How do you make your website stand out? The events of the last couple of years have driven more people than ever to shop online. As a result, businesses have been creating or upgrading their web presences, and the number of sites vying for your customers’ attention (and money) has likely soared.
So, how do you make sure yours is the website on which they choose to stay? We’ve got eight tips to help you stand out from the competition.
Make it easily searchable
You might have the best range of products or the best pricing, but if people can’t find what they are looking for quickly, they won’t stick around to find out. Don’t hide your search tool – make sure it’s in an obvious spot and that your site’s search engine works properly and returns relevant results. Check that your search bar doesn’t do annoying things like requiring the customer to delete the dummy text before entering their own!
Make it user-friendly
Good user experience (UX) is crucial for a successful website. Clean, uncluttered design and an intuitive menu structure will help people navigate your site and retrieve the information they’re after quickly and easily. Make sure your checkout process isn’t long and confusing. There’s a UX rule of thumb that states every page on a site should be accessible in three clicks or fewer – try to stick to that wherever possible.
Make it mobile-friendly
Remember that around 70% of your customers will be using a phone or tablet to access your site. A responsive design will scale to any size of mobile device screen and still be usable. Mobile responsiveness is also critical for search engine optimisation (SEO) – Google will not index sites that only work on a desktop.
Make it fast
In today’s age of instant gratification, customers are quick to abandon a slow-loading website. If your pages take more than a couple of seconds to load, there’s a high chance your customer will give up and go elsewhere. (Page loading speed is also important for SEO.) For more information, check out our blog about website speed.
Make it interesting
Publish a regular blog with informative and helpful content about your products or services. For example, if you sell indoor plants, a series of care guides for your most popular species, or usage instructions for your horticultural products, will go down well with your audience and help to increase your organic search traffic.
Make it authentic
Be yourself! In your web content, your blogs, your branding… show some personality. If your content is bland and generic, it won’t be memorable. Tell your story on your “About” page so that your customers understand why you do what you do. Quirky team bios with photos help people relate to you.
Make it about the customer
Whenever a customer looks at your products or services, they’ll be wondering, “What’s in it for me?” Make sure your content is customer-focused. Don’t just list a product’s features – let your customer know what problems it solves for them. Does it save them time or money? Does it make their life easier in some way? Use case studies or testimonials to illustrate the benefits.
Make it different
It’s a great idea to do a little bit of investigative work. Have a look at your competitors’ websites. Take note of what they do well and what they do badly. Are they all much the same? If so, consider what you could do differently. Have a look at our blog for five easy and free ways to check out your competition.
If you’re creating a new website for your business and would like some help standing out from the crowd, get in touch with Moreweb today!
