Have you ever visited a webpage and immediately clicked the “back” button to leave it because it wasn’t appealing to you? The way your webpages look, whether it’s your homepage, blog or press releases make a difference in who arrives, who stays and even who buys.
We asked a few experts to weigh-in on what works and what doesn’t when it comes to online design. Here is what they had to say:
1. Be Clear
“The most influential elements when it comes to keeping online users on a landing page are relevance and trust,” says Tim Ash, CEO of SiteTuners and Author of Landing Page Optimization. “First, you have to make sure your offer and content of the landing page match the intent of the user very well. For instance, if I am looking for “easy accounting software,” a landing page better say something about that or I’m gone in the blink of an eye. Second, you need to establish trust and credibility through a professional-looking design and transactional reassurances.”
2. Build Trust
“Aside from being professionally designed, your landing page needs to prominently display trust elements such as badges or the logos of marquee clients. Even putting a simple telephone number and business address can enhance a landing page’s trust factor as users are assured that they’re dealing with a legitimate business,” Ash recommends.
According to the experts, it’s also key to keep pages clutter-free and simple to avoid deterring customers. Though your business may offer a variety of products and services, it’s important not to bombard or overwhelm them.
3. Keep Things Simple
“Don’t try to do too much – it’s counter intuitive, but you’ll generally sell more by offering one product than you will by offering many products, says CEO of UserTesting.com Darrell Benatar. People might think they want more choices, but it’s easy for us to feel overwhelmed and give up on the whole thing. Plus, we’re actually happier when we don’t need to choose from multiple items because we don’t have that nagging fear that we picked the wrong thing.”
Benatar’s last point about the nagging fear of picking the wrong option prompted another question – how does psychology and the way the human mind thinks factor into page design? Apparently, paying attention to the brand colors you choose can make a big impact on consumer decision making.
4. Know What the Human Eye Wants
In regards to the impact of colors on the human psyche, “the blue color is ‘baked’ into our psyche as being a calm and soothing color. Red is good as a warning color or for marketing products and services that show aggression like body building supplements,” notes Raghu Bala, CTO/CIO of Source Interlink Media. Jonathan Passley, President of PDR Web Solutions adds that “landing pages with dark backgrounds convert less than those with lighter backgrounds. One of the reasons is that light colors generally convey honesty and trustworthiness, making the layout look clean and open.”
It’s a lot to think about when it comes to designing and laying out your online web properties. Whether it’s a landing page, blog or social media account, keep your audience in mind and ask for honest feedback from others on what works and what doesn’t, as well as why.
Brainstorm: What colors would work best for a luxury brand? If your product provides a service that isn’t so easy to explain, where would be the best place to describe it on a landing page?
(Photo Credit: freedigitalphotos.net)
