On first thought a website seems to be the ultimate representation of YOU— your company, your products, your portfolio, your sense of design, your philosophy of life: a giant flag telling those who visit your website how they should perceive you and what you can do for them. However, in order to effectively communicate that information, you must keep your audience in mind.
What do I mean by that? Someone surfing the web is coming to your website to learn about you, correct? And you want to stand out from the competition and make sure to wow them more than anyone else, right? Absolutely. However, there are ways of distinguishing your product without making the experience overwhelming or confusing for the viewer, who most likely knows nothing about you other than what you give them. Here are some things to consider.
Keep it Neat and Clean
Layout should be simple yet engaging, ESPECIALLY on the home page. Don’t be afraid of white space. Make sure that the most important information is the largest or most visible. Have a hierarchy of information—for example in a three- column layout (such as on journalism sites), make one column larger and more important then the others. If you can get the viewer to the other pages they’re hooked, but that first page is make or break. Don’t let the viewer get lost in all of the things you want them to see—let the content shine through the delivery.
Eyes on the Goal
Know who you are and what you do. In other words, always focus on the ultimate goal and purpose for which your website exists—are you showcasing art, photography or design with a portfolio? Running strings of news stories? Enlightening the public with how-tos? Or housing an online store for your small business and marketing your products? While all websites aim to connect producer and consumer, different audiences will have different sets of information that is important to them. The goal of your website should be to know who you want to reach and why. Make each page of your website, from the home page to contact information, easy and interesting for your target audience to interact with and gain the knowledge or product that you are offering them.
Simplify
While you might be tempted to throw every piece of information possible at the viewer before they get bored and want to hit the back button back to Google search, take a minute and pare down the content on each page to what is absolutely necessary. Give the viewer enough to make them interested but not enough to make them overwhelmed, or even worse, bored from lack of focus. Multiple tabs and links give each category of information you have their own place, and distinct headlines such as “home,” “contact,” or “shop” give the viewer incentive to explore the site further on their own. Even on portfolio sites, such as an art or photography blog, don’t show every picture you have in your arsenal. Whet your audience’s appetite; prove your worth with your best imagery, best content, and a sampling of what you want them to know about you. Make contact information easy, your information thorough but not repetitive or random, and your viewers will be intrigued and want to contact you to dig deeper.
Conclusion
Think of your website as a first meeting or a business interview. You have a limited amount of time in which to capture the ever fleeting attention of scan readers and compulsive clickers surfing the internet. First impression is a lasting impression, and you want to have a quick punch that captures viewers’ attention with clean, effective layouts and witty but pertinent content. Think of it as your digital business card. Remember, you might know how your site is laid out, and what you are trying to say, but the viewer does not. View your site through the eyes of someone who has never heard of your business, product, or person before, and see if they will get a thorough yet intriguing understanding by what you have placed in front of them.e your digital marketing efforts are working for your business and getting the results you want. We will do a quick check of your strategy & talk with you about how to make each move count!