Why Your Website Stinks and 9 Ways To Fix It
Let’s face it, Chuck, your website stinks worse than 3-day-old roadkill in the summer time. It’s embarrassing, and you should be hiding under your bed as your competitors mop the floor with you and would-be customers get a rapid case of dysentery by merely visiting your website. Yes, friend, your website stinks. But do not fret, all is not lost. The team at D E E P B L U E is the anti-website stinkers and today we are going to share 9 elements every non-stinking website should have.
If your website stinks, it’s time to take definitive action. A well-designed website is an effective representation of you, your business and your values. A good website has high search engine visibility, which makes it easy for prospective customers to find you online and interact through an engaging user experience. A successful website drives the user to action, following a pre-determined set of favorable outcomes with a bit of psychology thrown in.
Any website of merit will contain certain core sections.
To begin our discussion, let’s take a look at these sections:
About Us
The About Us page tells site visitors who you are. This is a necessary qualifier if you expect to gain a customer. This section describes the history of the company, experience, management, staff, qualifications and certifications and anything else that pertains to the business.
Products / Services
This section is the money maker. This is where you provide potential customers with your suite of products and/or services. For an eCommerce website, this is where customers can make financial transactions.
Portfolio
This section highlights your previous customer and accomplishments. It may include testimonials that provide credibility to the business.
Testimonials
Testimonials create credibility. When people are tasked with making a purchase decision they look to the advice of others to get reassurances that they are making the right choice. Testimonials can give tremendous insights into the experience of other customers and gauge their level of satisfaction with a company.
Press
This section will educate site visitors on happenings at the company and any exposure you may receive from media outlets.
Contact
This is a critical section of the website. The contact section provides a way for customers to connect with you. This section typically includes a contact request form, phone number and physical address.
Blog
A blog is your great communicator. It provides a non-intrusive platform to keep you in front of your customers on a consistent basis. A blog will fuel your website for search engine optimization, leading to increased visibility and website traffic.
Now that we got that out of the way, here are 9 anti-website stink elements your website should have:
Anti-Website Stink Element #1.
Intuitive Navigation
A good website has intuitive navigation. This will allow site users to get around the website easily and without confusion. The navigation should scale so that users on desktops, tablets and smartphones all enjoy the same experience. The easiest way to make sure that your customers get around your website is to make sure you place a menu to navigate to the main sections of your website.
Anti-Website Stink Element #2.
Custom Design
A good website is attractive and pleasing to the eye. It should be evident to visitors that the business took the time with a professional web design agency to deliver a quality experience. A modern website must be responsive and design considerations should be made for users on desktops, tablets or smartphones, providing an optimal user experience.
Anti-Website Stink Element #3.
Responsive Web Design
A responsive website is an approach to web design that places User Experience (UX) at the forefront of importance. A responsive website will adapt to the screen size, device and orientation of each user, creating an optimal UX for desktops, tablets and smartphones. A responsive website does not represent a new technology, rather it represents a new approach to existing technologies. A responsive website is built using a responsive framework, such as Bootstrap and Foundation.
Responsive Web Design has emerged as a best practice in professional web design, and D E E P B L U E has been a thought leader in this approach as we delivered our first responsive website all the way back in 2013. As I have proclaimed on several occasions, Responsive web design represents an elegant solution to a complex problem. The approach allows developers to create a website from a single-data source and adjust its layout accordingly to provide an optimal viewing experience – easy reading and navigation across a wide range of devices (from desktop monitors to tablets and mobile phones). Responsive web design satisfies the user experience demands of today’s multi-platform consumer.
Anti-Website Stink Element #4.
Evergreen Content
There is an old saying in marketing, Content is King. The quality of your website content is a huge factor in its overall effectiveness. The term Evergreen content is used by search engine marketers to ensure that your content is unique, compelling and absent of plagiarism. Evergreen content is fuel for search engines and is a critical component for search engine optimization and website visibility. Unique and compelling storytelling will attract and engage potential customers and properly reflect your brand strategy and core values.
Anti-Website Stink Element #5.
UX Design Narrative
Website UX design narrative refers to the aesthetics of a website but also its functionality. It is what the website visitor experiences when they land on your website and how they navigate their way through the website. When you first consider designing a website and handing your ideas over to a website designer, the first thing you are likely to do is think about the website’s architecture. The order of the pages, categories, and layout are a top priority because aesthetics matter when it comes to UX website design.
Having a unique website can help you highlight your innovation as a business and go some way to showing your attention to detail. These are all things that can go some way to helping you engage an audience and convert, but it is not the biggest opportunity that a unique website narrative can bring.
In a nutshell, website narrative is storytelling. Here are some examples of websites that do a great job narrative storytelling.
Anti-Website Stink Element #6.
Social Media Integration
It’s 2020, and 79% of the U.S. population has a social media profile. This represents an opportunity to connect with your target audience that should be included in your overall marketing strategy. Strong social media integration generates brand awareness and customer acquisition by positioning you front and center in the daily lives of your customers.
Social advertising can have instant results at a fraction of the cost of traditional or digital advertising. In using social media you have the ability to customize your campaigns to the specific profiles of your target audience, including age, gender, hobbies, profession, personal preferences and geography.
Anti-Website Stink Element #7.
Calls To Action
An effective website has multiple calls-to-action, which are outcomes in the website that we as the business wish to achieve. When we design a website, we learn about the specific calls-to-action early on in the design process. Calls-to-actions are transactions, which can be measured and demonstrate quantitatively the success of a website. There are many kinds of calls-to-actions. This can include someone filling out the website contact request form, joining a mailing list, following you on social media, signing up to become a member, or making a purchase on the website.
Anti-Website Stink Element #8.
Search Engine Optimization
Search engine optimization, or SEO, is important for any website that wants to attract customers. Our SEO experts work closely with our clients to increase awareness and visibility, leading to customer acquisition through search engines by optimizing your website organically and producing a technical, inbound and outbound SEO strategy. A comprehensive approach to SEO will lead to better results.
Anti-Website Stink Element #9.
Customer Feedback Loop
A good website allows your customers to provide feedback that may help improve the website and in turn customer acquisition and retention. Give them ample opportunity to communicate with you, listen to them and have a system in place that allows you to communicate back to them. This is simply good customer service.
D E E P B L U E Knows the Market
D E E P B L U E is a San Francisco web designer that delivers measurable results to Bay Area businesses. Learn more about our web design services and contact us to schedule a complimentary needs-assessment consultation.
If you need assistance with your stinky website, then connect with us today and get access to testimonials from our previous clients so that you can be assured of the quality of our work. When you get in touch, we will listen closely to help develop your goals into achievable results. Everyone on our team is looking forward to bringing your project to life, so get in touch today and to schedule an initial discussion.
