So,
you’ve got your website and you probably think it looks great. But is it doing
what it’s supposed to do, which is bringing in cash from new buyers and keeping
existing customers coming back for more.
Digital
marketing agency Massiv’s Tyrone Probert has been explaining some of the whys
of website design. It’s all been worked out with some clever research which
tracks the eyes of website viewers.
Probert
writes: “Design needs to be visually pleasing to the eye but functional too.
How do you get your visitors to transform into customers? How do you get them
to navigate their way through the buying process? Good architecture, design and
an understanding of how people interact with websites all help you make sales.”
He’s
distilled the research into 15 simple lessons, all of which can be easily
assessed against your own website.
Here
they are:
- People look at headlines more than pictures.
- As with books, we naturally start at the top left hand corner of a site.
- Viewers tend to tune out banners.
- All those beautifully designed fonts may be a waste – people ignore them.
- Once viewers get to the bottom of a web page they’re generally just scanning.
- Short paragraphs hold the attention better than long ones.
- The ads which get most views are at the top or on the left of your page.
- Putting an ad within or just below attention grabbing content means more people look at it.
- People are more likely to look at pictures if they’re large.
- Menus and buttons are looked at for longer than anything else.
- Even better than short paragraphs are lists – did you skip down to this list?
- Some readers will just ignore large areas of text.
- Headlines help focus attention on text.
- Negative - or blank – space works, so don’t be afraid of ‘gaps’.
- Menus are most effective when they’re towards the top of your page.
While
your eyes should follow these rules too, when you look at your own website
you’re going to bring an insider’s perspective and pick up on things a casual
customer may never see. Try looking at a website you would use as a customer
and see how you read it.
Toolkit Websites are bespoke website designers in Southampton, Hampshire, UK. Get in touch today and see how we can help your business grow.