Website Design for Customers

Yes, believe it or not, your website design should not concentrate on what you want or what you would like to see in your website, but it is about what your customers want from your website and its design. You can get website designers to make great looking website for yourself, however you cannot get customers to visit and re-visit your website just because you have got a great looking website or you cannot convert visitors in customers just because you have a great looking website design. Neither do you need a website that offers a lot of functionality if your customers don’t need that functionality. If you are selling flowers, the functionality your customers desire from your website will be different to the functionality available on a tyre manufacturer’s website. So in simple terms you need to develop a website design and functionality that your customers expect from your type of business.

What should I be aiming at?

Even before you go to a see a website designer to undertake website design for your business, I would recommend that you do your fieldwork.

It would be useful to understand:

• Who your audience is: This probably is the most important step before you go and see a website designer to develop a website for your company. You have to understand who your audience is. Try and estimate who are the people who would regularly come to my website?
• What does my audience expect: once you identify your audience, the next step is to understand what your audience expects from your website design? Understanding this will not only help you understand the path you should take with your website design, but will also help you explain your requirement to your website designer.
• What will bring my audience back: An important aspect of a good website design and a successful website is the ability to bring the visitors back. In marketing terms, it is like customer retention. For any business it is important to retain customer loyalty, similarly for any successful website, the ability to bring back your customers is paramount. Customer loyalty leads to increase in traffic. Look at some of the successful websites around you: amazon.com, Youtube, myspace. The success of these websites is an example of the power of customer retention and referrals. If you analyse the website design of these sites, it is fairly simple but it offers its visitors what they need: products and services that matter to their audience.

If you think through the above points, you will realise that a lot of information is already available to you (especially if you are an established business). Your website in many terms is an extension of your physical business. The above mentioned information should be available to you in terms of corporate knowledge. Talk to your sale people, look at your customer files and your sales pattern, try and source information from your suppliers. For a new business, it could include analysing your competitors.

In conclusion, I would remind you that try and understand your market before you undertake any part of website design or website development process. Without knowing your market you won’t be able to communicate your requirement to your website designer. It is important to go through this process before you start website development instead of re-inventing the loop after your have developed your website and realised after one year that you are not getting enough leverage from your web design. At the end of the day you will only achieve from your website design what you tell your website designer.

Article resource: http://www.sigmainfotech.com.au/articles/designforcustomers.html

Error 404 – Conceal It With Humor!

The message: “Sorry – The requested URL was not found on this server” is the most annoying statement that users encounter while surfing your site. This may be due to the web server’s inability to locate a specific link either because it’s a broken link or because the link address no longer exists.

You can convert the irritability of this error into smile. How? Simply by humoring it up a little. Below I’ve listed some of the funniest 404 errors, tactfully made by webmasters to retain their users smile and not let it turn into a frown. Check em’ out and try spicing up your 404 page with the same trick.

Website Design – Little Things That Matter, But You Miss Out!

Putting up your website on the internet may expose your business to a large audience base, but it also means you’ve stepped into a tough and vast market competition if you wish to make that audience your long term customers. The solution to win this battle lies in crafting such a web design that instantly appeals every visitor landing on your website. Offering perfect services to your visitors and having valuable content on your website will remain worthless unless you boost them up with a stunning web design.

If you happen to be a logical person, you must also know how important a design means to your website. But you may not know that there are many little things that you may overlook in all the “I want a good design” hype - and end up having a not-so-good design for you users.

How to identify these little details? Here I’ve listed a few things related to a website design that never go unnoticed by visitors…so why should they be missed by YOU! Read along and make your website design a knock-out.

• What’s the website about?

A failed website is the one that gives your visitor a feeling of “what is their business anyway?” or “how may I contact these guys?” Your visitor should instantly know what you are offering when they arrive at your website, and this is exactly what’s going to earn you some credibility in their eyes. If these basic elements are missing from your website, you seriously need to whack up your web designer!

• What’s In It For Them?

Honestly speaking, users have no interest in what YOU are, as they have their OWN problems that need solutions. If your website succeeds to provide them the solution they are looking for, half of your problems are solved. The “you” element can be boasted in a separate “About Us” page of the site, which is yours in every way to use and the interested visitors can view if they really want to know about you and your successes.

• Where’s the search option?

Do you have a search option on your website? No? Well you better be kidding me. Normally a user does not have enough time to click on every link to reach their desired destination, and seek the help of search options within the websites. If you don’t have one, you’ll be missing on a great deal of customers landing on your website.

• I’m pretty darn lost :(

Keep the navigation (link structure) very very clear, simple and intuitive. Don’t mess up your visitor with complex navigation because if they don’t find something easily, they have every right to dump your website and move on to another.

• Why isn’t it loading?

Extensive loading time is the biggest turn-off you can give to your visitors, and I’ve witnessed many wonderful sites suffer because of this very aspect. If you keep those flashy images to the minimum, you’re done sorting this issue for good.

Keep these few tips in mind, and I’m sure your customers will be much more satisfied with your website design, and you’ll be able to gain more credibility among your potential visitors. After all, it’s the people that matter the most!