Having a website design that sends the wrong message to your audience can have an impact on your bounce rate (the rate at which someone clicks on your site and immediately clicks the back button within 5 seconds). Having an ineffective design will cost you money! It’s the money you could be making if people signed up for your list, stayed to look through your resources or hired you for your services. A website design that lacks proper Internet Marketing planning and strategy is something we see often, unfortunately, but something you can change luckily.

When we sit down with a new client who has a pre-existing website, we will review their existing design and discuss the holes which lead to visitors exiting the site without taking action. When sitting down with a new client who wants to start a new website, we teach them the proven strategies for web design that will get them a higher conversion rate and better long-term results.

Below I have listed a few key things to consider when approaching design. Before I explain those points, I’d like to show you a few website design examples we’ve recently launched in the past few months.
 

Our Recent Website Designs:

Click on the image to visit the client’s website:

What to Consider for Your Website Design:

• Make sure you ask your designer for your “final files” which will most likely include a Photoshop file with layers, any fonts the designer used, and a copy of the iStock photos they used. If you need to make a change later or hire a new designer (or that designer just isn’t around in the future) you want to have all copies of your design. It’s also wise to ask your designer if they will provide these files to you before even starting design work – if they say no, run!
• Do you have a logo that describes your business or has a visual meaning?
• Your tagline is important. It should be less than 7 words and should totally describe your business and intention. Having a confusing tagline can be a turn off to new visitors and they may exit your site unless something else grabs their attention
• Once your design is built into your website, check to make sure your web programmer checked the site in all browsers for inconsistencies (FireFox, Internet Explorer 7 & 8, Safari, Google Chrome). When a programmer codes the design into the website frame they need to have a knowledge of how these different browsers read code – they all read HTML and PHP code slightly different. So while your design could look great in FireFox it could look totally screwed up in Safari. Be sure to check this.
• Do you make it easy for visitors to find a way to contact you? I mean, in your face easy. If not, change this immediately!
• Check to see how you website design looks on a smart phone (Droid, iPhone, Blackberry). It is worth the cost and time to get your phone optimized for mobile web. WordPress makes this easy with the help of a plugin.
• Some website have tiny text that’s hard to read. You also don’t want your text to be huge and in your visitor’s face. I suggest 14px for size depending on what font is being used.
• Be sure to only use “web ready” fonts on your site or fonts that you have the rights to use. Click here to see a list of web ready fonts. If you have a font on your website that is NOT on that list, you may not realize that you are possibly using it illegally. Similar to not wanting to use stock photos you don’t have the rights to use, you need to have the same consideration for font-use. We can help you understand this process and show your website online safely.
• It’s not recommended to use more than 3 colors, fonts or styles within your website design. We want design to be modern, professional yet soothing to your visitors. If your colors or design jump out at them, they will leave. Even check out how simple Facebook is – there’s a reason for that.
• Never use large amounts of reverse text (white text on a dark background). Your visitors will be able to read your content for the first minute maybe, but then their eyes will start to feel strain and they will leave your site no matter how great your content is.
• How are you using the Upper Right Quadrant (URQ) of your header? This is the most looked at spot on your site for new visitors (just as your About page is the most clicked page in your site). This is a great place to add a phone number, testimonial, search bar, book cover – what you really want visitors to see.
• Does your opt-in newsletter signup box (for email subscribers) stand out, or get lost in the design?
• Is your content clear and well-organized or is it a challenge to find answers. Don’t leave your visitors guessing because I can guarantee instead of waiting to figure it out, most will leave your site and not come back.

That is a great list to get you headed in the right decision of approaching your website with a strategic action plan. These are just some of the things we consider when creating a website design for our clients.

I’d love to hear from you! Add a comment into the Facebook comments section below. Let me know which design of ours you liked the best and what questions are holding you back from having a website you LOVE!

There is a TON of valuable information in this post. All of the links open in a new window and the content will laser in on that topic. I invite you to spend some time here and really take advantage of this FREE platform I’ve developed just for you.

For those of you who are just getting started online, this post would be excellent for you to print out and keep by your computer as you
build your online platform (your website, social networks, leads – it is all-encompassing of your touch-points online). For those of you who think they are on a great track online, this may be a good post to see what has slipped between the cracks or what area you could build up for better results.

