3 Tips for Improving Your Website

It’s always a disappointing feeling when your website isn’t working for you, right? 

Your website visitors are landing on your homepage, but seem confused where to go next…

And, if they make it to the next page, it looks like they’re leaving immediately…

Worse yet, traffic is up this month, but you’re not getting a bite from anyone. 

You don’t have to be a data analyst to know that something needs to be changed on your website. Luckily, I’ve got a few tips up my sleeve. 

1. Guide your visitors. 

We’ve all been in this situation before--you get to a website page and have no clue where to go to find what you’re looking for, and so you leave. It’s happened to me, too. 

Instead of bulking up your navigation because your audience really needs to know about “x, y, and z,” I recommend you make a few of these changes:

• Limit the items you have on your menu (five to seven items): Think about how your current customers are moving around your website. What journey are they taking? With this information, you can limit the pages in your navigation so that when new customers arrive, they’ll find exactly what they’re looking for.
• Have a main call-to-action: Don’t you hate when you get to a website, and the first thing you see is “contact us,” “donate now,” and “sign-up for a newsletter” all right in your face? Me too. That’s why I recommend having one, clearly defined call-to-action on your navigation. How should you choose which one? Ask yourself: what is driving your customers to your website, and what action are they most often taking? 
• Don’t forget about mobile: We all know that more than half the population is looking at websites on their phone. Make sure your navigation is mobile-friendly. There’s nothing like getting to a site and not being able to access the navigation menu. 

2. Understand your customers’ pain points. 

Do you know what brings your customers to your door? Most likely not, and it’s not your fault. 

In the old days, it was easy enough and encouraged for businesses to only talk about themselves, such as how many years of expertise they had, how many awards they’ve received, and more. But that doesn’t work anymore. 

It’s safe to say that your customer wants to know what your business can do to soothe whatever is causing their pain/problems--be it actual physical pain, financial, emotional, etc. 

While these pain points can be showcased and talked about throughout the site, the first recommended spot to dive in is right on your homepage. Not only will this grab the user’s attention, but it will also show them that you’ve taken the time to understand the journey they’ve been on. I recommend a few things when it comes to pain points:

• Have at least three different points: When thinking about the pain the user is going through, think about what they’re going through internally and externally. If you’re having trouble, I recommend sending out a survey to your customers asking simple questions such as how has my product helped you? 
• Use images: Not only can images break up text on your page, but it’s also been proven that web users engage more with images and videos, keeping them on your page longer. Meaning, your page can increase in search rankings. 

3. Make it clear how you can help your customer. 

Have you heard the term, “sell your benefits, not your features?” Similar to how consumers don’t want to hear about your company’s history, they also won’t resonate with hearing about features of your product or service. 

For example, if you’re selling vehicles, which would you rather hear? 

• This car gets 40 miles to the gallon and holds 15 gallons of gas. 
• [Car name] makes it easy to make memories with your loved ones. Make it just in time for Thanksgiving, all without stopping for a second tank of gas. 

When working through your services/products, assess which ones are purchased the most, and start with those. It’ll be easier to assess how they can address the pain points your customers may be feeling. 

Implementing just these three tips will improve your website. But, there’s more you can do to get your website working for you, not against you. 

If you still have questions about optimizing your website, please stop by my website here, and contact me. I’d be happy to talk with you about your website performance.