I got an email newsletter, found very interesting, so sharing the post as it is here:
Recession is characterized by subdued demand and tendency of buyers to seek ‘value for their money’. With the average human attention span being less to 10 seconds, a website only has little time to convey this ‘value’ to its intended audience. And it takes more than just an appealing design to be able to do so.
The following points are collated to help website owners to facilitate conversions and increase repeat visitors; in times like these, you need it more than ever.
1: Look ‘n’ feel
The ‘look and feel’ of a website is very important to its success. While ‘look’ refers to the layout, color, sound, in short graphic design, ‘feel’ refers to its functionality and usability. Only a perfect blend of these two elements would help you deliver your message within the frame work set out by your company.
2: Accessibility
The ease of navigation would allow visitors to access your website in a holistic manner, thus increasing the maturity rate. The links and sub links should be easily accessible to the visitors, thus helping them to find relevant information. It is imperative that the links and sub links are presented in a defined manner so as to provide ease to the visitors. Navigational links such as “click here”, “contact us”, “view more products”, “details”, etc., prove to be beneficial in directing the visitors to the appropriate pages. Also, ‘Breadcrumbs’ provide an effective navigational map helping user to move back and forth without getting lost.
3: Sitemaps
The importance of XML sitemap for search engine is well known but search engine crawlers are not the only ones that require a sitemap. People visiting your website i.e human being also require a map to help them navigate through the website without getting lost. As a tourist visiting a new destination, you would never forget to carry a guide map. Similarly most website visitors are new to your website and therefore require a sitemap.
4: Use of contact forms
Use of contact form, along with furnishing relevant contact information, is of great help. A contact form, designed to incorporate all the necessary fields, is an added functionality to your website. The contact form delivers dual benefits to website owners:
- The visitors are able to place their queries directly.
- You can keep a record of such visitors in your database.
It is however essential to remember that the fields should be validated properly and mandatory fields are marked using symbols such as asterisk. Sending automated mails to confirm the receipt of inquiry and the tentative response time is sure to make your customers happy.
5: Content is king
Content is the most vital component and marketing tool for any website. The content present on the websites should be capable of providing adequate information to the visitors. The content must be carefully distributed all throughout the website making it more organized and thus appealing to visitors. It is also mandatory to embed specific/targeted keywords in your website content. This will help you achieve your online marketing objective. A site that has crisp, tidy and persuasive content will definitely have more visitors converting into customers.
6: Scalability
Robustness and flexibility for future enhancements are also crucial to web designing. It is crucial that the website is designed and developed keeping future considerations/enhancement in mind. The website should have room for additional modules and functionality.
7: Minimize load time
As stated earlier, the average human attention span is short and is headed south. If the website fails to load quickly, it is most likely that the visitor would deviate from your website, never to come back. Apart from server configuration and adequate bandwidth, it is also important to code websites in such a fashion that it loads quickly on all browsers.
And here is a bonus tip for you, keeping in mind the festive season of ‘caring and sharing’.
No over run with ads: Every entrepreneur tries to monetize their website in the best possible way, advertisement being one revenue generating avenue. However, care should be taken not to overdo it because it can potentially put your customers ‘off’. Too many ads can create an impression that ads are more important that the visitors.
I am sure you can think of many more ways to monetize and capitalize on your website during this economic downturn. However, never should you forget that all these processes are going to be iterative in nature.
Source: Newsletters
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