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If you were to
walk into a business establishment, but you couldn't
find the products that were being offered for sale or
someone that could help you, chances are pretty good
that you would leave, right? When you look at a website
that's poorly designed, the same things happened.
Visitors who can't immediately figure out a website are
more than likely going to go back to the web search page
to see what other sites are available. It's a matter of
creating a user friendly site – and here's how you can
do it.
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Step #1:
Think Less is More
Many businesses think that adding a lot of bells and
whistles to a website is the way to increase their
customer traffic. When you have a lot of graphics, Java
applications, and other add-ons, you're not only going
to confuse your visitor, but you are also going to
overwhelm them. These are distractions that will make
your website load slowly and, for some visitors, it may
not load at all.
You need to start thinking about creating a website
where less is more. You want to include the things that
your customer needs in order to learn more about your
business and to buy products or schedule services.
Everything else is taking away from the basic goals of
your business – which is also taking away your ability
to make money.
Here are some things that you will want to remove from
your website, or at least from the home page. Visitors
make their decisions about your website from the first
page they see, so this is where you need to quickly
establish a professional impression.
Step #2:
Remember the Basic Things Your Customer Needs
Like the first step, you need to realize that less is
more. There are only a few things that a customer needs
when they enter your site:
-
A home page
that identifies who you are and what you sell
-
An About Us
page that talks about the company
-
A list of
products
-
A way to pay
for things
-
A place to
get help or contact information
Try to look at
this list as a check list of the things you absolutely
have to include in order to be user friendly. These are
things that a website visitor is going to look for, so
when you don't include them, you will confuse them and
often make them look for another website that is more
accessible in terms of their needs.
Step #3: Make Sure Contact Information/Help is
Available
A way to contact you can be as simple as an email
address, while other websites have 'live' support desks.
In most cases, as long as there is a way for a customer
to get help, this will help them in their experience
with you. You might want to include a FAQ or frequently
asked questions section that will help them with basic
queries, while offering an email address for more
complicated questions. A phone number is another easy
way for customers to contact you and for them to feel
like you are always available for their needs.
Extra Credit: Look to Other Successful Websites
If you still aren't sure what to include and what not to
include on your website, look at other websites that you
frequent. You will notice this formula is the same. They
offer simple ways to access different features, without
being confusing or too energetic.
You can also include a comments section for visitors to
tell you about their website experience so that you can
make adjustments as necessary too.
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