7 Essential Factors of Website Design: How We Turned Mistakes into Success
Overview
We know how important it is for companies to have a website design that truly reflects their passion and goals. And our client, Top Ten Percent Hunting, had a previous website that just didn’t cut it. To make it worse, we had created it!
As a business, owning up to your mistakes is essential, especially for your clients. Initially, Top Ten Percent Hunting approached us with the need for a website showcasing who they are and what they are about while showing off their incredible social media presence. Our previously assigned designer set out to make their goal come to life, but they dropped the ball hard.
At Savage Innovations, our work is our signature; once the poor quality of the product came to light, we jumped in and set out to correct the wrong and create a website they could be proud of!
We trashed everything and started from the ground up, incorporating these critical success factors to ensure their new website was a success, and it would blow them away!
Creating a top-notch website design extends far beyond mere aesthetics. It’s about curating an online experience that leaves a lasting impression on your visitors. Your website should strategically place call-to-action elements throughout its layout to entice users to take specific actions. By thoughtfully guiding visitors toward desired behaviors, businesses can significantly increase their chances of converting leads into customers.
The art of good design lies in optimizing the user journey. When users land on a website, they should feel naturally drawn to perform the intended actions, whether purchasing, subscribing to a newsletter, or filling out a form. By making these actions easily accessible and seamlessly integrated into the overall user experience, businesses can foster a sense of trust and confidence in their audience, paving the way for greater engagement and, ultimately, higher conversion rates.
Strategically position a website’s call-to-action elements to catch the user’s attention without being intrusive or overwhelming. By carefully analyzing user behavior and preferences, designers can determine the most effective placement for these elements, ensuring they align harmoniously with the site’s content and layout.
Moreover, a good website design addresses potential pain points and streamlines the conversion process. It considers load times, mobile responsiveness, and intuitive navigation, ensuring a seamless experience across all devices. By removing obstacles and barriers, visitors are more likely to complete the desired actions, be it a purchase, sign-up, or any other valuable engagement.
Online competition is fierce, and users have increasingly high expectations for online experiences. A well-designed website, beyond just aesthetics, exudes professionalism and credibility, instilling confidence in potential customers. It communicates your business’s commitment to providing an exceptional user experience and meeting the needs of its customers.
After
Before
1. Create a Memorable First Impression
When visitors arrive at a website, their initial experience sets the stage for the interaction. It’s like meeting someone for the first time—within seconds; we form opinions that can either compel us to stay and explore further or make us hit that dreaded back button.
At the heart of a captivating website lies a well-thought-out design. We meticulously arrange every pixel and element to craft a visually captivating and harmonious experience. From the moment visitors look at your website, its visual allure should draw them in. Whether through stunning imagery, a thoughtfully chosen color palette, or an elegantly crafted layout, the design should convey a sense of professionalism and authenticity that resonates with your brand.
But design alone is not enough. An intuitively structured website is crucial for guiding users through their digital journey. Imagine stepping into a beautifully decorated store only to find yourself lost and disoriented, unable to find what you’re looking for. Similarly, a well-designed website should have a navigation system that effortlessly leads visitors to their desired destination. Clear menus, logical categorizations, and strategically placed call-to-action buttons can make all the difference in ensuring a seamless browsing experience.
Beyond the visual and navigational aspects, content is the soul of your website. Just as we crave meaningful conversations, visitors seek relevant, engaging information that resonates with their needs. Compelling copy, impactful headlines, and concise yet informative descriptions can capture attention and entice visitors to delve deeper into your offerings. Quality content keeps visitors engaged and establishes your credibility and expertise in the industry.
So, let your website reflect your brand’s personality and professionalism. Put yourself in your visitor’s shoes and strive to create an experience that is visually stunning, intuitive, and informative. Doing so will establish a strong foundation for engagement and interaction, making visitors more likely to stay, connect, and ultimately become your loyal advocates in the digital realm.
2. Importance of Social Media Presence
Today’s business environment is constantly evolving, and having a robust social media presence is crucial for any business, including hunting establishments like Top Ten Percent Hunting (which is rocking with its successful Podcast on Spotify and excellent YouTube channel).
An active and engaging social media presence can help businesses connect with their audience, build brand awareness, and drive more traffic to their website. It is also a brilliant way to showcase your products in a way your customers can relate.
Whether you have preexisting channels or pages that you can easily incorporate into your website or are just now considering adding, social media is a game-changing tool to raise your company’s awareness.
3. Building a Scalable Website
Having a website that can scale and adapt to future needs is essential!
