An interesting web site design is essential, however you possibly can’t lose sight of what your web site is actually for: to transform visitors into lead-form submissions, cellphone calls, physical-location visits, contact-form submissions and gross sales. With out these actions, your enterprise won’t generate income. Naturally, the extra conversions your web site produces, the extra income your small business goes to provide.

I not too long ago sat down for a morning cup of espresso with a good friend that wished me to audit his firm’s web site. Its conversion numbers had been extraordinarily low and  my pal was keen to make any vital modifications to enhance these numbers. Listed below are six takeaways from our dialog you could implement to enhance your conversion charges.

1. GO FOR A RESPONSIVE DESIGN.

Roughly 31 % of all visitors to the highest 10 digital properties got here from cellular units, in line with ComScore’s 2015 US Digital Future in Focus examine. This quantity, whereas already important, will preserve growing. In case your web site doesn’t present a pleasing cell expertise you’re capturing your self within the foot.

A responsive web site design (RWD) adapts to suit any display — desktops, laptops, smartphones and tablets — in a method that makes all pages, options and actions accessible, no matter which units the consumer is looking on. Are you going to sit down there and attempt to manipulate your cellular display to learn the content material or entry a proposal? After all not, and neither will your clients.

2. SELECT A EASY DESIGN OVER COMPLICATED NOISE.

Years in the past web-design developments had been excessive — a number of animation and flash had been all the trend. Right now, clear and easy flat designs are in style. Manufacturers used to go overboard attempting to impress guests with quirky options, whereas at this time‘s shoppers respect a pleasant, clear structure.

Impress your guests together with your content material and choices. Bombarding them with pointless flash and animation not solely annoys them, but it surely additionally slows down the load time of your web site.

3. SAY NO TO INVENTORY PHOTOGRAPHS.

First, let me say that inventory pictures are nice for some issues, akin to your weblog posts. In a earlier column I listed a number of sources of free high-quality inventory photographs. Nevertheless, they don’t belong in your firm’s “About” web page.

I cringe once I see a web site that makes use of painfully phony inventory photographs on pages that describe what the enterprise does or the people behind it. If you wish to embrace pictures of your crew, rent knowledgeable photographer and e book studio time.

Customers aren’t going to have a lot confidence in a enterprise that’s making an attempt to convey their experience and professionalism utilizing inventory photographs.

4. PRESERVE YOUR NAVIGATION EASY.

When customers land in your web site they want to have the ability to discover what they’re searching for inside two seconds. If they’ve to look any longer than that they’re going to change into pissed off and discover one other web site.

Maintain your navigation menu so simple as attainable. Too many choices will overwhelm your guests. You have to have a transparent path to no matter motion it’s you need your guests to finish, whether or not it’s a submission type or a selected vacation spot web page.

5. DON’T MAKE IT TOUGH FOR A POSSIBLE BUYER TO CONTACT YOU.

Whereas a telephone quantity is all the time a fantastic concept, many customers would somewhat contact a enterprise via its web site, particularly if they’re inquiring a couple of service. They don’t wish to be pitched and bought to — they simply need info. Make it as simple as doable for potential prospects to contact you.

The earlier design of my firm’s contact web page had two choices: a quote-request kind that had 12 fields and a common contact kind that had three fields. We now have a easy three-field consultation-request kind. The patron doesn’t must resolve between two kinds any longer. There is only one easy type — we will collect all the data wanted when the preliminary contact is made.

6. TAKE AWAY YOUR SOCIAL-MEDIA FEEDS.

When social media was new and contemporary, everybody put their social feeds on their web sites. Now, shoppers know find out how to join together with your model on social media in the event that they need to. Putting Fb and Twitter feeds in your web site simply attracts consideration away out of your conversion objectives.

Place social icons in your footer or sidebar and hyperlink to your accounts — if a customer feels inclined to observe or join they are going to. You need them to learn your web site content material, full your types and make purchases, not scroll by your earlier tweets and posts.