Design your website for your visitors

Your site needs to look professional and give your visitor confidence that you know what you’re doing.

Good design allows your web visitors to find what they want quickly

That’s why good website design is essential – not just how pretty it is but getting the right information to the visitor that they want immediately. Design is about functionality, logical navigation and useability. Make it easy for your visitors to see what they want from you. And it does need to look good and reflect your target market values.

Make sure your visitors know where they are

Consistency of content across your website is vital.

When your web visitors land on any page (and with great SEO, the first page is often a product or service page, blog article or other page), they need to know within seconds where they are and what that page is about.

For example, if you have product pages, they should all look like your product pages. You’d be surprised how many websites do not follow this rule – and pay the price with visitors going elsewhere.

Be specific with your call to action

If you want your web visitors to call, make it easy for them

What is it you want your web visitors to do? Buy your product, request a quote, call you, sign up for enews, request a brochure – these are just some of the calls to action that businesses need to include on their websites.

Sometimes it is strategic to give visitors options: ask for a brochure, request a quote, email or call. It can be beneficial to have your main call to action on your header so that no matter what page the visitor is on, they can easily find what you want them to do.

In the case of purchasing services or products online, the buy button needs to be on the product pages and be easily found.

Include secondary calls to action

This may be as simple as including ‘Request a quote’ or adding a Facebook ‘Like’ icon. In the case of ecommerce, a wish list button will enable visitors to come back and purchase items they like.

Make it easy to contact or buy

If the goal is for visitors to email you, give them the option on every page

Whether you have an ecommerce website and you want your visitors to buy product or you want your web visitors to take the next step and contact you, make it easy for them to do so.

Simple checkout systems with one page completion before buying is ideal. The checkout page has a high abandonment rate (this is known). Simplicity is the key as is security. Make sure your checkout is secure and give purchase options such as a credit card gateway and PayPal as the minimum.

Add a value proposition

What’s in it for the web visitor? This is a question that your website needs to address.

Get a free download of ‘something that your visitors want’. Test reducing the prices of your products. Add a free bonus gift with a purchase.

All these things can add value and help to convince your visitors that you are the business they want to use.

Give visitors something free such as a free download

Help, help, sell is a good proposition to keep in mind for your website. Don’t be afraid to give some things away.

It’s a moveable feast

Your website is never finished so be prepared to keep working at improving your website. Use Google Analytics to find out which pages are working. Find out how to write good quality, key word content to improve your search engine optimization. Add an interactive element. Change the homepage content.

Revise, refine and rewrite if you have to. Be patient and listen to your visitors/customers.

Last Tip:

Add Facebook's Like and other social icons on your website

Don’t forget social media that allows your web visitors to stay in contact with you even when they don’t come to your website. With millions of people using Facebook every day and checking in on their Facebook page, make sure they like your website so you can stay in touch with them and convert to your customers.

Follow these steps to successfully converting web visitors to web customers.

Bold Type can help design and develop a truly excellent website that will deliver more visitors and more conversions to customers.

We can also help build your search engine optimisation, write web copy and ensure your website is seen by your targeted audience.

Contact Bold Type today for a free quote.

Call Sue Stevens today on 0410 037 635.

Keep improving your website to maintain your success converting visitors to customers

A good website helps, helps then sells. People want to trust your business. By giving them information, by making it easy to navigate and by explaining your points of difference from your competitors, you will get the business.

What are your most profitable lines. Create specific webpages about these products or services. Include genuine testimonials from real customers who love your work.

If you have good SEO (search engine optimization) working on every webpage, many visitors will come in on any number of your pages, however, your homepage is important too.

Is the message on your homepage selling your points of difference, why you are the best? The message might change over time which is why having a dynamic website with a content management system is important. It allows you to change your message (and other content) as you wish.

A website is like a shark – it needs to be constantly on the move to stay alive. Keep your message relevant and remember, help, help, sell wins the day!

And make sure you have excellent SEO working for you. If you can’t be found, you won’t get the business. It’s that simple.

2. How easy is it for web visitors to navigate your website?

Three clicks and you’re there. That’s the max. Does your website pass the test?

If you have lots of products in different categories (and many businesses do), list product or service types in these category names that mean something to your clients. List the products under these categories, again in product names that make sense to the web visitor – your potential clients. Whether you are a one product business or have 100s, make sure your website tells your visitors what they are looking for.

3. You need a call to action

What is it you want your customers or potential customers to do? Do you want them to ring you for a quote? Do you want them to ‘buy now’ if you have an ecommerce website?

A clear call to action can work by directing your potential clients to act. Every page needs a call to action. Does your website have this? If it doesn’t, it needs a revamp.

4. Can web visitors easily contact you?

In the iPhone era with unlimited call packages for mobile phones, people want to call and speak to someone – preferably a real person.

How easy is it for you to find your telephone number on your own website? Do the test from a potential customer’s point of view. Imagine you are a potential customer, you like what you see and you want to contact the business right now.

So where is your telephone number on your website? The key position is the top right banner for every webpage. This is the perfect position but don’t let that stop you putting it everywhere else too. In the footer, on pages where people will read about or see what they want. Make it easy for people to call you straight away.

