Posts Tagged ‘usability’

   As long as there was web design there were clients asking for a fancy intro page (sometimes called a splash page). An intro page is a specially designed welcome page, meant to be the first page a person sees before entering a website. They often have fancy graphics, sound or flash animation that welcomes the visitor. They usually include a link that say “Skip Intro” or “Click here to enter site.” Although most people agree they are beautiful to look at, professional web designers and search engine optimization specialists universally agree that splash / intro pages are a BAD IDEA. Here’s why:

1. They Annoy Visitors. Visitors to your website want to get to the information on your website as quickly as possible. Intro pages waste your visitor’s time by forcing the visitor to take unnecessary steps to get to the content of your website. The main goal of a website is to provide easily accessible information to visitors and splash pages stand in their way.
2. Lower Search Engine Ranking. Two of the most important things Search Engines look for are text-based content and text-based hyperlinks, neither of which is available on a splash intro page usually. The other goal of a website is to be found by Search Engines, and intro pages make this difficult.
3. 80% of Consumers Hate Intros! Here’s a market research report done by Marketing Sherpa https://www.marketingsherpa.com/barrier.html?ident=23442
4. Newfangled did some digging into their access logs and had this to say about their findings: “The number one reason for getting rid of our splash page was that it turned away at least 25% of our site visitors, sometimes more. This percentage has actually been researched and it turns out that at least 25% of site visitors will immediately leave a site as soon as they see a  message for a Flash splash screen (even if there’s a ’skip intro’ link). Our access logs confirmed this for us and this over all the other reasons caused us to get rid of it. The opportunity to improve our creativity was not worth the loss of such a high percentage of visitors. “
5. “Click to Enter” is redundant. By visiting your site your visitor already agreed to enter it, why do they have to do it again?  It’d be like opening the door to a store only to find another door that says, “Ha-ha, just kidding.  Open this door to enter for real this time.”
6. Minimizing steps. You want to minimize the number of steps involved in reaching your offerings. Having an extra click from an intro page does not align with this idea.
7. You need to have uniform navigation. Most splash pages don’t have the same primary navigation as the rest of the site. Some even drastically change the design when you go from the intro page to the real site. This is confusing to users who respond best to navigation that is persistent. Splash pages also enforce the idea that they are visiting two separate sites.

Technorati Tags: brick and mortar business, usability, Website Design

It seems that everyone is seeking better search engine rankings. If you have a high ranking in the search engine results for the right keywords, you’ll get a lot of targeted traffic to your website. But how many of those visitors become your customers?

Conversion – not ranking – is what pays the bills. Conversion is converting website visitors into customers (if they can pay you right on the website) or getting them to take a certain action like filling out a contact form or a signup sheet for something like a newsletter or a webinar.

Search Engines, referrals, print ads, and hyperlinks all play an important role in an effective web marketing strategy. But once visitors arrive at your site, how do you go about persuading them to take the actions you want them to take? There are two main considerations: usability and content.

Usability

Make it easy for your website visitors to find what they came for. Consider creating landing pages that are directly relevant to the search terms they used to find your site. Visitors will quickly understand that they’re in the right place and can begin to move along the conversion process: fill out a form, contact you, or make a purchase.

You need to plan for different visitor scenarios. Do you have an understanding of the steps a typical visitor to your web site will take? Good navigation leads them through the conversion process with clear action steps. They should always know what to click next to achieve their goal.

Don’t overwhelm prospects with too many options. Eliminate unnecessary information like copy that doesn’t really say anything, links or banners that distract from the conversion process and graphics that serves no function. You got it right – less is more.

Test the conversion process yourself and get your or someone’s grandma to try it. Fill out a form. Register for membership. Make a purchase from your own shop. If it’s not painless for you or your grandma then you’re on the right track. Otherwise it is going to be tough for anyone coming to your site for the first time. Here’s the golden rule: keep it simple.

Put your efforts into improving your conversions. Think about it. Even a small increase in your conversion rate from 0.5% to 1% wills double your sales! Your targeted traffic will then be that much more valuable to you.

Content

Make sure that your basic message is very clear to your web site visitors. Don’t make them think. Provide clear answers to their most obvious questions and you’ll build your credibility.

Good copywriting may be the single most important factor in raising your conversion rate. The text on your pages should speak to your visitors in a consistent and appropriate voice. It should offer the right information at the right time.

Support the personal and psychological variables of your potential clients. It is also important not to overwhelm your website visitors with too much text. Some people want to read, but others prefer to see photographs and diagrams. Provide basic information to everyone and additional information (pictures and documents they need to fully evaluate your products and services) to the people who want it. When including pictures make sure they’re really useful: not every picture is worth a thousand words. Use high-quality detail shots and enlargements to tell the full story.

Technorati Tags: conversion rate, double my sales, Internet Marketing, leads generation, promoting your business, search engines, selling products online, seo, site promotion, usability, website optimization