Website Design Optimization
Learn how to design and optimize your business website with Search Hustle.
Years ago, it was enough to have a website that looked nice with maybe a few keywords; and the traffic would flow in. But times have changed, and minimal effort no longer cuts it. Nowadays, the internet is fiercely competitive.
Website design optimization for UX, SEO, and conversions must all happen and be interconnected if you hope to rank high in the SERPs. Ranking in the top 5 search results is key, accounting for 67% of the total clicks. If you rank lower than that, you’re making it easier on your competitors. Ideally, you want to aim for the first organic position, as it claims a whopping 28.5% of the click-through rate.
The Importance of Web Design and Optimization
It’s vital for a business website to have an appealing web design that’s easy to navigate. On top of that, optimization for SEO and conversion are also essential. Without these important factors, it’ll be an uphill struggle to get traffic or make sales.
Friendly User Experience
A website needs to offer the best user experience possible to help keep engagement high. If a page takes too long to load, then odds are the user will return to Google and find a different site to visit. If this happens too often, Google can even assume your website doesn’t offer relevant content and reduce your ranking.
That’s why it’s important to test the speed of the website. There are many tools out there that offer this option, like Pagespeed Insights or WebPage Test, Pingdom, or GTMetrix.
It isn’t just loading speed that can have an adverse affect on your dwell time and rankings, though. If a website has clunky navigation or overly fancy fonts that make it difficult to read content, then that will also impact how long visitors hang around.
Search Engine Optimization
Optimizing for search engines is a common practice. However, it can also be a complex task. Search engines like Google are always evolving their algorithm, which in turn affects SEO.
Still, there’s a reason that SEO is necessary. Over 70% of marketers state that SEO is more effective than PPC when it comes to generating sales.
The first step you should take to whip your SEO into shape is to ensure Google is able to index all the site pages. Google Search Console is free and can help to highlight glaring issues, compile a list of indexed pages, and even track whick keywords the website currently ranks for.
Conversion Optimization
Optimizing for conversion consists of multiple facets. Navigation, color, wording, and branding are all crucial.
Navigation
Navigation, as a design principle, means your website is easy to get around. There are no hidden pages or unlinked areas that can’t be accessed from the main or second-level pages. Don’t forget to add navigational menus to ensure viewers are even more successful on the website.
Every webpage should be navigable, from the blog to the service pages. This ensures viewers can find and engage with the content they want. Keep that in mind when a website design is proposed.
Brand Colors
Information should be displayed in a color that contrasts well with the web page’s background. Dark colors on a light background are the most common, and this is for several reasons. It is easier for the eye to read the information displayed in dark text on a light background.
This doesn’t mean you may only use dark text on a light background, but make sure that you don’t use any colors that would strain a visitor’s eyes. Avoid bright, sharp colors like yellow and pink. You don’t want information washed out by the background.
Wording
The wording of website copy is what controls the message of the business. Powerful copy can help drive conversions by convincing people to sign-up for newsletters, add an item to their shopping cart, and much more.
The copy on every page of the website should have a clear objective. It should provide a roadmap that helps push a reader along the buyer journey and complete a desired action.
To achieve conversion via wording, you must understand the target audience. Without knowing the problems and needs of site visitors, you won’t be able to provide high-value content that guides them toward the bottom of the funnel.
Branding
Branding for a business is an accumulation of multiple factors, such as the colors used, the style of font chosen, the type of wording chosen, and more. All of these aspects combine to form the brand of the business.
When establishing branding, it’s vital for a business to know and understand its target audience. For example, a retail store that specializes in selling children’s toys will likely go with bright colors, bold block text, and maybe even use a cutesy animal figure as the mascot (think Toys ‘R’ Us).
When the branding is on point for a business, it is able to better grow brand awareness, appeal to its target audience, and in turn, boost conversions.
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