When you are redesigning your website you need to pay attention to why you are redesigning your site, you need to pay attention to inbound marketing and you need to guard your website’s valuable assets. You will also need to resist the temptation of making your homepage too flashy. The homepage is the first page most people see when they go to your website. Many web designers advocate a flashy, interactive homepage to entice and dazzle the visitor. In reality simplicity always trumps flash. Think about the last time you went to the hardware store to buy some screws. How would you have reacted if when entering the store, lights started flashing, an animated spokeswoman started telling you how great the hardware store was and someone ran up to you asking you to fill out a form to win an iPad? If you didn’t see the screws on your way out of the store you probably would have bought them at another store. Think about why someone would come to your website and what you can do to help them find what they need. Think like your customers.
When someone lands on your homepage it must be clear what you do and it must be clear what you want the person visiting your site to do. Simplicity is really more important than design or fancy tricks. If your visitor cannot find what they want they will leave. Put everything that is important above the fold, which means at the top part of the page so they do not have to scroll to find it. Do you want them to see your products? Make it easy to find your products. Do you want people to read your blog? Put a link at the top of the page. Do you want them to follow you on Facebook? Do not hide the Facebook icon. Do you have a free giveaway or do you want them to sign up for a newsletter? Make it clear what you want your visitors to do.
Keep Website Redesign Simple
According to a survey done by HubSpot on consumers using websites these were the most important factors in website design:
- 76% - The website makes it easy for me to find what I want.
- 10% - The website has a beautiful appearance
- 9% - The website offers a cutting edge interactive experience
- 5% - Other
Your homepage is the face of your services or products. You only get one chance to impress that visitor, so make sure you carefully place the essentials you want them to know on your homepage. It should also act as a launching platform to places where they can contact you in the future, for example there should be links to your blog and social media accounts. For more information about redesigning your website download our free e-book: Website Redesign for Small Businesses and Sole Proprietors: 7 easy steps to make your website more effective.
Photo Credit: New York Public Library
