This post was originally published on 5/25/24 and has been updated on 1/21/25 for accuracy, relevancy, and fresh visuals.
The idea of a brand is that it’s the personality, identity and reputation that people see and experience with your business. It’s not the operations part. It’s the soul part.
The style and functionality of your website is one of the key ways your brand shows up in the marketplace. What first impression does your website make to a visitor who clicked to view it? The first few seconds will determine if they’ll stay, and the rest of the content and features will influence if they make a purchase.
It’s like a first date - you have to show your credibility within seconds to inspire trust (no pressure!).
If your website looks like it’s having a style crisis, is user-UNfriendly, or leaves people feeling confused or frustrated in any way, then you’ll lose your date. I mean sale.
What do website visitors need to have a great user-experience?
They should be able to:
Understand everything they need to about what you offer, with clearly outlined products or services.
Research further by viewing information-rich content without having to leave your website. For example, having relatable and engaging text on the site pages, blogs, FAQs, showing comparisons to leading competitors, benefits, use cases, and specifications, all allow the visitor to get what they need from your site.
Electronically contact you, make a purchase or schedule an appointment.
People have so many options for everything now, so it’s not enough just to offer a terrific product or service. We have to woo our customers by capturing their attention and making a genuine connection to what they need. In a post-pandemic world and in an ongoing, tense political climate, people are craving more structure and stability in every area of life. Can I get an amen from the back row? It makes sense that the feelings you inspire in people are what’s actually memorable and sets you apart from competitors.
Your sales increase the more you’re able to empower your website visitor to linger on your website with an engaging user experience.
How do I get visitors to spend more time on my website?
The content clearly conveys who you are, what you do, and how you do it in a way that resonates with your ideal customer. Explore more about being relatable here.
The style follows modern design standards (not necessarily trendy, unless that’s what your ideal customer needs to engage with you).
The site structure makes sense without having to think about it, and the visitor can intuitively find everything they need.
The site is secure and has an SSL certificate. The URL begins with https: (FYI: Google uses this as a ranking signal and prioritizes secure sites in Search results. Great news - Wix includes SSL certificates on every plan at no additional charge.)
The photo quality throughout the site is strong, which leaves an impression about the quality of service they can expect to receive.
Mobile users have the same experience as desktop users. (Note: In many industries, mobile users account for the majority of visitors!)
They are given the ability to complete as many actions on the site as possible without leaving it, like research, complete a purchase, book appointments, and make contact.
Trust really is a huge factor.
With the emergence of all things AI (artificial intelligence), people seem to find the conveniences interesting and helpful, but we also find ourselves more skeptical than ever of what we see. Is that a real cheeseburger in the ad? (Nope.) Can goats really climb trees? (Absolutely.)
It’s not about fancy design trends either. Those are often more about the designer’s artistic expression, with puzzling navigation for the sake of being clever, or creating movement and colors that could make your eyes twitch for the sake of catching attention. Elements like that completely exclude people who need accessibility accommodations, and aren’t really even helpful to any user at the end of the day.
If you’re interested, you can take a peek at the 2024 website trends currently out there, and you’ll find style categories like brutalism, ultra-minimalism, revivalism, retrofuture femme and cinemagraphs. All these collections really just say this:
The style of your site should be an authentic reflection of your brand’s identity and created in a way that resonates with your ideal audience.
The website experience you offer your ideal audience makes the difference if they choose your company to work with instead of a competitor. Make it user-friendly, and be sure it reflects the soul of your brand.
Contact us for a free analysis and consultation. We will make an honest recommendation based on 15 years of experience. Join the many businesses we’ve helped succeed with over 160+ Five-Star Google reviews to prove it.
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