To foster engagement and drive conversion, your website must be intuitive to navigate and provide real value to users.
Does your website bring your business results? Is it functioning as well as it could be?
Sure, you have the goods, but if it’s not easy for users to get to your site then they won’t see them.
To foster engagement and drive conversion, your website must be intuitive to navigate and provide real value to users.
At Assemblo, we look at websites through five different lenses to provide recommendations based on these different objectives.
With that in mind, here are our five top tips for creating an effective website:
1. Attraction
It doesn’t matter how well made a website is – if your users can’t find it, it’s redundant.
How your site appears in search engines and social media is often the first point of contact a customer has with your brand.
A fast, bug-free, well-built website ensures you don’t lose users when they first arrive, but also helps your website’s performance in search engines. Pairing a well-crafted article feed with a rich content strategy leveraged via social media will also attract users from all areas.
Looking at a website through the lens of visibility, we review bugs, site speed and load times, SEO and currency.
Currency is the frequency and recency that your website is updated. This is seen by users as a trust indicator, and by Google as a quality indicator. A common way to achieve this is to create regular, high-quality posts and articles – which is why content has become such a critical part of any marketing strategy.
2. Navigation
Once users have arrived at your website, it’s important to make it easy for them to find what they’re looking for. They should be able to access key information with as few clicks as possible from any point on your site.
Language and user experience (UX) are vital here, as many customers will look elsewhere if it’s hard to find what they need.
You never want to reach a point where your user needs to manually hit the back button on their browser or scroll back up the page.
A well-made on-site search feature is a great way to help users find what they’re looking for – make sure to curate your search!
Many search tools allow you to log failed user searches which can be an excellent way to review and refine results for future users.
3. Conversion
Conversion is one of the key functions of a website.
Whether it’s an online order, sales enquiry or a piece of information, conversion is crucial.
Beyond leading users to what they’re looking for, take users towards the action that you want them to take.
An effective conversion website strikes the balance between information and conversion. Be careful not to sell too hard – instead build up the trust and desire to buy, which may take several return visits to your site.
Getting your conversions right requires nuance.
We employ the right style of language, funnel users towards conversions, make forms easy to use, and ensure contact information is easy to find.
4. Retention
Users may not be ready to convert on their first visit, so it’s important to offer other avenues to capture them or keep them returning to your website.
User retention can be powerful and provide opportunities for ongoing marketing. Retention is also an important part of the customer buying cycle.
Capture email addresses and share a regular email newsletter driven by educational content rather than sales. These articles can drive users back to your website, where you can include links that lead users to sales-focused messaging.
Retargeted advertising can also reach users based on content they have (and haven’t) seen. Messaging can be tailored based on where they dropped off, too. Price too high? Offering a 10% off voucher might entice them back. Dropped off on a sales page? Sharing an article about the benefits of the product or service may answer their questions.
5. Continuous improvement
The online space is constantly evolving, and to remain competitive in your industry you need to continuously improve.
You can do this via data and setting up reporting tools to gain insights into how your website is used and how you can enhance content.
Some tools to consider:
- Capture data with reporting tools like Google Tag Manager, Google Search Console and Google Analytics
- Track real-time data with Google Data Studio, Megalytic or Tableau
- Clickmapping and heatmapping tools like Crazy Egg or Hotjar help you see where people are clicking, where they spend their time, and where they drop off
- With split testing tools like Google Optimise, you can learn which version of a page is more effective and put those changes into action.
Connect with the website experts
Need help getting your website into shape? Assemblo is a full-service marketing agency based in Melbourne that can help you elevate your online presence.
We can assist with website builds from inception through to regularly maintaining an online presence.
To find out more, give us a call us on (03) 9079 2555 or get in touch via our contact form below.