Don't Splatter your Visitors: Web Redesign for Usability

Website Redesign for UsabilityDoes anyone else struggle with pouring fluids into their car, or is it just me?  Whether it’s oil, antifreeze, or windshield washer fluid, the first ounce or two always ends up all over the engine before I successfully pour it into it’s reservoir or tank.

You might be laughing at me now and saying, “That’s why you use a funnel, dummy!”  Exactly – a funnel catches all the liquid and directs it to the target.  Is your website design a funnel, or do your visitors end up splattered all over the engine block?

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4 Tips to Increase Your Website's Conversion Rate

Many online business owners exert lots of energy trying to get more clicks on their websites. They spend time, money, and creative effort learning to attract attention and earn higher search engine rankings in order to increase the number of unique visitors each day.

While these steps can be an important part of your overall marketing strategy, don’t overlook the power of converting more of your present visitors into customers.

Use these four conversion optimization tips to turn your website into a selling powerhouse.

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Quick…What is Your Unique Value Proposition?

Your Unique Value Proposition - The Thing that Makes You UniqueYour unique value proposition should be the foundation for everything you do—your marketing strategy, your ad copy, the products you choose to sell, and your customer service approach.

If you do not have one, then you will not have a unifying factor behind all these elements and it will be difficult to determine your business goals.

If you already have a unique value proposition, is it the right one?  Does it serve as the foundation for your business approach?  To help make this concept more concrete, let us use an example.

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Leveling the Playing Field: Social Media for Small Businesses

Leveling the Playing Field with Social Media

Boy with a Ball by kthypryn

No one likes to be the last one picked for kickball at recess.  It seemed like the little guys finished last a lot on the playground.

That is, it seemed that way until those little kids figured out their advantages.

The business world isn’t that different.  There are big companies that look fast, strong, and ready to score whenever they come to the plate.

Level the Playing Field

There are small businesses that feel like their legs are too short and weak to kick and run well.  However, there are some ways that small business owners can level the field.  Social media for small businesses is a great way for the “little guys” to compete with the big companies.

Devote an Hour a Day to Social Media

The value of social media for small businesses is outstanding.  You have the opportunity to get involved with a growing network of people who might never discover you any other way.

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4 Tips to Improve Your Calls To Action

Call to ActionA call to action is easy right? Just slap a big orange button at the bottom of the page that says Buy Now and wait for the sales to roll in.

Unfortunately, if you want to improve online sales, you’re going to have to put a little more effort into the process than seems necessary at first. If you want a call to action that improves web conversions and boosts your monthly sales data, you’ll need to put some thought into it.

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No Thinking Allowed

Is your bounce rate too high?  Is your conversion rate too low?  These are just a few of the website issues that can be solved by not forcing your website’s visitors to think.

The single most important thing to keep in mind when designing a webpage is that your audience is typically in a hurry, busy, and doesn’t have time to think. The more your website requires the visitor to stop and think, the less effective it will be.

Anything that serves as a distraction—this can be difficult navigation, hard-to-spot links, or a confusing search bar—will force your busy audience to think, and to become frustrated. When a visitor is frustrated, they aren’t going to be able to focus on how great your new product is. All that they will be able to concentrate on is their frustration with your website.

The solution is to focus on creating a webpage that will make people feel welcomed and confident.  The first step in being able to do that effectively is to observe how people actually use the internet. As a designer, it is easy to get wrapped up in your own artistic conception of the website and forget about the users.

The most basic concern of internet users is speed and efficiency. People don’t want to read long essays, and they don’t want to have to struggle through difficult navigations or obscurely worded links. Rather, they will scan a page and look for keywords relevant to their interests and needs.

If a page does have a lot of text, this will only make the user wary that they might be missing out on something important. Why frustrate your visitors with several long paragraphs when a well crafted sentence or two will accomplish your purpose?  Every design choice it needs to be made in the context of what a web user actually wants.  They want a website where what to do and how to do it is easy and obvious.

Want to learn more about making your website more useable?  Pick up a copy of Steve Krug’s best selling book “Don’t Make Me Think”  and join the discussion at our book club Conversations on Website Conversion on GoodReads.com .

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The Basics of a Social Media Tool: RSS

Social Media Tools: RSS Have you been searching around the web, and wondered what that square orange icon with the white arcs is?

Introduction

That small orange icon (and what it represents) can generate enormous amounts of additional traffic for your website.

It represents a link to an RSS feed or Really Simple Syndication, a social media tool.

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Do Your Landing Pages Focus on Your Visitors?

Here are 4 questions to ask yourself about your landing pages:

Landing Page Visitor Landing page optimization plays a vital role in increasing conversion rates and generating repeat customers.

If your landing page makes it easy for visitors to accomplish a task, they’ll leave as satisfied customers and will look forward to their next communication with you.

In order to fine-tune your landing page so that it works for you to keep visitors coming back, answer these questions during your design process.

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