It is important to learn how to make your website look professional in 2022. Because a customer will spend an average of 10-20 seconds on your website homepage to judge before browsing it further.
And this is a fact!!
While your customer is on your homepage, it is important how you keep him hooked through the experience. Vibrant layouts, pertinent information, attractive offers, latest trends adapted on the website, easy navigation, usability and the loyalty factor can be captivating tools. It is important as a company how you are bringing this information to your customer’s experience.
Website is an unsaid voice that markets your products/services 24 X 7 all through the year. At creating such an experience that binds your customers, it’s important to have a professional who designs and monitors the website and its online presence. Some companies have old websites and want to re-establish brands, some need a newer and deeper perspective of their current online status, and some need a complete turnaround for revamping the brand presence.
While the market remains volatile all through the times, some factors have remained highly influential in creating a good online presence.
Use Whitespace:
Whitespace is your friend when it comes to making a website look professional. Don’t be afraid to use empty space to break up your content and make it easier to read.
Stick to a consistent color scheme:
A cohesive color palette will make your website look more put together and professional. Choose a few colors that complement each other and use them throughout your site. I recommend using Coolors website for selecting your color pallete.
Pay attention to Typography
The way your text is presented can make a big difference in the overall look of your website. Use clean, easy-to-read fonts, and be mindful of things like line spacing and character size. Use Google fonts for selecting your website and brand fonts.
Use high-quality images
A picture is worth a thousand words, and that’s especially true when it comes to websites. Using high-quality images will make your site look more professional and credible. Choose images that are clear and concise, and avoid using stock photos whenever possible.
Illustrations
Some websites are enhanced with visual experience to hook on customers through interactive and engaging illustrations of properties, ambience and concepts. While it is important to keep your clients involved and engrossed in your site, the process demands creating these new experiences. Advanced Technology, latest trends, adaptability, maintenance, and sustainability are overall creating a WOW experience but call for a thoroughly professional approach. It remains for companies to judge if they would spend a certain amount to create such a vivid and ever-changing experience for their clients. The only other option could be you treat your website as a pass time and maintain it the DIY way.
A business can think of itself armed to do multifaceted work, and invest time instead of money to create an elaborative experience, but in the end, a business is diluting its strength and diverting from goals. Be it increasing customers, punching in greater numbers, scaling up, training, customer support and growth. A business’s focus should only be business. As one can create an equal or better experience by paying and outsourcing work. A thought that any business should thus contemplate is – “Without Customers, you don’t have a business, you have a hobby!!”
Mobile-friendly websites
The mobile trend has been spreading like a wildfire in the last 1 year. A notable amount of customers have shifted base from the web to the mobile medium. Consider the need of the time, the ease at remaining approachable, or merely the technology advantage. Google has also gone a mile ahead to ensure that some processes are streamlined to offer a standard output.
As per the guidelines issued by Google in 2015, websites that are mobile-friendly/responsive websites ( complying with Google’s mobile-friendly algorithms) would good ranking on Google searches(What is SERP?). Whereas, websites that are mobile-friendly have been dropped from Google ranking. This initiative was towards providing the best information for customers who are preferring the mobile medium over the web.
Optimising sites to the latest trends and requirements have enhanced the mobile marketing experience and opened a newer avenue for business on the go.
SEO Compliant
A company cannot survive merely by creating a website. A website is the basic home ground for driving Digital Marketing practices. SEO is the most compatible and organic way of driving SEO practices and Google ranking. A well-structured and designed website can only supplement the functioning of SEO and other digital marketing practices. But again, all rests on the shoulders of a well-maintained website. Hire an SEO Agency to get competitive in your online market space.
Website Maintenance
The grander part of website operations is website maintenance. The attention span of an online buyer according to a Microsoft survey last year is mere 8 seconds. Imagine the discomfort a client would suffer when they click to buy a product online and the page does not display or fails to load fast. Imagine the loss in business, just because your site is not optimised or maintained well.
If a company is engaged in the online marketing system, its website needs to be ‘live’ and well maintained 24 X 7 all through the year. Fed with regular content and adapted and optimised to the latest trends and technologies.
Minimize Loading Time: Reduce page load time and increase engagement
Minimizing website loading time is important for engagement. Research shows that a one-second delay in page response can result in a 7% reduction in conversions. In addition, 40% of users will abandon a website that takes more than three seconds to load. Minimizing loading time can be accomplished by compressing images, reducing the number of plugins, and using a caching plugin. In addition, using a content delivery network can help to reduce loading times by delivering content from servers that are close to the user’s location. Minimizing website loading time is important for engagement and should be a priority for all website owners.
Websites and Trending Technologies
The technologies that govern the web market today and have been revolutionising the website experience are:
Artificial Intelligence
Voice user interface is what it can be defined. Chatbots (automated chat boxes that appear on the website), and SIRI ( iPhone’s voice companion) are voice induced applications that are enhancing the user experience. These API’s are reducing the communication gap and providing prompt and relevant information for customers on your website. The further engages the customer and gives an enhanced personal touch.
