createWeb Design and Development in Canterbury
How to make your website perform
A high performing business website is much more than just code on a web server. It's a delicate mix of multiple elements that must fit together perfectly if it is going to help your business grow.
Good design with an agile development strategy plans for them all.
The look and feel of your website has a dramatic impact on the impression that visitors form about your business. It drives their perception of the value (and price) of your services.
So what makes a website perform at a higher level?
High performance websites – 3 Vital Goals
A business website needs to score a hat trick before it can really perform.
Look Great - Design and User Experience
If visitors find it slow or confusing they will quickly leave. Logical design in its layout and considered user experience are paramount.
Fast Loading: Each new page served quickly and cleanly.
On Brand - Conveys your brand ethos and values.
Intuitive: Easy to use and navigate without much thought.
Fully Responsive: Functions and displays correctly on all device sizes.
Do More - Engage and then influence visitors
Go the extra mile and take your visitors on a journey that gives them exactly what they need. Make them feel understood. Make them feel at home.
Trustworthy: Don't hide in the shadows, say a quick hello to your visitors with a 30 second video.
Engagement : Steer visitors through your site pages with intuitive navigation and aligned messaging.
Credibility: Demonstrate how your business solves their type of problem. Speak to them in their language.
Motivation: Compel visitors to take action and actually do something. Give them a reason to come back.
Get Found - Improved online and search visibility
Optimise technically until it's perfect and then deliver exactly the right messages. Keep content up to date and relevant to your visitors needs. Understand and then match their intent.
High Ranking - Is easy to find in searches using Google and Bing.
Online Visibility - Brings visitors from Google Maps, Social Networks and YouTube.
Analysis - It's performance is easy to measure and improve upon.
AI Invested - Uses AI to automate and improve performance wherever possible.
User experience – Anticipating need and providing assurance
Your website is the digital front door to your business, with just a precious few seconds to make the right impression upon a browsing visitor, before they wander off to the next one.
Visitors should intuitively move around your website's pages without the risk of ambiguity or confusion affecting their actions. Choices should logically lead to the desired outcome, with the visitor's expectations being confirmed and validated at each stage of their journey.
The session should end with the visitor satisfied they achieved their aim successfully.
Whether the intention is informational, commercially led, transactional or purely navigational, careful thought must be given to encouraging rather than pushing your visitors towards the next stage of the desired interaction.
Remember the power of veto always lies with the visitor. Quitting the browser is always just one click, tap or swipe away.
With great design, less is often more
Current practices and styles within web design constantly evolve as users expectations change to reflect current fashions and technology updates.
The pages and design of a business website need to provide a smooth, seamless and modern experience for first time visitors and returning clients alike.
If a webpage can helpfully meet a visitors needs whilst providing a subtle and immersive brand experience, the chances of a conversion or at a returning visit will be greatly increased.
Predictive web design - Pages that adapt
Emerging changes in predictive marketing will begin to have have a profound impact on web design as a whole and the functionality of individual website pages in particular during 2024.
These changes will empower businesses that have prepared. Allowing them to take advantage of the opportunities presented by individual website visitors as they arrive.
A Canterbury based small business such as a conveyancing solicitor for example will be able to tailor the content, tone and call to action of each webpage.
As the site learns that the visitor's intent is probably driven by a local property enquiry the page alters its messaging to improve engagement based upon the predicted intent, increasing the chances of a conversion.
The better the design, the less visible but more effective this process will become.
As AI evolves it will change everything about web design and finding new clients online.
Learn more in our growth article "Web Design with AI in 2024".