A good place to start when you’re thinking about website design is to consider your own experience of searching on the Internet. It is estimated that 90% of Americans shop on-line at some point, so you’re bound to have some personal experience. You probably already know what really works for you and what drives you crazy. From here, you can start to analyse your own client base and work around what you think will be effective for them.
Know your customer
It’s important to remember that, although the Internet is so popular, the majority of people aren’t that computer literate. In fact, research shows that 35% of people fail to execute the most simple of tasks. It’s because of this that you need to ensure that your site is user-friendly and not too complex for your potential customer. Likewise, if your pages are too busy with lots of text in a small font, you’re likely to put off those who find their way to your site. People don’t like to have to read too much, or to scroll and click extensively – particularly not until you’ve caught their attention and engaged their interest.
If you get it right, the rewards are tremendous. Again, stats show that 18% of people will recommend your site to their friends if they have a good experience and find your website useful. If you’re not sure how to go about this, having a professional website development company in Dallas to assist your business will be a great investment.
The factors a development company will consider
Most important is usually the ease of navigation on a site, and the rapidity with which people are likely to leave your site if they find it even slightly unintelligible. You also need to know your customers really well, as well as the brand of your company, so that people will immediately recognize who you are through your graphics and communication. Professionals also know where to place your copy, based on the pattern people take when reading a website – which is similar to how people read books. Content is also extremely important, but the other factors have to be in place first. The best copy will be wasted if the layout of your site and its usability aren’t already in place.
