Have you considered creating a website for your business? Or perhaps you want to update your current site? Either way, these tips will help you create the best and most effective website design that will turn visitors into paying clients.

So, how do you keep your website visitors happy and coming back for more?

Well, it’s all in the design of your website.

You’ve probably had some experience with online shopping, some enjoyable and some less pleasant ¬- maybe even a horrible experience. That time when you abandoned the effort altogether and went somewhere else. You want to avoid this for your clients at all costs, and the design of your website is where you start.

Here’s what you need to do:

Website Design Tips

Tip 1: Keep Your Website Design Simple

One of our effective tips for website design: less is more. Only display the essentials, especially when it comes down to product lists. If a user is interested in a certain product they can click through to its individual page where they will find all the information they need. So on the product list only include the fundamental attributes such as the thumbnail image, title, product type, and price. Adding too much information will make the page overwhelming and difficult to browse through. Therefore, the simpler you keep your website design the better the user experience. This will essentially convert users to buyers as they will be able to find what they want with ease.

Tip 2: Provide a Search Function in Your Website Design

Did you know that when American Bridal added a search bar on each page on their website, revenue per visit increased by 34% and average order volume went up by 24%. This is one of the biggest differences between shopping in a physical store and online, so use it to your advantage. Add a clear and bold search function on every page of your website design and watch your revenue go up as your visitors find their desired product or service more quickly. Make sure that it’s at the top where users can easily find it.

Tip 3: Have Consistency in Your Branding

It’s crucial to have consistent use of colour, images, videos, and language are written across all marketing sectors, especially your website. It will make your brand more recognisable which is vital as people tend to purchase from companies that they are familiar with. Through excellent and consistent branding, not only will you develop a relationship with your customers but it will also set you apart from your competitors. So have a recognisable and coherent brand to promote your business.

Tip 4: Make Sure Your Site Loads Quickly

According to statistics, a 1-second delay in page response results in a 7% reduction in conversions. Most users tend to abandon a website if it loads for more than 3 seconds. So a fast-loading page is important as it will maximise your sales and revenue. Don’t be tempted to clutter your website with stunning, high-resolution images, it will only reduce the effectiveness and SEO of your website. Since most users will abandon their effort with a long-loading website this will affect user behaviour as there will be a high exit and bounce rate.

Tip 5: Optimize Your Website Design

Enhance your SEO and boost conversion rates by making your website mobile-friendly. You will find that mobile conversion rates are up 64% compared to desktop rates, so don’t limit yourself. A responsive website adjusts itself to the device that it’s being accessed from, meaning that your website can reach a larger audience and provide them all with an outstanding customer experience. If your website is not optimised for mobile use then your SEO will be badly affected as Search engines will not rank it for smartphone search results.

Tip 6: Perfect Your Homepage

This is going to be the first entry point for most users so make an eye-catching first impression. You can do that by including stunning banner images with bold messages that hooks them. Ensure that it’s crystal-clear what products or services your company supplies. Regularly update your homepage and take the opportunity to highlight your newest products. This will enhance your SEO as Google loves fresh content. Your website will be crawled through more which will increase your visibility as you will rank higher for your keywords.

Another of our effective tips for your website design is not to use big words or jargon in your description. This will only confuse your visitors. Just write readable and compelling content to capture their attention.

Tip 7: Add Bespoke Imagery (and Videos) to Your Website Design

Including high-quality images or videos or both is a sure way to grab your user’s attention and interest. In fact, 75% of online shoppers rely heavily on product photos when deciding to make a purchase. So increase your revenue now. Attractive photography will make it more likely for shoppers to stick around, as most users are visually driven.

Top Tip: if your image thumbnail is against a solid background, add a second image in a real-life context. Videos are also excellent in making the product come to life. Good visual content can also increase engagement and social publicity as it’s 40% more likely to get shared on social media accounts.

Tip 8: Include Reviews

You may have amazing product descriptions and images but customer reviews can make a world of a difference. Shoppers will be more confident to transact with you knowing that you get positive feedback from your products or services. Provide that much-needed assurance for your visitors by sharing opinions from previous customers. Don’t have any reviews? Ask for them. You can do this in a follow-up email after a completed purchase. It can be something like this:

Hello [customer name]
Thank you for purchasing from our online store. We really appreciate your support, and we hope that you had the best experience possible.
Please let us know how we did by providing a review. Thank you!

Tip 9: Include Call-to-actions that Convert

Tell them what they need to do. A compelling call-to-action will give shoppers that necessary last little push. A CTA on your website will be a prompt to take the next step. Without them, users may be unsure of what to do and will not complete a purchase or sign up for your newsletter. All successful high-converting websites have powerful CTA’s, so don’t be left out. Optimise your conversion rate through effective use of CTA’s. Here are some examples: