Apparently, in 2018 the average American spent about 4 hours online a day, at least according to Nielsen. So that’s at least 4 hours a day per person where you have the chance to woo your customers online. The quickest and most succinct way of doing so is via your creative website design which helps communicate your company branding. We’ve already highlighted ways to improve style, functionality and experience.
So next, we’d like to debunk 5 myths about website design:
1. Websites Can’t Cater to Different Audiences
Target audiences for the same company may differ generationally and socioeconomically. To some, that may seem like you have to choose to cater your website to one group or another. However, it is true that some preferences overlap. The trick is finding them and having your creative web designer execute them .
2. Content = Content
Not all content is created equal. Period. Your webpage visitors will leave if they can’t immediately get the answers to the following questions: 1) Who are you? 2) What do you do? 3) Why should they do business with you?
Strategically choosing branded company content that is easy to understand is imperative. Posting just to post, or writing just to fill up empty space on a webpage will not cut it.
3. You Need to Tell the Whole Story on the Home Page
Yes, you need to communicate who you are and what you do, but it is more important to customize content for your target markets and present clear calls to action that help specific audiences get what they need. You don’t want customers to come to your site and get overwhelmed and bored sifting through excessive information.
4. A Well Designed Desktop Version is Good Enough
Nielsen estimates 62% of the average US consumer’s online activity is from their phone. Plus, Pew Research Center approximates that 28% of millennials are smartphone only. Two huge factoids that really tell us that we need to have mobile friendly websites and that desktop versions are simply not enough.
5. You Don’t Need a Website Audit
Web audits are comprehensive reviews of design and content. They tell you how effectively you reach your target markets and expose weaknesses in order to increase usability and conversion rates. You need a quality check to see how you can better your site.
Your website is where your customers shop around and get to know you. But, there is strategy to everything you do in your communication. The trick is figuring out a sweet spot, and we can help with that, all you need to do is shoot us an email.
I think there are a lot of website design myths and you’ve touched on the biggest themes. I was wondering a little about that first one with websites not catering to multiple audiences. I think more and more websites are creating multiple versions of themselves and letting the user choose which version to engage with.
What are your thoughts on that Stephanie? Do you think having multiple websites is a good strategy or is it better to find a way to speak to multiple audiences from one central platform?