Include a Contact Us link. Having a ‘contact us’ link to a contact form is also good as some people (like me) want to leave a message and let the company get back to me. But it is proven that talking with a potential customer can make all the difference between you getting the work or your competition.

But wait, there’s more …

Special offers such as ‘buy one get one free’, ‘bonus package with every sale’ – they work. Make sure your special offers are accessible. Using the middle of the top banner (so it appears on every page) is a great position. Offering a ‘free quote’ or some other special offer can get you that important lead.

Every webpage should work to sell your service or product. Linking pages within your website is one way to help web visitors to browse and investigate why you’re better than all the others.

Internal links provide ways for your potential customers to stay on your website and find what they want. Then they will call because they can find your telephone number easily. See no. 4.

Does the web design suit your business?

A very sophisticated web design will work for a very sophisticated business. A funky Newtown hairdresser will want something completely different. A lunchtime café and takeaway needs a completely different design from a 5-star restaurant.

Getting the right design that suits your business is important. Great web design is about finding the right balance for each individual business. The design also plays a vital role in functionality. There is no point having a great looking website that no one can navigate. And if any web designer suggests using Flash, go somewhere else. It is so last century!

7. Choose Bold Type for your money-making website

Making great looking websites that work for our clients 24/7 is what we do best. Best of all, our clients can manage it. As one of our customers said:

I can’t believe this is so easy. I can add new products, take down out of date content, upload images – it’s amazing as I have no computer skills.
Read some of our testimonials from clients.

Yes, your business will make more money. We’ve had great success in building visitor numbers. One company had a 3000% increase in the first year. Yes, 3000 per cent! If you want your website to start working for you, call us now on 0410 037 635. Sue will take your call and organise a free quote. Or fill in our contact form (if you are like me and prefer to get on with business!).

Written by Sue Stevens, Principal of Bold Type

Our new website that focuses on Bold Type's web publishing business

Bold Type has set up a ’sister’ website that focuses on the web publishing aspect of our business.

Because we hail from Balmain in Sydney, it made sense to call this subsidiary website, Balmain Website Designs, although we do both design and development. We also help ‘design’ a complete web presence using directories, search engines, social media and email marketing systems.

Why businesses need a strong Internet presence

The Internet is a significant component of a business’s standing in the marketplace. To quote a successful business person, ‘a business that doesn’t have a website today is equivalent to going to a business meeting without a suit – you just don’t count’. And while some of the Google and Apple executives might disagree with the suit analogy, not having a website these days certainly stops a business from growing. Studies show that 90% of people who have access to the Internet use it to search for services and products they are looking for.

Making sure people can find your website

Importantly your website needs to be ‘findable’ and when found create a great first impression. It’s not good enough to ‘have a website’, it needs to have a contemporary look and work effectively with good SEO (search engine optimisation) that allows web browsers to find your business.

Balmain Website Designs – and Bold Type – can make sure your website is using the latest technology and the latest in web design to keep your website vibrant and successful. You can contact us via both Bold Type and Balmain Website Designs for a free appraisal of your Internet and website requirements.

Have a look at our new website, Balmain Website Designs.

Glitterbox website is a unique design that captures the essence of this hair salon in Newtown Sydney

The Bold Type team – web designer, developer, content editor and project manager – have just completed the unique and quite wonderful website for Glitterbox, a unique and quite wonderful hair salon in Newtown.

Sue Stevens, who managed the project, researched hairdressing websites from salons all over the world including New York, San Fransisco and London, not to mention others in Sydney and Melbourne too. Not that we wanted to copy any, but it was good to see what is happening in the world of hair salon websites. Not much was the verdict!

Armed with the belief that we could set a new standard in devising a uniquely designed hair salon website using the open source software, Wordpress, the design team went to town – Newtown to be exact.

The result is a website that reflects the energy of the salon itself. It is also SEO friendly so that more visitors are finding the salon when searching for a hair salon. Also, it can be managed easily by the team at Glitterbox without having to pay ongoing costs to a web expert. It’s a win-win-win situation. We, at Bold Type, just love to see our clients happy. And we’re thrilled to be able to give them exactly what they want – a website that is uniquely theirs.

Link to Glitterbox hair salon, Newtown

Contact Sue for a free consultation about your website needs.

This website was designed specifically for Sydney civil celebrant, Deborah Bedford.

Every website is different and should be. Why choose a standard web design that looks like so many other websites when you can have a website that is uniquely yours? You can have your own website, designed to suit your business at an affordable price.

A bonus with Bold Type built websites is that once your website is live, you can easily manage it. Developed in open source software that is easy to use, you will be able to add content, change content, add pages, images and video content, change data and more.

We not only build your website, we do much more by developing your web profile with directories, linking and social networking.

Benefits of a Bold Type built website:

• the development of a complete web presence to improve search engine optimisation
• a dynamic website (open source software) with a built-in SEO enabler
• online shopping cart software and purchase software (for online businesses)
• set up of website analytics so that you can track visitors and their viewing habits to use as a guide to improve your website
• advice on web hosting and how to get the best value for your needs
• free style guide and user manual specifically written for your website and related web-based content.

Related links
Bold Type’s website portfolio
Difference between dynamic and static websites
Website marketing

Call Sue Stevens for a free consultation about website design and web development on 0410 037 635 or complete our email contact form.