Regardless of if your business website is to make you available for online searches or is aimed and converting sales, it’s an integral part of your operations. However, the online customer base is particularly scrutinous of websites – likely much more so than they would be of walking into a physical store. It’s simply too easy for someone to go to a website, find that it’s not absurdly convenient, and then bounce as a result.
In retail alone, 25.3 per cent of total sales were done via the internet, which shows a return to the usual continued growth after a drop from its 2021 peak. Having a modern, streamlined website is essential for keeping the attention of browsers as well as finding them in the first place. So here, we’re going through some steps that you can take to revitalise, modernise, and optimise your website to hopefully bolster your business.
Perfect your website design
One of the first things that your website’s visitors will notice is the design. The layout itself is very important as it will help your customers find what they need and catch the eye if you’re particularly image-driven. Furthermore, you need to ensure that your design leads to easy and, if possible, enjoyable navigation on both desktop and mobile.
Site features have become very highly rated among users, which is why reviewers of websites across several industries include these elements in their evaluations. You can even see this when it comes to the top site rankings for online casinos. For these, the reviewers want to see new technology, innovative design, and immersive elements. All of these help to give the feeling of a first-class experience – which every customer wants.
As it stands, there are three proven and popular web designs. A Flat Design makes everything look clear-cut, two-dimensional, and very smooth with its cut of textures and shadows. On the flip side, the Rich Design goes all-in on making it stand out, being more interactive with media elements that give a 3D effect to the experience. Finally, the Skeumorphic Design makes the website seem more lifelike by mimicking physical counterparts.
Speed is everything
Even before your potential customers get to experience your slick, helpful web design, website speed will have its say. Site speed is another way of saying site performance, which details how long it takes for one of your web pages to load fully and be fully functional. If a website loads quickly – as close to instantly as possible – people will stick around to explore because it’s not a drain on their time. Internet customers simply want convenience, and slow loading is not convenient.
In fact, Google found that have a load speed time of between one and three seconds can increase the bounce rate of visitors by nearly one-third. It seems absurd when spelt out like that, but you do notice when a web page takes longer than one second to load, particularly because the most popular sites don’t take that long. Luckily, there are many ways to speed up your website’s performance.
Plug-ins are the go-to way to up your speed. WP Fastest Cache helps to keep your page static and accessible if it’s one that can be updated and changed regularly – such as one hosting reviews. To increase overall performance, and your website is on WordPress, turn to WP Rocket. A lifesaver for so many businesses, the plug-in comes with a whole host of beginner-friendly features that will fine-tune your platform for speed.
Putting SEO front and centre
Now, customers will almost certainly not put the search engine optimisation of a website high on their demands list, and yet, without strong SEO, many won’t even find your website. Some small businesses with loyal and dedicated customer bases can dance around SEO to an extent, but to really push your website as modern and streamlined, you need to think SEO first. It’ll benefit your business and those looking for the products and services that you provide.
Not only is SEO optimisation incredibly cost-effective, but it’s also proven to bring in more viewers and customers. Of course, ranking highly will draw in clicks, which means that your website will then need to impress on the two points above to land the sales. It has been found that the overwhelmingly dominant search engine has now learned how to interpret a good user experience, which plays into its search results.
There are many businesses and freelancers who can help your website achieve the best SEO possible, but for a quicker, more cost-effective fix, you can turn to a couple of plug-ins. Yoast SEO is the most famous one, allowing you to edit meta titles and descriptions, and take linking suggestions. You could also turn to the Google Search Console, which offers a set of tools and services to help you pump up your website.
Modernising your web design, performance, and approach to SEO can all greatly amp up the quality and appeal of your business online.
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