Top 12 tips for making your website user friendly
Your website is your shop window on Google – and the internet is your cyberspace high street.
This means you have to get your website design right to give you every chance of success in what can become a very crowded marketplace.
So, to make you stand out from the crowd, ensure your website design follows these 12 top tips. If you’re on the lookout for web design advice, get in contact with Halifax-based One Click Web Design (https://www.one-click.co.uk/) today!
Simplicity: Make it quick and easy-to-read – with a firm eye on keywords and search engine optimisation within the text. Ensure every word counts, and never use a large word when a small one will do.
Navigation: You need to be able to move around the website quickly at the touch of a screen or the flick of a button, and the signposting to the other pages needs to be crystal clear.
Speed: Speed is crucial and the website must load instantly. Research indicates that most people will only ‘hang around’ for 2 seconds waiting for a website to load.
Eye-catching: Use bold colours and statements to grab user-interest, enticing your website visitors to want to know more – but always make sure text can be easily read and stands out against background colours.
Your website’s not for you: Your website’s not all about you – it needs to be all about the customer. It has to provide the information and accessibility they want – so keep the main pages short and snappy, but include easy-to-navigate links to in-depth information where it’s needed.
Research: With your customer firmly at the forefront of your mind, talk to some of your loyal ones and ask them what they want from your website – such as information on the home page, which may be quite different to what you think they want!
Personality: Use photos on the About Us and contact page of yourself or staff – never stock images which can be seen to be misleading or lazy. Websites need a personal touch, and adding images like this will certainly make you and your company more personable and approachable.
One stop shop: If you’re selling direct from your website, ensure it has all the key eCommerce tools – including stock control, customer management and online payments accessed through a secure online portal.
Phone first: Most people now use their phones to access the internet, so ensure the website is fully optimised to not only work on mobiles but also to look great on them.
Multi-media: Don’t look at your website in isolation – ensure it’s fully integrated with all your social media to save you time and effort so your blogs, news and content can be published across the likes of Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Call to action: Make sure it’s both dead easy and highly visible – add a clear ‘call to action’ button, such as “buy now” or “click here for more information”.
Contact: Make it easy for people to contact you. Many companies include contact forms, but who really likes filling one in? Best to add in an email, phone number and social media links such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram to give people the full choice. A live chat option giving consumers the chance to get instant information and talk to you is always a big bonus.
Here’s our call to action. If you want a chat about a new website or a website upgrade, then email our Halifax web design team at support@one-click.co.uk or phone 01422 646465.
Blog written by Andy Hirst from Huddersfield-based AH! PR (https://ah-pr.com/)