Bear Brook

Survival in business these days depends on your ability to communicate effectively online. Having a website is not enough; the quality of your site and the nature of its content are critical in determining how well you will communicate with your audience. Branding, usability, following industry standards for images and graphics, and providing useful content are some of the critical areas you can address to enhance the user experience. Following are some strategies that can help.

Create and maintain brand consistency online

The web plays a major role in how consumers interact with brands—it may very well be the most important way a brand communicates. Consumers usually visit sites with an immediate goal in mind. But often, when done correctly, a website can lend itself to a visit where the user stays longer, gets drawn into the site for information, and connects with the brand to form a long-term relationship.

Make your brand promise crystal clear by reinforcing it again and again on your website. Establishing consistent brand experiences on and off the website creates trust, leading to repeat business and customer loyalty.

Enhance usability

Creating a memorable experience for site visitors is extremely important. Everything, from the design of the layout, the images that are chosen, and the palette that’s established, is part of creating that experience. In designing a visually compelling site, you can follow these industry standards, proven to enhance usability:

• Clearly identify your site. Typically company logos are in the top left-hand corner of every page and should link to the home page.
• Place navigation along the top or left side of the page and keep it consistent on every page. Avoid using navigation that goes more than two sub-menus deep.
• Let visitors know what page they are on and which pages they have visited by using an alternate color for active and visited links.
• Make sure your search is visible on every page and easy to use.
• Give visitors your contact information on every page.

Don’t make your visitors wait

To guarantee that your visitors have a memorable experience, you need to be certain they will see your site. Make them wait, and they will go elsewhere. Check your website to make sure it measures up to these technical standards:

• Minimize large graphics, flash, and scripts: they increase your file size and increase load time.
• Limit your color palette to 2 or 3 major colors (with shade variations) and a small accent of color here and there. This will decrease file size and create faster loading. It will also create more readable and inviting sites.
• Optimize html and script code; get rid of any unwanted tags or unused scripts.

Write user-friendly content

The content of your website is your #1 sales tool. Well written and user focused content allows your visitors to find out more about your products and services, and how your company will be able to meet their needs. See how your site stands up against this checklist:

• Use a consistent voice that resonates with your industry and your target audience.
• Content presented should be focused on what your visitors want, not on you or your company.
• Spell check and proof, twice. Spelling and grammatical errors make you look unprofessional.
• Make sure your site is skimmable and scannable. Break copy up as much as possible with short paragraphs, headings, and bullets.
• Always give features and benefits.
• Content should never feel “stuffed” with keywords, and content should never
  be hidden on a page.
• Give free solid and practical advice on your website and you will give people a reason to come back.

Remember, a good website is all about giving users what they want, when they want it—easily and seamlessly. Create a memorable experience for them that will make them want to come back.