R.O.I. MEDIA

Many website creators are under the impression that an attractive and clever website design is all that’s required to achieve high. While website design certainly forms an integral part of improving your conversion rate, there is so much more to conversion than visual appeal.

A good starting point is to look at what conversion really is.

Quite simply, your conversion rate is the percentage of people that visit your site as browsers and leave as customers. More subtle definitions relate to the percentage of people that visit your site and take a positive action – such as, signing up for a newsletter or making an enquiry.

A good way to understand the relationship between web design and conversion is to compare them to architectural design and Feng Shui. (Even if you’re not a believer in the art of Feng Shui bear with us for the sake of the comparison).

While architectural design is purely about the look of the place, where the architect uses his skill to create the home the client desires, taking Feng Shui techniques into account when designing the house improves (according to proponents of the art) utilisation of space and the flow within the building structure, leading to greater productivity.

So, with conversion techniques being applied by the designer at the time of website creation, the new site won’t just look great, but will achieve the goal of increased conversion due to better structure and flow throughout the site.

Let’s look at some of these techniques.

Design with the user in mind:

It’s great to have a dynamic site that blows caution to the wind and breaks out of the mould – that’s the stuff award winning sites are made of. However, don’t forget your user also needs to feel comfortable enough on your site so that s/he doesn’t get lost or irritated looking for standard tools like navigation menus, login and search boxes that are put in unexpected, hard-to-find places. As with fashion design, we love looking at cutting-edge haut couture on the runway – but we don’t want to wear those outlandish designs when driving to work or dining out – we want style and comfort combined.

Ensure your user has an enjoyable experience on your site, not a frustrating or confusing one.

Create desire for your product or service by showing real value:

Aspects such as feature selection, product guarantees and user benefits all work together to create desire in your browsers that will turn them into buyers. This is not a once-off process; these tools need to be refined and optimised regularly. This is the way to maximise your online profits and make your venture lucrative.

The back-end (eCommerce engine) is the brains behind the ‘beauty’ of your site. A good web designer will make sure your site’s back-end functions are instrumental towards customer retention and client conversion.

Employ a web designer who understands conversion:

If your designer makes the most eye-catching, stunning sites ever, but doesn’t have the knowledge and expertise pertaining to conversion, your online venture could be doomed to die and leave nothing but the good looking corpse of your website.

Choose your web designer carefully and your website will be created as the silent salesman it should be – attracting customers, holding their interest and guiding them to make the purchase.