How Better Web Design Helps Increase Conversion Rates

Website design is considered both a science and an art. This term is typically used to define the whole process involved in developing and designing a website by using several different tools and methods. Web design is not only what we see, but also represents the user interface, menu structure and overall layout of the website. This is done with the help of different images, typeface, colours and contrasts. A well designed website not only performs well on a visual and user experience level, it also has a genuine impact on the volume of online company sales generated. 

Importance of web design

In order to promote your business well, and to get in front of your competitors, you have to visually engage and delight your web traffic visitors. Your website creates an initial and lasting impression of your business, so it’s crucial that its quality reflects the professionalism of your company. Consumers and potential clients need to identify with your brand - who you are, what you offer and why they should believe that your product or service is superior to others.

Types of Web Design

There are many types of web design available, and what you choose depends on the purpose for creating it;

Static – A Static website is one which does not have either a database or interactive content and no any server side functionality. This type of design is used for smaller websites that do not require any complicated functions or features. The static design is cheaper, faster, and simpler to design as compared to other designs. 

Dynamic – Dynamic websites use server-side programming and database to stock and distribute the content. This kind of website enables web pages to carry out complicated functions along with displaying complicated data and collaborative content. Dynamic designs are appropriate for larger websites which require a large number of pages. However, this type of design needs more initial work as compared to static websites, therefore it’s typically not recommended for small websites.

Brochure Sites –best for small businesses and for those who are looking for a low budget option. These websites generally have one or two pages, following a basic format, including pages such as Home page, About Us, Services, Contact Us and links.

Content Management System (CMS) – CMS is the best options for those who update their services and products frequently. Even, this is also very effective for those who want complete control over their website. This allows you to add image, page, or content depending on your needs. 

E-commerce - E-commerce websites are preeminent for those who want to sell goods online. You can get e-commerce design according to your business needs by adding payment gateways like PayPal, SagePay, WorldPay, or Checkout by Amazon. E-commerce websites are database driven and dynamic that provides provision to clients to add product descriptions, images, new items and stock levels from a committed admin system. 

How to Increase Conversion rates

The theme, color, menu navigation, layout, graphics, usability and images all play a crucial role in persuading visitors to browse through a website, thereby helping to convert them into buyers. A successful website is one that provides an intuitive user experience – that is to say, one where specific words are made into clickable links that lead the user to where they would expect to go, having seen a particular product or image. 

Here are a few influential ways to help increase conversion rates;

Usability

• Speed - A crucial factor. If a website takes too long to load, you can very quickly lose your hard earned traffic to competitor websites whose load times are significantly quicker. Use GTMetrix.com to check for site speed issues. 
• Readability of the content - The content you create should be easy to read, meaningful, and unique. 
• Information hierarchy – Key information that you want web visitors to read should be placed at the top of the page. Organise your content as per your business goals.

Intuitive web design

• A website is the main means of communication between you and your customers. Imagine turning up in gym gear to a corporate board meeting – it’s not what would be expected. Don’t let clickable key words or phrases lead to a page that does not naturally follow on from what they have just read or seen – it will not help to engender trust, and will diminish the user experience.

• Directional Cues- These are hints via use of hyperlinks, or suggestions such as “If you like this product you may also like…”. These help shepherd user behavior towards specific goals, such as completing a form or making a purchase.

If you want to enhance the appearance, professionalism or intuitive feel of your website, it is important to understand the basics of webpage design. At FiveRivers, we ensure to embed all these elements via our web design services. We can accompany this with unique and fresh content for a fully customised digital marketing strategy.

Request a quote or a free consultation today, by calling 0203 397 7545.

4 Key Benefits of Creating a Video Marketing Strategy

Videos are widely considered to be the most effective means to engage and reach out to audiences. Whether it is just a thirty second commercial or a few minutes of promotion, a visual medium attracts buyers much more than any other form of marketing. Fortunately, not only has video marketing become effective, but affordable. 

Here are a few key reasons why you should look to integrate this strategy into your campaign;

• High Engagement – It’s well documented that people share and interact with video content much more versus text. The average consumer watches around 200 videos per month, and the figure is constantly growing.

• Webinars - For B2B enterprises, webinars can be an incredibly effective video marketing technique. A weekly webinar on different topics helps customers to access a free or inexpensive means on how to grow their business. This could in turn lead to someone employing your services directly.

•  Hangouts - Google Hangouts is a growing avenue for brands to promote their services and products by the means of online meet-ups. This is useful for businesses with a customer-centric brand, whose followers can use conferencing tools such as ‘Click Meeting’ to connect with their customers.

•  How-To and Demo Videos – Empower your audience with knowledge on how to resolve a problem. A video representation is infinitely easier to follow than a written step by step guide, which may not prove to be as thorough to a novice trying to do something for the first time. Watching someone in action will ensure you follow their methods exactly.

Whether or not someone reaches out to you directly as a result of your video marketing efforts is only part of the reason to adopt a vide approach to marketing. The links it will generate back to your website will increase your relevancy in the eyes of search engines, which ultimately will rise your website through the search results pages. 

With the potential for volumes of potential new customer to find you, especially if videos are posted to YouTube, video marketing is one marketing strategy that cannot afford to be overlooked.

How to Implement Multilingual SEO into Your Marketing Strategy?

In today’s digital world, optimizing a website for search engines is critical in driving brand awareness. This process becomes more complex when you are managing a large website which serves many global locations and languages.

What is multilingual SEO?

This is a process of site optimization for different languages that increases a website’s visibility and reach. This method is quite complex as compared to traditional SEO, but offers real benefit to any international online business. More often than not, ecommerce websites have more need of this strategy.

Implementing multilingual SEO into your marketing strategy

•  Determine the regions you are targeting and the languages you will make available to those particular regions
• Don’t mix different languages on the page, keep them on separate web addresses
• Consider a cross-linking of each page’s language version
• Avoid automatic redirection based on the perceived language of the user, and avoid the use cookies that show the translated versions of the web page.
• Make use of robots .txt to restrict search engines from automatically crawling the translated page of the website

Every business strives hard to make itself stand out, as competition is intense in many sectors. At Five Rivers we use the latest digital marketing strategies, catering to the bespoke needs of every individual business. Get in touch with us today - call us or email us at info@fiverivers.net