5 tips for a high-converting website design

You’ll quickly see that the common theme in this post is simplicity. I’m a big fan of keeping things simple and in web design it couldn’t be more important. You always want to make it as easy as possible for your site’s visitors to navigate your website, know what they can find there and where to find it. So, here are my tips for a high converting website design!

1. Have an attractive design that matches your brand’s personality

Those first few milliseconds after your page has loaded and your web visitor gets their first overall impression of your site is critical. It only takes a few seconds before someone makes a decision to stay on a page and explore, or click that “back” button.

For a high converting website, it’s important to make sure that the way your website looks — right from the very first glance — is an accurate representation of what your business stands for. It should demonstrate the quality of your services, match the expectations of your target audience, and feel comfortable. Keep things uncluttered and minimise potential confusion. Again, the keyword of this post is simplicity.

Good design also goes beyond aesthetics alone. To build the best user experience possible, you want to look into things like site speed, keeping your software up-to-date and making sure your website is responsive i.e. is functional and looks good on mobile devices as well as on large screens.

2. Use images featuring people

Seeing another human’s face has a pretty powerful effect on us. Images of people capture the attention of viewers and triggers an emotional response. When web visitors see an image of a person, they can empathise with them and even place themselves in the situation they see.

They way the person or people in the images look will communicate how your brand wants to make its users feel. So, if the first person they see on the page looks confident and self-assured, it can tell visitors that the brand will help them feel confident and self-assured. If the people in the images look happy and relaxed, the visitors will try to relate to that.

While the images of people you use on your website don’t have to be of yourself to trigger these kinds of responses, using photos of yourself can be very useful to build authority and trust. Seeing the image of a person allows visitors to feel a connection that is difficult to replicate with words alone.

3. Use simple, compelling headlines

Your web visitors are far more likely to read the headlines on your site than any body copy. My advice is (again) to keep it uncomplicated. There’s no need to try and be too clever. Instead, just make sure you’re communicating the most important things:

what your business does
who it does it for
a benefit/feature than makes your business different or a better choice than other businesses

Write your headlines with your ideal client in mind. The majority of people passing through your website are probably not going to be buyers, so you don’t have to please everybody. Instead, talk to the ones who are most likely to want your services. Highlight the things that are important to them and try to focus on one, strong message. Don’t overwhelm your visitors with too many different benefits and features.

Also read: How to develop a brand voice that sells your services

4. Have a strong call to action

What do you want your site’s visitors to do? What’s the end-goal? Some examples include having a visitor:

fill out a contact form
opt into a free trial
book a call
join your email list
make a purchase

Whatever the goal is, make it as easy as possible for your web visitors to get there. High converting website designs use prominent buttons and compelling copy to draw the viewer’s eye. You should place these design elements in multiple places over your website. Your new visitors might not have enough trust in you to click that button the first time they see it, but you definitely want there to be another chance for them to take action later on after they’ve taken some time to browse through your site.

5. Make navigation easy and intuitive

You should try to keep the number of links in your menu to a minimum. Too many websites out there have crowded menus that just make it seem too easy too get lost and too difficult to find what you’re looking for.

It should be simple for visitors to know which pages they’ve visited and where they can find the information they need. You want to actually take the time to plan out your navigation and arrangement of pages before you build your site. You can do this with a simple sitemap so you can plot out a logical sequence of pages for your visitors to navigate through.

Keep your page names easy to understand. This is also better for SEO! While “Give us a shout” might sound fun, it might lead to some of your visitors wondering why they can’t see your “Contact” page. People browse sites at lightning speed these days, and anything that slows their progress by even a few seconds can be frustrating — not an emotion you want associated with your brand.

Last thoughts

Probably the most important thing to remember is that your website isn’t going to be a “set it and forget it” type of thing if you’re really serious about optimising its design and getting the highest conversions you can. There’s a lot of trial and error and testing involved until you find out what works best for your business.

These tips will give you an excellent starting point and if you want to get any further advice, you’re welcome to reach out and find out more about working with me.