There’s a lot of talk nowadays about the importance of website design. It’s true that a great website should be striking and simple to use. It should ultimately boast a color scheme that complements your business, strong navigation, responsive design, and other features that will make a great impression on visitors. However, it goes beyond this. The website must also be substantive and offer a certain level of depth. The design attracts attention, and the substance drives home the conversions. The words and context used should enhance the design and add depth. Here are some substance essentials that can improve website performance among visitors.
1. Content Made for the Audience
When you designed the site, you considered the target demographic for colors, formatting, navigation, and more. The same must be done for the content that backs up your design. It should speak the same language as your customers and deliver an unparalleled experience. Take this article from the Tom Hess Music Corporation for example. They know that their audience is all about bettering their musical talents for a big break in entertainment. The content on their blog is loaded with tips and tricks that can help musicians achieve their dreams while speaking their language. They use words and search terms that their customer base are likely to search for.
The goal here is to make it easy for customers to find what they’re looking for and connect with your business.
2. Compelling Calls to Action
Don’t assume that customers will see your compelling design and know what to do. In most cases, the consumer needs a little push. You can provide that with calls to action that state exactly what the consumer should do. Your great design will only enhance your words. The call to action doesn’t have to be flashy or too big, but it should be specific. Consider Evernote’s simple CTA. It uses the main point of their campaign (helping people remember their every thought) to signal a sign up. It’s placed in an obvious position on the site’s homepage, but it isn’t overbearing.
Simple, but compelling calls to action marry the design and substance of a site to achieve conversions.
3. Useful Pages
Are the pages on your site meant to look nice or to perform work? The ideal answer is both. Most sites have pages for their about, contact, home, and blog sections. The other pages you use may vary depending on your site’s purpose, but they should be useful and perform some kind of work in the grand scheme of things. In most websites, the homepage is meant to attract attention and elicit some form of action from the visitor. The other pages are there for more information and support. Together, these pages should give the visitor a holistic picture of your business.
Consider the CRM platform Salesforce as an example of this. Their homepage features bright colors, parallax scrolling techniques, and useful information. It also has several call to action buttons that encourage the user to continue clicking through their site. The navigation bar also offers a number of useful pages for further details about products, services, support, events, and more. Every page is brimming with useful information, and the consumer can easily make contact at any time.
From beginning to end, your website should be cohesive and deliver a useful experience for the consumer. Creating this kind of well-designed and substantive site will bring more leads and conversions for your business.