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Find Out If Your Website Is Appealing With This Checklist!

Friday, August 30th, 2019
mobile website checklist

For many business owners, the idea of getting a new website may not seem exciting. There are many other things to focus on rather than meeting with web designers and developers. But, having an attractive website that tells your current and potential customers about you is just as important. So how do you know if your website is appealing? This checklist can help you find out.

Make sure your website looks credible

This may not seem like an aspect of visual appeal, but it actually is. Think about what happens when you visit a website. Are you able to easily find what you need? Your level of credibility depends not only on your content, which should be helpful, truthful, and easily understood. People will make up their minds about your business within seconds based on how it looks. This means your design needs to be clean, beautiful, and able to tell your message quickly.

Understand color and use it well

Colors are important in almost every type of marketing. They catch your eyes as you walk down the street, on television, and on social media. Colors can convey a distinct message as well as general feelings. This is why they are so important in branding. Here are some colors and their meanings that can help you examine your own website’s appeal and effectiveness.

  • Red: This color is known to produce strong emotions including passion and intensity. Within marketing, it can increase hunger, grab attention, and create urgency.
  • Blue: Men have been found to enjoy this color most and it brings peace and serenity. Blue is often used in offices because it can increase productivity. All of these qualities make it great for a website because it is not invasive and it helps develop a sense of security and trust.
  • Yellow: This bright color invokes happiness and warmth, but it can cause a strain on the eyes. It does stimulate mental processes and can help with communication. In marketing, yellow is used to grab attention, enhance optimism, and show clarity.
  • Orange: Because it brings excitement, confidence, and warmth, orange can make people feel enthusiastic. It also represents the word “caution.” In marketing, this secondary color can represent aggression but is also used for creating calls to action.
  • Green: Although it is associated with wealth, it can also represent tranquility and nature. In marketing, in can be used to send a message of calmness.
  • Purple: This color has been used by royalty across the world to show wealth and wisdom. Businesses use purple to create calmness and help show that their brand is creative or wise.

By using colors that don’t clash and those that send a consistent message, you can ensure your design is appealing. Your website’s visitors will get a sense of your brand’s message and enjoy navigating through the pages.

Use the right graphics, images, and videos

When it comes to credibility, your graphics can say a great deal about your business. Although many companies used stock photos in the past, their use is dwindling these days. This is because most people know how to use their smartphone cameras well.

Using images and videos of your business, products, and staff will show your customers exactly who you are. They will get a genuine feel of what your message is and what you can offer them. Using stock videos and videos isn’t wrong, but they should be used sparingly because they can seem fake.

Knowing when and where to use your graphics is important. For example, stock images and video should not be used on your about page if you can help it. If you have blogs, they will be fine to use. Videos can work well on homepages and individual pages, but having too many in one area will make your site slow and bulky to look at.

Ask yourself if everything is consistent

As a business owner, you have probably heard about having a consistent message across all of your marketing. This is true for websites too. Even if you prefer more creative designs, if your website isn’t consistent, visitors won’t be able to make sense of it. Coupled with poor design, this could mean disaster for your online presence.

If one page is different than the next, people will have to become accustomed to each one. This takes time and will most likely send people away from your site frustrated and with unanswered questions. It only takes seconds for them to decide if your information is useful. Here are some steps you can take to see if your site is consistent.

  1. Start with the top of the page. This should have the most important information and biggest messages you want to convey.
  2. The middle of the page should flow from the top and should have clear content.
  3. The bottom of the page should still hold important information (or less important) and be easy to use. Make sure it flows with the rest of the page as well.
  4. All of your components should be balanced. You don’t want to confuse people or bore them. You can use bolded or colored text as well as interesting borders and shapes to accomplish this.
  5. Whatever you do, make sure it is done across the website. If quotations are bold on the homepage, they should be everywhere else.

Test the usability of your website

Websites should be beautiful and flow well, but they also need to be functional. This means that visitors should be able to get to every page quickly and efficiently. The idea is to invite them to move smoothly throughout the site wherever you want them to go. This is true whether you want them to shop your products, learn about your services, or send a contact form.

If your goal is not to push potential customers to make an interaction, functionality is still vital. Your navigation and menus should be easy to find and use. They should provide clear information to every visitor no matter their needs.

Check out these factors too

There are many other aspects of an appealing website that you can check for.

  • Make sure to check the mobile AND desktop designs of your website.
  • Use simple and effective content. When reviewing your site, make sure to read everything.
  • Avoid typos in your content as much as possible.
  • Don’t oversell your products and services.
  • Don’t lie. People can tell if you are fake more easily than ever.
  • Don’t use any content illegally (whether written, in images, or in videos).
  • Use the personality of your business to your advantage. Don’t be afraid to have fun with your design and message!

Website design in Amarillo, Texas

If you are interested in learning more about your website or would like to design a new one, UCI Digital can help. Our experienced Team can review your website and help you decide how to enhance your online presence. To find out more about our Services, call us at (806) 553-5332 or Contact Us by email today.