Designing a Modern Website Your Customers Will Appreciate

Search the internet for modern website design and dozens of articles will pop up with a list of do’s and don’ts for building the most contemporary and effective website. What works for one brand may not necessarily work well for another, however. Since design is subjective, companies must decide what look and feel would best fit their brand, corporate model, and messaging, plus increase traffic, and ultimately turn clicks into measurable sales.

Whatever design a company chooses, they should understand that web design is one of the most important factors for the success of a website. Imagery, click or scroll, rotating or stacked sliders, content, and layout are just some considerations that factor into corporate image and credibility. It also influences conversions, bounce rate, and more.

Choosing a template that best matches your brand, making it mobile-friendly, plus giving site-speed a priority, are some of the big factors in VAI’s website design. A few others are discussed in this blog. I have also included a real-world customer example with commentary from VAI customer, David Jones, of Compass Health Brands.  

In a recent article on CMS Wire, I state that the biggest factors that lead to an exceptional customer experience are strong SEO, clear branding, simple messaging and language, and frictionless navigation.  

About SEO

Strong SEO should be considered up front, so customers can easily and quickly find your website with a simple search. SEO stands for “search engine optimization.” According to Moz, It is the practice of increasing both the quality and quantity of website traffic, as well as exposure to your brand, through non-paid (also known as "organic") search engine results. SEO will organically improve a website’s overall searchability and visibility, which is important because among other reasons, organic search is a primary method of website traffic, and the best way for your audience to find you.

So, Who are You?

Your customer must be able to tell what your brand is and what products and services you offer as soon as they enter your website, or else there’s immediate confusion and disconnect. You do not want that. A potential customer will leave your website as quickly as they found it, and most likely never to return, in search of more familiar competitors. If your brand is not recognizable, you must work at selling your business and your products. Be clear immediately, and make your first impression welcoming, and your offerings directly understood.

Easy Does It

The language and content on the website should enable users to easily locate tabs, pages, and places on the site where they can find what they are looking for.

Getting to and from those tabs and pages easily, effectively, and without friction is what rounds out a positive customer experience, which may lead to increased sales, and bigger bottom-line. You do want that.

Streamline and Simplify Ease of Use

Compass Health brands partnered with VAI to streamline and simplify the ease of use for the company’s website as well as boost e-commerce sales. Those goals could not be accomplished without easy navigation, relevant content, and analytics. The company needed to add efficiencies to its website enabling customers to order products on the web in addition to over the phone. The new VAI S2K eBusiness website application added product searching and ordering, which made the website more user friendly. Compass Health Brands saw a 25% increase in Average Online Order Value just within the first month that the new site was live. Additionally, analytics to track sales and website traffic has helped the company monitor sales and predict supply and demand to keep customers satisfied.

David Jones, Vice President, e-Commerce and Digital at Compass Health Brands, said “the bottom-line was that we needed to reduce user friction, simplify how to navigate the website, and make the experience easier and more pleasant for our customers. Ease and simplicity of navigation is by far the number one impact.”

Customers today know what they want, and they expect to find it quickly and easily. Building the right website for your business while adding the most critical modern components could really make a difference in your sales and growth.

 For more about VAI’s website design planning, contact John Albertelli at: jalbertelli@vai.net.

Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *
Name:
Email:*
Comment:*
Submit Cancel