In order to grow your business and help it thrive, your website needs to be in its best possible form. It’s not as simple as throwing together a few components and calling it good – you’ve got to make sure that your online presence is worthwhile and meaningful to potential customers and returning customers alike.
If your website doesn’t work, you aren’t going to see the numbers that you want. It’s that simple. If you want your customers to stay on your page instead of heading to a competitor’s, you need to have a clear home page, easy navigation, and everything they need in places where they can easily access it.
After all, your website is the most powerful first impression that your business can make. When customers find you, make sure that they remember you for positive reasons. Your website should be so seamless that it’s easy for customers to make a purchase or get in touch with you, because that will keep them coming back.
In this blog post, we’ve compiled four elements that your website design can’t succeed without. Learn more about what makes a website great and how you can leverage yours to see the returns you deserve.
1. A Header Section
The header of your website is what people see first when they click. For this reason, it should be enticing. It should advertise what you offer, how it can help your customers, and call them to action. In order to see it, a visitor should not have to scroll at all; the message should be right there waiting for them when they open the page.
While it might be tempting, being clever or cute in your header probably won’t serve you as well as being straightforward and concise will. State exactly what you offer so a visitor gets the gist in under two seconds – fast enough to realize that you’re exactly what they’re looking for.
Under your header, you can add a few bullet points that explain what else your company offers, if you so choose. This can add a bit of color to what you’re selling and let visitors know all the ways that buying into your service can benefit them.
Now, let’s talk about the aesthetics of this section. The human brain processes images much faster than it processes text, so including an image in your header is an opportunity you shouldn’t pass up. Use it to optimize your offer and show your visitors either what you can do for them, or the gilded way their life could look if they used your services or product.
The header is the most important section of your website for one simple reason: it’s what captures your audience’s attention. Your header is what helps them decide whether to stay and explore what you’ve got to say, or to press that X button and close the tab.
2. A Call to Action
Much like the language in your header, the language in your call to action should be clear and direct. Visitors need to know what you want them to do, or what they need to do in order to get their problem solved by you. This is why specific calls to action always work better – think “schedule a call” instead of “learn more.”
A call to action on its own won’t take your website to the next level. But if you bolster it with the rest of your site, you’ll see how powerful it can be.
The way you do that is by centering the message of your entire website around your call to action, and making that call to action the obvious next step. It’s how a visitor can solve their problem and achieve the idealized version of their life that you’ve been selling.
Your website should allow your audience to see a better version of themselves and, in order to bring that person to life, they need to follow through with your call to action.
3. A Clear Plan
The plan tells customers how to reach their end goal. When you give them a plan, it should be cut and dry; nothing with too many steps. Three components of a plan tend to work the best.
Even if there are more components to your plan than three, find a way to highlight the three major steps that customers can expect to take in order to get their problem solved by you. When a customer knows what’s coming and they understand the process, they’re much more likely to buy into your messaging and put their trust in you. If the plan is elaborate and overwhelming, they won’t buy into anything.
Your plan should include illustrations, numbers, or bullet points in order to make it as scannable as possible. You only have about 15 seconds before your audience’s interest fades. With a three-step plan, your audience can get an idea of how your service works. You’ve got to sell them on the fact that your product or service is what they need to solve the problem they’re having.
A key component of your plan is the portrayal of what a customer’s life will look like once their problem is solved. When visitors see what your company can do for them and in what ways you can transform their life, they’ll quickly turn into paying customers.
Remember, these people came to your website in a specific search for what you’re offering. Make sure you convince them that your version of this service/product is the best!
4. A Lead Generator
Not every customer is ready to buy right that second. By creating a secondary call to action that requires less commitment, you have a better chance of securing more visitors.
But if your secondary call to action doesn’t have value, you can’t expect visitors to be drawn to it. Think of what they came to your site looking for, and offer them something along those same lines – something that doesn’t require purchase.
If they come to your site looking for landscaping services, use a lead generator to send “10 Landscaping Tips You Can’t Live Without” to their email. This includes information that they’re probably looking for and/or could benefit from, and it also allows you to secure their contact information. This way, you can continue to nurture them as a potential customer – and eventually turn them into one who pays.
Before you revamp your website’s entire lookout on lead generation, get an idea of where you currently stand. This way, you can take a look at the areas where you’re succeeding, along with the ones that need improvement. You’ve got to track where your online traffic is coming from and how they’re moving about your site. Do all you can to optimize those high-traffic pages and use them to offer something (a lead generator) that will pique your visitor’s interest and get them clicking.
Utilize Greenstone Media
At Greenstone Media, we love helping our customers understand the wants and needs of their audience. Afterall, if you don’t understand your audience, you can’t effectively market to them. If you’re ready to jump into the future with a brand new website and marketing strategy that converts leads and increases profits, schedule a call with us today!
