Your website is like a garden. Take care of it!
When was the last time you saw a beautiful garden? Maybe you see one every day in your neighborhood. Or maybe you have a beautiful garden yourself.
Consider your website to be just like a garden. Both need to be continuously tended to and require regular seeding, trimming, and weeding in order to flourish. Usability is your website’s key to growth and ability to consistently produce results.
But before you throw in a bunch of seeds and start trimming your website, you should first make sure you know its current condition. Does your website need more seeds to grow? Does it produce a consistent flow of traffic that converts into qualified leads? Or do visitors get stuck in the weeds because your website isn’t groomed?
Getting to know the current condition and usability of your website is critical.
· It will save you from wasting money on a new website when you might not need one.
· It will uncover where leads are getting stuck in the weeds and then leaving for your competitors.
· It will even guide you to actionable ways to improve your website.
Did you know that a simple redesign of your website usability can improve your business metrics by 83%? (Source: Nielsen Norman Group)
What does website usability do for you?
We’ve found that the highest performing websites are also the easiest to use. The highest performing websites clearly state:
1. The product or service they provide
2. The benefits to the visitor and…
3. What to do next
What does a usable website do for you?
· It lowers your costs. According to IBM, every $1 you invest in making usability improvements can yield returns anywhere from $10 to $100. Imagine spending half as much money and getting twice the return!
· It keeps visitors on your site longer. Do you know what the most pressed button on the Internet is? It’s the “back” button. The Internet is a great place to make mistakes. All you have to do is click “back” and your problem is solved. We recently worked with a senior living community to improve their website usability. The average time visitors spent on their website increased by 300%.
· It improves your image. Your website is a reflection of your business. If it’s hard to use or pages load slowly, a visitor might think your business is hard to work with or you’re slow to deliver.
· It increases sales. We recently did a website analysis for a customer and discovered that they were missing out on at least $50,000 per month of revenue because of one little mistake.
How to improve your website usability?
Have you heard enough and just want to learn how to make your website more usable? Or maybe you want to get out your gardening tools? Here are a few tips on how to improve your website usability:
· Be clear. Clearly state your product or serve and how it benefits your website visitors. Then clearly state what to do next. Guide them where you want them to go with clear calls-to-action.
· Simplify navigation. Think like your visitors and make it easy to find what they’re looking for. Keep it simple!
· Provide Useful Content. You know your customers better than anyone. Give your visitors what they want. What are the top 10 FAQs and also the top 10 FUQs (Frequently Unasked Questions)? Make it easy for them to find that information.
· Be Responsive. Make sure your website is mobile-friendly by having responsive design. Also, allow for quick scanning because people don’t read websites anymore.
Your Website is Permanently a “Work in Progress”
The biggest mistake that will eventually make your website wither and die is thinking that it’s done once it’s launched. Your website, just like a garden, needs to be taken care of.
If you’d like an outsiders perspective on your websites usability or just need a bit of guidance, check out our free website analysis. You’ll discover what’s working, what isn’t, what you can do better and how you can outperform your competition.
To your continued success,
Hendrik
