A well-organized website is key to retaining visitor attention. The numbers of ways to achieve that are many. However, a few important items need to be present. The page should be organized, informative, inviting. The ways to do that are also wide and varied, but here are a few simple principles to guide you.
An Organized Website
Have you ever visited a webpage that made you cock your head back because it had volumes of information scattered across the screen in seeming chaos? You didn’t know where to look. The page had no anchors for your attention to fix upon. That is a situation to avoid.
A web page should have a navigation bar, an introduction of the site’s purpose, and items of targeted interest set in organized patterns.
Navigation Bars
If your website is ultra-simple, you might not need the navigation bar, but if so, you actually might just have landing page. That’s okay. Landing pages are valuable. However, if you have any information that needs categorization, a navigation bar is essential. Those navigation buttons can lead to other pages or they can lead to headings on the same page. Either way, navigation eliminates unwanted confusion.
Statement of Site Purpose
You site should let people know its purpose immediately. Sometimes the name is enough, if you’ve chosen your domain name well. A beach rental company with the name of their city is a good example. The title tells you where you’ve landed –probably before you arrive. However, even with something generally understood like a CPA firm, some clarification is a good idea. What does that CPA firm specialize in? Is it tax preparation or financial reviews? A simple statement in the header or at the top of the page is all you need to satisfy visitors that they have arrived at the right place.
Organized Site Data
The organization of the data on the page is very important. Numerous schools of thought exist on what should come first, where pictures should appear, and so on. However, the key word is organization. The visitor should not have to spend more than a second or two searching for something to land their gaze. “White Space” is essential. Your page should not be a sea of never ending text. It should have headings and clearly defined bites of information. Even without images, a well-defined, clearly spaced text-only page can appeal to the eye. Avoid any appearance of overwhelming amounts of information. As with the page title, the following nuggets of information should clearly describe what they are at the top.
An Informative Website
An informative website rewards visitors. They click on the link in search of answers or a desire. Your website should satisfy those with its content. If someone seeks houses for sale, your realtor site should show some houses that are for sale –or at least provide links to those houses. An IT solutions provider should lead with solutions. What computer upgrade issues do startups ordinarily face during growth spurts? Those visitors will want answers immediately upon arrival.
Provide the answers to visitor needs right away. Use your page statement of purpose, the navigation bar, and the organized segments of data below on the page. With all of those in view “above the fold,” visitors will realize that your website is worth their time. When done well, the visitor might actually gain a few answers or solutions before they have a chance to dig further. It’s okay to resolve visitors’ problems right away. You just established yourself as an expert and increased your chances of securing a new client or follower.
An Inviting Website
Creating an inviting website takes some technical know-how, but beyond that it becomes an art. What colors do you choose, and what font? Employing the above guidelines, you will already have created a site that pulls readers forward, and that, in itself, is an invitation to visitors.
Navigation Bar Placement
Placement of links would be the technical aspect of creating your site. Will your navigation bar go across the top or down the side? The layout of your website might guide your decision. If not, let your website programmer help you out.
Website Backgrounds Matter
What background will you use? Law firms and accountants often use strong authoritative colors. Beach rentals might mimic sand and sea. Whatever you choose, it should make reading easy. Don’t use a chaotic or overly-busy background. No amount of white space will cure that error.
Lead Visitors to Greater Understanding
When you offer an enticing bit of information, create a link that will provide visitors with more information. The following page will satisfy their interest and educate them on what you provide. It might also make them a better-informed customer. That’s a good thing, especially when you’re the one providing the answers. Few things are more inviting than the resolution to ones problems. Is it fair game to create teasing or enticing lines in your links? You bet it is.
Creating Future Customers with a Well-Organized Website
When you provide services or products, having a website just isn’t enough anymore. You have to have an edge. The first advancement is to have a well-organized site that gives visitors the idea they’ve come to the right place. Organization makes people feel safe. Clearly placed blocks of information offer ease-of-use to visitors. When those blocks of information serve to inform and satisfy, you’ve won the interest of the visitor. Once there, invitations to dig deeper, find out more, and become and educated customer might very well be irresistible. Take a moment to compare you site to these guidelines. A few tweaks could create welcome changes to your next visitors.