Chatbots:
The future of marketing is now, and it’s not just about the product anymore. Chatbots are artificial intelligence-based tools that can be used to improve customer service online by providing better help instructions or responses without needing an actual person manually enter information into your website’s interface
The answer? Bots! specifically –Chatbot software programs which automate many facets on behalf ot users through automated conversations in real-time within a conversational window prompted with questions concerning their needs.
Chatbots are the future of marketing. They’re a great way to make your business more accessible, and they won’t cost you an arm or leg in constant developer fees!
There is no shortage when it comes down to selecting which provider will best suit what needs; there’s plenty out on an offer from companies like Facebook Messenger bot marketplace chatBOT Inc., NuTech Digital LLC (a Microsoft company), and Twitter Business Bot Studio etc… If we were forced into choosing one though – given how much time has passed since its inception-we’d have perhaps said that their offering falls under “Best”.
Best offers a pretty comprehensive set of features, plus it’s constantly being updated with new functionality too. There’s also an impressive number of chatbots available on the platform ( over 100,000 as of this writing). And finally, it integrates with popular CRM software programs like Salesforce and HubSpot. So if you’re looking for a one-stop-shop when it comes to chatbot software, Best is definitely worth considering.
Progressive Web Apps (PWA)
If you’re looking for a way to take your web presence to the next level, you need to check out Progressive Web Apps (PWA). PWA is a new standard that allows web developers to create apps that are more reliable, fast, and engaging.
What makes PWAs so great? For starters, they’re more reliable because they can work offline or in low-quality networks. They’re also fast, thanks to smart caching, and they’re engaging because they can send push notifications and have access to hardware features like the camera and GPS.
So if you’re looking to create a truly top-notch web experience, you need to build a Progressive Web App.
Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP)
Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) is a technology that allows web pages to load faster on mobile devices. AMP is designed to improve the user experience of mobile web browsing by making pages load faster and providing a more responsive design. AMP is available as an open-source project and is currently being used by Google, Bing, and other major companies.
How it works:
AMP pages are built using amp-HTML, a subset of HTML that allows for the layout and loading of content in an optimized way. When a user visits an AMP page, the page loads from the server without any custom JavaScript or CSS. This allows for the page to render quickly without requiring any additional resources from the user’s device.
Voice Search Optimization
Looking to make your website more accessible and user-friendly? Voice Search Optimization is perfect for you! This software makes it easy for users to search your site using natural language, whether they’re using a voice assistant or typing out their query. With this cutting-edge technology, you’ll be able to keep up with the latest trends and ensure that your site is always visible to potential customers. And because it’s so easy to use, you’ll be able to get started right away – no need for extensive training or expensive consultants. So what are you waiting for? Get started today and see the results for yourself!
API-first Development
If you’re looking for a development approach that puts APIs first, then you need to check out API-first development. This approach puts APIs at the centre of your development process, making them the primary focus of your work.
This doesn’t mean that other aspects of development are ignored, but it does mean that APIs take precedence. Why? Because APIs are how you’ll interface with the outside world. They’re how your users will interact with your app, so it’s important to get them right.
With API-first development, you’ll start by designing and building your API. Only once the API is complete will you move on to other aspects of development, like UI/UX or data storage.
Push Notifications
If you’re in the business of website development, then you know that push notifications are a must-have for any site. But what exactly are push notifications, and why do you need them?
Push notifications are essentially little messages that pop up on a user’s screen, either on their desktop or mobile device. They can be used to update users on new content, promote products or services, or even just remind people to come back to your site. And because they’re so eye-catching, they’re an incredibly effective way to get your message across.
So if you’re looking for a way to take your website development to the next level, push notifications are definitely the way to go.
Website References
Here are some websites you can reference for each tip on how to make your website look professional:
Define Your Branding:
Coca-Cola: https://www.coca-cola.com/
Nike: https://www.nike.com/
Use High-Quality Images:
Apple: https://www.apple.com/
National Geographic: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/
Keep It Simple:
Google: https://www.google.com/
Dropbox: https://www.dropbox.com/
Choose a Professional Layout:
Squarespace: https://www.squarespace.com/
Wix: https://www.wix.com/
Use Consistent Typography:
Vogue: https://www.vogue.com/
Airbnb: https://www.airbnb.com/
Use White Space:
Medium: https://medium.com/
Trello: https://trello.com/
Optimize Your Website for Speed:
Google Page Speed Insights: https://developers.google.com/speed/pagespeed/insights/
Pingdom: https://www.pingdom.com/
Make It Mobile-Friendly:
Airbnb: https://www.airbnb.com/
Uber: https://www.uber.com/
Include Social Proof:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/
Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/
Test Your Website:
Google Analytics: https://analytics.google.com/analytics/web/
GTmetrix: https://gtmetrix.com/
These websites are great examples of how to implement each tip and make your website look professional. However, keep in mind that the specific design choices may vary depending on your brand and target audience.
I hope you have learnt how to make your website look professional and would start making one.
What are your thoughts? How will you make your website look professional in 2023? And if you need help designing or developing your website, be sure to contact HariSoft – we’re always happy to help.