9 Web Design tips that make websites sell
19. Jan, 2009 
1 Comment
There are many Web Design companies around today that know how to design an appealing website – but don’t understand what their clients really want from a website… Profit!
There are various techniques that skilled web designers are aware of that will make a website sell.
1. Have an easy to use website. Simple and stable navigation, clean layout, easy to read fonts, colours that don’t hurt your eyes, fast loading and intuitive design are all 100% necessary for a good website. Without these basics, a website will not sell very well at all.
2. Have frequent calls to action. This one seems obvious but all too often web designers will leave it out. If you have a look through our website, there is not one page that doesn’t have a call to action on it.
On the web, visitors to your website need to be told what to do… otherwise, they don’t do it! Tell your visitors to call you, and they will call you a lot more often than if you simply include a phone number on the side of the page.
3. Have well set out sales copy. People don’t read large blocks of text. It hurts their eyes and it’s usually boring. To enhance the chances of having your sales copy read, use frequent paragraphs or use design elements like wide pages to have spread your copy out.
4. Make your site trustworthy. Visitors will only buy from you if they trust you to deliver. Having a fresh and professional looking website builds trust. Visitors perceive a good looking site as a sign that there has been significant investment in the website and that it isn’t a fly by night operation.
5. Use testimonials. Testimonials are a great way to build trust and safety amongst your customers. Use testimonials and use them often!
6. Make your forms as small as possible. Web users are impatient. If your form looks too hard to fill in, they will dump it. Make sure your forms are short and to the point – Ask the detailed questions further down the track in the sales process, once your visitor has already made a decision to buy from you.
7. Don’t give your visitors a reason to leave. Don’t sidetrack your visitors with links to other pages, other information, or anything unrelated to your goals and objectives. If you do have to provide a link to an external source of information, open it in a new window so your visitor is guaranteed to return to your website.
Similarly, once your visitors are filling in a form, or have started a process on your website, don’t show any links to any other pages untill that process is complete. Distractions are likely to cause your visitor to stop what they were doing and look at something else. Google even recommends that you don’t have a navigation bar on your landing pages!
8. Give your visitors something to gain. Don’t give all the information to the visitor right away. Make sure that there is a reason to contact you or to continue in the sales process. If your visitor has all the information they need, they are less motivated to contact you.
9. Tie in your marketing to your website. Your advertising campaigns should be backed up on your website, usually in the form of landing pages and banners. For example, say you have a Valentines special that you’re advertising on TV. When people see that ad and come to your website, it should pick up the sales conversation where the TV ad left off.
The worst case scenario is if your website has no tie ins with your advertising and your visitors aren’t sure if your website is the one they saw advertised! What a waste of money!
Whilst the average web designer can make an easy to use website, most don’t have the knowledge or experience to make a website perform to its maximum potential. VDP Web Design has experience in both Web Design and marketing, so we know how to deliver a site that sells.
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I liked your 8th point very much. I also believe that we should not disclose all of our information at a time. I better to use some sentence which can force your visitor to contact you. Once they contact you, you have better chances to convince them.
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