Must-haves for a successful website: A Launch 5-point checklist!
With an overwhelming amount of information available on the internet and decreasing attention spans it is crucial to have a user-focused, engaging website. Here are our top 5 must-haves to designing a site that people want to stay on and interact with.
Tip 1: create clear actions you would like the user to take
If you are thinking about designing a website then you need to have your goal or main purpose at the forefront of all decisions. In order to successfully achieve this you must consider the user's journey as they scroll through your site; what you want them to see first and what you want them to click on. The image below shows a website homepage we designed for pltfrm. When you land on the site you are presented with a bold and succinct explanation of the company and then immediately a button to discover more. This button has a hover state, meaning the button changes when the user moves their mouse. Hover states are a great way of drawing attention to a certain feature and encouraging the user to click, continuing them on your desired user journey.
Tip 2: have a strong homepage hero section
The homepage hero is the first thing a user will see when they land on any website. A good hero will explain clearly and quickly what the company is about and what they can do to help the user. A button or some kind of link is great here so the user can start completing an action as soon as they land on the site, rather than having to scroll through more content to figure out how to do what they need to do. If a user can't figure out how to navigate the functions of the site fairly quickly, then they may give up and begin to look elsewhere!
Tip 3: ensure your design is responsive
It’s really important to consider the different types of devices a user may view your website from. The same content will not work the same way across desktop and mobile devices. On desktop there is a lot more width to work with, whereas this is reduced on mobile, and if it hasn't been carefully considered it could provide an uncomfortable or tedious viewing experience for the user. For example on this website we recently designed for HILS… We used tabs across the desktop screen which hold different content when clicked on by the user. If we were to replicate this exactly on mobile the tabs would become very small, making them hard for users to read and also hard to click on. Instead we created accordion style tabs so the user still understands there are different tabs to view but can easily access them.
Tip 4: don’t overwhelm the user with content
It is really crucial not to overwhelm the user with content, especially when they first land on a site. Too much content to look at can leave users feeling confused and unsure where to go next. Consider the key factors you want your user to take away from your site and build the user journey according to what’s most important. You can also give the user autonomy over how much they view by using snippets of information or content. For example, on a website we recently designed for Bird Charles there is a link to view more on each service listed.
This allows the user a tailored experience in which they can choose what to read more about. If the user was provided with all this content straightaway it would feel less impactful and much more overwhelming.
Tip 5: always remember to put the user first
All our top tips focus on putting the user first – this really is the most important factor. It’s easy to think we know how users will behave on a site, especially when we have a great understanding of the site ourselves, but everyone lands on a site with different intentions and also different technical abilities. It's crucial to make things as easy as possible for our users so that they have a comfortable and seamless experience of a site. If users' needs are put first they are very likely to visit your site again!
If you are unsure on how to get the best out of your website, we can help! Get in touch today.
