If there's one thing that will tank your company's customer reviews
faster than bad products, it's a bad website. If you've got a confusing
website it doesn't matter how great your products are compared
to the competition. No one's going to buy any. The sad fact is for every
great company website on the internet today there are probably a hundred bad ones,
and it's unnecessary because the problems are so easy to fix. To keep your
website off the naughty list, follow these simple tips on website
design.
Unless You're Selling Ibuprofen, Don't Give Them a Headache
Sure-fire ways to cause customer headaches include: confusing or un intuitive
site navigation, overly bright colors, fancy fonts, animated icons, and background
music. Keep the flashy kitsch to a minimum and focus on the essentials: getting
your message across. Functional add-ons, like an application that helps you
make your house plans virtually
or a paint swatch color matcher are fine, just make sure they help showcase
your product rather than drown it underneath cheap theatrics. You don't want
your customers thinking your work can't stand on its own.
Assume Your Customers Have the Attention Spans of Chimps
So nix that fifteen page explanation of how buying quality artwork is going
to affect your customer's portfolio. Your customers'
attention is going to wander after the first line and keep going from there.
To keep them focused, the only information that needs to be on your website
is the description of your product or service and how the customer can go about
buying it. If you really must post peripheral or related information, make sure
it's not taking precedence over what's really important.
Add Services for Shut-ins and the Chronically Friendless
This means if it's at all possible to add a function that allows customers
to book services or order products online, DO IT. Many people today, especially the up-and-coming generations, are extremely phone
shy and are much more likely to inquire if there's a contact email rather than a phone number. The added revenue
from setting up online payment service and the shipping account with the post
office you'll need to distribute your product will be more than covered
by the added revenue you'll get.
Those Who Can Do, Those Who Can't Hire
If you want a virtual tour on your website but can't program in computer code, DO NOT settle for slapping
up a couple of pictures in HTML. People expect high end products to have high
end websites, so if you're computer illiterate it's well worth your
while to hire someone who is not to design the site. Don't cheap out on a
domain name and go with ad-loaded free hosting either. It will just make you
look cheap. Shell out the money for a website name that's appropriate.
It's worth it.
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