Your Marketing Needs A Better Website Design: Think Like the User

Have you ever come across a website design that just made you laugh uncontrollably, not because of how funny the website was, but because of how poorly designed it was? There have been countless times that I confided in Google, in the moment, to find a particular service here locally, to stumble upon a website that was not designed with the end-user in mind. Do you think I reached out to this particular business?  Take a wild guess….

The answer is no, simply because it did not meet my expectations and/or needs at the moment. I couldn’t find exactly what I was looking for in the moment, but it took me within 15 seconds. Let’s be honest, humans are not patient, and we are not going to wait 1-3 minutes for a website to load. Also, I forgot to mention this search was conducted via a mobile device, and the website that I stumbled upon was not mobile-friendly by any means. But my point is that this happens way too often. I stumble upon countless websites and talk to countless prospects that have poorly designed websites and are willing to spend thousands on marketing, thinking that a huge marketing budget will make their phone ring.

Do you have a poorly designed website? Are you spending thousands of dollars on Internet Marketing and receiving no leads? Consider the following tips before you invest money into your marketing budget:

Is Poor Website Design Sending the Wrong Message?

Think like the user and design with the end-user in mind; this has always been paramount and will continue to be the central focus for continuing website design trends. First impressions continue to be a primary factor for an end-user. Imagine walking into a poorly designed storefront that is unorganized, has tripping hazards, and smells of dead rodents. Would you continue to shop, or would you walk out and find a similar storefront that sells the same products and or services with a better user experience? Now, what happens if you land on a poorly designed website that takes 3 minutes to load, isn’t a mobile-friendly website, and the design is pre-1800s? What is your first impression of that business? Are they cheap? Your credibility is on the line when you have a poorly designed website, and more than likely, the user will have a negative first impression of your business, and they will voice their opinion about your business to all their friends and family. A website is a representation of the quality of a company’s products and/or services, so make sure your website accurately represents your business.

Focus on These Design Principles

You may be wondering what constitutes a well-designed website. Throw the visual design out of the window for a second and let’s take a step back. Who is going to use your website? How are they going to use your website? A user-centric website design will determine the success of your business in the long run versus a visually compelling website. A beautiful website design that has a poor user experience will not bring you business, even with a significant marketing budget.

1. Step 1: Focus on Usability & Utility
   1. Who are your users?
   2. How are they going to use your website?
   3. How do they think?
2. Step 2: Simplicity is Key
   1. Can your users find relevant information quickly?
   2. Users don’t read, they scan, so simplify and/or condense your content.
   3.  What is your CTA (call-to-action)? Can a user complete a CTA in 3 easy steps?
3. Effective Communication
   1. Is your text legible – clear, concise, and to the point?

Here at Atilus, we are constantly approached by firms that are looking to increase their web leads and looking to improve their search rankings, and are willing to invest thousands of dollars into their marketing budget. However, when we first start our preliminary research, we notice that their website has not been built with their end-user in mind. So, our solution/recommendation for those specific firms is to design a better website for their marketing efforts — put all marketing efforts on hold until a user-centric website design has been developed. All marketing efforts send people to your storefront, whether it be a website or your physical storefront. If your user can’t navigate through that storefront, you’ll not receive the traffic and leads that are desired. Sometimes our solution may not be what you want to hear, but in the end, we are always doing what is best for our clients, increasing their bottom lines and generating results.

To learn more about Atilus or to schedule a free website consultation, contact me, the New Client Specialist for Atilus.