It is a given in today’s world that businesses have to have a presence on the web. The problem is that many businesses do not update the style of their pages. There are still sites out there like look like the 90s through up on an internet server, for instance. If you are looking more responsive web design these are some things you can do to improve your website.
- Go into your redesign with a plan. You may have it in your head that you are interested in a more responsive web design but are not sure what to do with that idea. Before you do anything with your webpage, make a real plan. Spend some time thinking about how you want your site to look, in what ways it can help the people you hope to spend time there and what your specific goals for your website are. Without this step, you will not be able to get you where you want to be with it. Remember the saying, “a failure to plan is a plan to fail.”
- Make sure your site loads quickly. It should come as no surprise that people today do not have a long attention span. Between all of things we have in our lives that are competing for our attention and time, it is hard to get anyone to stay focused on any one thing for any real length of time. This is never more apparent than in how long people give a webpage to load before they give up on it. You have mere seconds with your visitors. If your site does not load almost immediately, you will lose them.
- White space is your friend. In the early days of the web, sites had as much stuff on them as could be crammed onto the screen. Bells and pieces were everywhere. White space, or blank space as it really is, can help people digest the materials on your site without becoming too overwhelmed. There are people out there who still like the old look from the 1990s that had all the bells and whistles. Cleaner and less clutter webpages look more professional and well put together.
- Make it easier for your visitors to share your. Part of good, responsive web design makes it possible for people to share your content with their social networks through icons on your site. The more easy you make it for them to let the people they know that they have visited your site and liked what they saw, the more likely they are going to do just that.
- Ask visitors to do something. This is called a “call to action.” If people come to your site, ask the to do something. Common calls to action are links to places where people can get more information, suggestions for them to contact you for a consultation or trial, requests for them to sign up or to watch a video.
- Use high quality images. A lot of companies think they can go with free images from sharing sites but they ca look cheesy. It can cost more to get professional photos taken but they can make a big difference. Keep in mind that at least 50% of all people who use the web say they judge a company’s professionalism on how its website look. When you think about your website as a reflection of how serious a company you run, you will see the value added that you will get when you put better images on your page.
- Add local wording. If you run a brick and mortar business, your small business web design needs to include local terms so people in your area can find you. This should be part of your search engine optimization (SEO) strategy and search engine marketing.
- Make your site look great on mobile devices. People today access the internet more often on a mobile device than a traditional computer. No matter what kind of business you run, you need people to be able to access your site from their mobile device in order for your website to be helpful for your bottom line.
No responsive web design is ever really finished. You will always have to test and tweak your site to keep it effective.
