Be Special

A business web design is more than just a box to check off your to-do list – it’s a vital element of online marketing that deserves your utmost attention. It provides customers with the first impression of your brand and gives them a lasting experience that will turn them into repeat customers (or one-time visitors).

When giving people a positive first impression, you also want to be sure that you’re giving them a unique one. It’s essential that you differentiate yourself from the top competitors within your niche.

Here are a few ways to stand out online and take a few of those sales away from the competition.

Navigation, Navigation, Navigation

When it comes to brick and mortar businesses, you’ve probably heard that the most important thing is location, location, location.

And when it comes to online businesses, the key is navigation.

Every aspect of your web design should be focused on customers seamlessly navigating from one page to the next as you strategically guide them closer to the final purchase. Do your research and run some A/B tests to see what your traffic responds to when it comes to landing pages and button placements.

Keep options to a minimum

Because the entire goal of your website is to get visiting traffic to become converting customers, you should keep the decisions people have to make to a minimum.

Huge corporations such as Costco use this practice by giving members fewer choices so that their shopping experience is easier. Like many things, your web service company will most likely be decided by your budget.

So when you walk into Costco and ketchup is on your grocery list, you’re looking at one brand in two sizes. That’s it. Now, if you go to the grocery store down the road and take a gander at the ketchup selection, you’ll find that you have thirty choices or so that range in brands, sizes, ingredients, and flavor profiles.

By the time you’ve made decisions in all of the other aisles and ketchup is the last thing on your list, you might be overwhelmed and just pass on the purchase.

The same thing goes with web designs. The less overwhelming you make your site choices, the more conversions you’ll get.

For example, say you have nine choices for the navigation header, and they are:

• Coffee

• About

• Start Here

• Blog/News

• Contact Us

• Pricing

• FAQ

• Login

• Services

• Shop

When someone lands on your homepage, they have a lot of places they can choose to go. But honestly, you want them to go straight to the store or your services page. That means that you have to narrow down what you showcase on that navigation bar and maybe only show two:

• Start Here

• Login

This gives people who visit your site two choices (really it leaves visitors with one option because they are going to be a member and can log in, or they can’t, and they have to click on Start Here). Once they click start here, you can work your copy and navigation skills to continue guiding them without the distraction of too many directions to go in.

Create catchy and informative lead magnets

Designing a lead magnet on the static home page that offers an incentive in exchange for subscribing to your email list will help you stand out above the noise. Be transparent about what you’re offering and make sure it’s something that people want whether it’s a detailed how-to or an ultimate product guide.

While you may have lead magnet pop-ups on other areas of your website, make the one for your home page static because it’s harder to brush off the offer when it has a fixed location. It’s going to be the third and final option for people to choose from when they’re ready to learn a little more about your brand.

When in doubt – keep it simple

There are a million ways you can adjust your web design and just like standing in the ketchup aisle, it can get overwhelming. The best rule of thumb is to keep it straightforward and clean, and you’ll keep customers happy.