So let’s get started. Consider your online platform and online presence. Really think about the blood, sweat and tears you’ve put into building a website (whether you invested $10,000+ or started a free WordPress site), into starting a social networking account and trying to figure it out, into listening to webinars and teleseminars and reading blog posts on “how” to do it all. Next, I invite you read each question *slowly* and really analyze where you’re at with each of these items:

• Do you have a professionally designed logo that can make for good branding?
• Are you staying ‘up to date’ on what’s happening in your industry so you become the go-to authority for news?
• Do you post to your blog regularly (not once a month, but one a week or more?)
• Is your business brand consistent between all touch points online – from your LinkedIn profile to your Facebook cover to your email newsletter look and feel?
• Have you looked at your content in the past three months to see what, if anything was outdated material?
• Do you do what you say you are going to do online (release new products on time, follow through with your ideas, etc.)?
• When is the last time you did keyword research or competitor research?
• Have you reached out to anyone lately to discuss the concept of collaboration, so you can grow your business more quickly in new markets?
• Do you have a growth plan or goals to help grow your business (such as how many email subscribers you’ll get, how many Facebook friends, how many blog posts, how many emails will you send out to your list each month, etc.)?
• Have you stepped back to evaluate if your web team really IS good, or just the inexpensive solution who isn’t really getting you where you need to be?
• Does your website design help you or hurt you, and when is the last time you’ve evaluated areas for improvement?
• Do you have a solid free introductory product you can give away as incentive for people to sign up to your mailing list?
• And is that free introductory product branded and professionally designed and formatted?
• Do you have obvious social networking icons and feeds on your website so web visitors can connect with you?
• Does your tagline make sense and help you stand out from the noise? Is it easy to remember and does it make an impact?
• Do you have a list of keywords you are targeting with every piece of content you write, so you can start dominating search engines?
• Are you regularly adding products to your website that are for sale so people can get ‘the next best thing’ from you?
• How often are you adding a ‘call to action’ in everything you do (at the end of blog posts, in your email newsletters, in every contact point)?
• Are you organized with your business and do you treat it like a real business with scheduling and planning meetings?
• Do you thank your web visitors, email subscribers, social networking friends and clients for sticking with you?
• How often do you implement new ways to drive traffic to your website and blog?

Your impact on the web IS what you make of it. Those are just a few questions you can ask yourself from time to time to make sure you are BUILDING. Starting an online business is not the easiest task in the world. You are competing with billions of web pages out there. But, there is more than enough room in the sea for us all to profit.

The trick is knowing what to do next to continue building your online platform. Stay focused. Don’t lose the momentum. If you need help with your direction or with implementing tasks, feel free to contact me and let’s have a loose conversation about it. The key is to get help from people who know what they are talking about – and that becomes obvious when someone writes about those topics and gives away the farm just to help others. I’m not tooting my own horn here so much as just teaching how to identify the right kind of person to help you with your business.

If you thought this post was of value, please SHARE this post with others on your social networks. My goal is simple: Helping Others. As many as I can get my hands on.

Thank you for spreading the light!

The photo you choose to represent you in your website design is so important. When a visitor comes to your website for the first time, you have all of 3-5 seconds to make a first impression. That impression will either result in them staying on your site to learn more about you, or they will hit the back button, thereby increasing your bounce rate.

So what does your headshot say about you? If your photo is outdated, please change it! I think it’s important to show a photo of you within the last 1-3 years, versus 5+ years ago. You can even go to Target if funds are tight – or most digital cameras are very high quality these days. Note too your website designer can tweak your photo to add a background or border or fade that can really make your photo pop.

I personally suggest you mark your calendars once every 3-6 months and spend an hour to seriously evaluate your website. What is outdated, what needs work, what’s missing? I’d also suggest you survey a dozen people and ask them “what turns you on or off about my website?”. A website is not something you spend $2000 on once and say “it’s good enough”. At least not if you want real results from it.

Below you will see some examples of custom-designed website headers and a quick explanation of what the website is for – then you can see why that photo was chosen for the header.

Note: Click on the header to see a larger version.

Hilde Vercaigne – An inspirational website/blog about how you can create the life you want even if you’re coming from a very difficult and dark past. She draws people in with her depth and people can identify with that lostness. Then she lifts them up in her writing – a powerful blend.

Stephen Hyde – A health care consultant who offers high-end consulting services. Very professional and modern. Crisp and trustworthy/inviting.

Debbi Donner – A professional and personal life coach who is also an author and speaker. Her photo is very classy, inviting, personable, trustworthy and she really exudes the life people want for her industry.

Paul Hendricks – A best-selling author and speaker with an edge that draws people straight to him. In Paul’s header he was able to show his confident, professional speaker side, but also shows off his edge and creativity.

Sandra Coulson – The grandmother of Orofacial Myology. Sandra is a very loving, intelligent, author/speaker and giver. She has worked with over 25,000 patients across the globe to diagnose and treat tongue and lip posturing.

These are just a few examples of headshot images that really support the website design. Adding an image to your header can really draw a visitor in, it can build trust and it can help sell your services (IF you have the right photo). If you need help with website design or would like a second opinion no evaluating your current website design, contact me and let’s discuss.