image and just a few words, Ecovent makes it easy for potential customers to understand how their product works.
These Tips Will Help Improve Your Site’s Usability
When you design your website, keep these tips in mind:
- Limit Colors: Use no more than two or three complementary colors when designing your site. Too many colors are distracting.
- Stay Away from Animations: Animations are also distracting, and some people really dislike them.
- Don’t Overdo the Fonts: Simpler is better for fonts. Choose fonts that are easy to read. Don’t include five or six fonts on one page.
- Decrease Loading Time: Make sure every page loads in just a few seconds to prevent customers from leaving your site.
- Include a Search Bar: Customers appreciate the ability to search for the information they need.
- Improve Scanability: Keep copy short, simple and easy to scan in just a few seconds.
Is usability an issue for your website? SOHO Solutions offers web development services that help small businesses compete in the global marketplace. Our team of graphic designers, copywriters and web developers can design a brand new site for your business or optimize your existing site. Contact us to learn more about the website options we offer.
