website-elements

Your website is your digital handshake to the world. It’s your opportunity to educate visitors on what you do and how it will benefit them.

The core elements of your website should lead visitors through a customer experience journey. The information to be found and the decision to be made should always be clear for the customer to easily find. They should feel delighted, intrigued and at the end be able to make an informed decision. Be transparent in the way you sell to customers online and you will effectively grow your user base.

We’ve rounded up the basics so you can cross them off your checklist as you go.

Let’s get started…

  1. A clear headline

First impressions matter. This is the first and most important piece of content they will see. In a sentence or two you should be able to summarize how your brand will add value. There are many facets to your brand, so focus on one. You can test different headlines to determine which speaks best to your visitors.

  1. Call to action and multiple ways of doing it

Focus on one very specific goal for your website. Once you overwhelm visitors with too many choices, the chance that they will choose the desired action diminishes. Add a button: sign up, try this, join, get a quote, purchase. Have a few buttons on your page. Wherever they are on your website, they should be able to act on your call to action.

  1. Contact form and information

Make it easy for people to get in touch with you. Most customers will give up if they can’t contact you. Don’t give into those missed opportunities. Just like a customer browsing in a store, an online visitor will have questions.

Place a contact form somewhere easily visible on your page so they can send a message directly to your email. If you have a physical brick and mortar location, include a map. Everyone has different ways they prefer to communicate with brands, include many options of contact (telephone number and email at the very least) and you will be on your way to improving conversions.

  1. Images

We are a generation of scanners. As important as your written content is, having high-quality images to compliment your story is essential. Use stock images, which are good, or images of your actual product, brand and team, which are even better.

  1. Social media banner

Social proof is important and differentiates you from the competition. Add social media icons at the bottom of your page so visitors can connect with your across different platforms.

To recap…

All of the elements on your page should work together harmoniously to lead your customer through a pleasant customer experience. Help them discover the benefits of your brand so they have the ability to make an informed decision and use clear structural cues to encourage users to take action.