We used WordPress and Elementor Pro to build Top Ten Percent Hunting’s website from scratch as it provided us with an effective means to create templates based on our designs that can easily be transferred to new features, such as an E-Commerce platform or a Blog, down the road consistently. After creating the basis of the design, we used it to build the backbone of the site.
- A “Home” page showcasing their successful social media presence.
- A “Services” page highlighting their land management services, custom firearms, and top-level archery range and workshop.
- An “About Us” page that gives customers background on the skilled members of Top Ten Percent, instating validity in choosing their business.
- A “Contact” Page was linked throughout the site to provide customers with an effortless way to reach out.
Using this structure, we developed and created a global template for a header to ensure that these pages were represented cleanly and linked together, allowing the viewer to flow naturally between them.
This structure provides the framework that future pages and features would branch off.
4. Make it Mobile Friendly
After the designs were set, we ensured the website was mobile-friendly.
It is safe to say that we have all had that time when we were scrolling through websites on our phone or tablet, and we came across one that didn’t quite agree with our screens. I remember feeling confused, lost and hurt, then hitting back before giving it another thought.
No one wants their business to be the provider of such a terrible user experience!
Statista showed that 59% of all web traffic in the last quarter of 2022 came from mobile devices.
If your site is not built with mobile in mind, I can guarantee you it will frustrate your customers, and they will leave you in the dust, losing out on all that traffic. This article’s example confirmed this by looking at Top Ten Percent’s analytic data, which showed 77% of their site’s visitors viewed it from a mobile device with a high bounce rate. These statistics mean that a viewer clicked the link, and as soon as it loaded the homepage, they turned around and left without engaging with any of the other content.
All in all, making your website mobile-friendly can be a time-consuming process that is best incorporated in the initial design, but it is a guaranteed return on investment.
Mobile (left), Desktop (Right)
5. Using Original Content
With Top Ten Percent’s rich and successful past in social media, they provided us with tons of original content, including high-quality photographs of their products, customers, and achievements.
This helped to push their brand and assert the level of professionalism that they provide. Showcasing the products and their customer engagement solidified their brand as a business that was there for its customers and cared about their needs.
Having original content is crucial for establishing your brand identity online. While stock images are a great way to add value to your page, showing what you do with your imagery will always be noticed by your customers, allowing them to see your dedication to your business. This also provides a rolling portfolio of what you can do that gives your brand and company validity among the hundreds of spam-filled websites just after a click.
6. Incorporating SEO
We boosted their online visibility by incorporating Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and meta graph data into Top Ten Percent Hunting’s website. We optimized their website for search engines, including relevant keywords and tags for the hunting industry. This helps their website rank higher in search results and drives more organic traffic to their site.
I’m sure everyone can think of a time when they were looking for a business or recipe. Now ask yourself, “How many times did I go to the 10th page? The 8th page? Even the 4th page?!” The answer is probably, “Well, honestly, rarely ever!” No business owner wants to find their website on those pages! By incorporating SEO into your website, you can drastically increase the chances that your website will show at the top of the list when your potential customers search for relevant content.
SEO is critical for website design because it is the driving force that Google and other search engines look at when ranking results. By creating your website with this in mind, you can ensure that it will lead to increased traffic and visibility. When your website is optimized for search engines, it becomes easier for potential customers to find you when they search for keywords related to your business or industry. Understanding the keywords that correlate with your company and then using them on your website’s content is critical in achieving these results.
We boosted their online visibility by incorporating Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and meta graph data into Top Ten Percent Hunting’s website. We optimized their website for search engines, including relevant keywords and tags for the hunting industry. This helps their website rank higher in search results and drives more organic traffic to their site.
I’m sure everyone can think of a time when they were looking for a business or recipe. Now ask yourself, “How many times did I go to the 10th page? The 8th page? Even the 4th page?!” The answer is probably, “Well, honestly, rarely ever!” No business owner wants to find their website on those pages! By incorporating SEO into your website, you can drastically increase the chances that your website will show at the top of the list when your potential customers search for relevant content.
SEO is critical for website design because it is the driving force that Google and other search engines look at when ranking results. By creating your website with this in mind, you can ensure that it will lead to increased traffic and visibility. When your website is optimized for search engines, it becomes easier for potential customers to find you when they search for keywords related to your business or industry. Understanding the keywords that correlate with your company and then using them on your website’s content is critical in achieving these results.
An effective SEO strategy can also enhance your website’s experience. By improving the site’s navigation, loading speed, and overall design, users are more likely to stay on your site longer, ultimately leading to more conversions and, in some cases, sales. It can also help you stay ahead of your competitors by monitoring and adapting to changes in search engine algorithms and consumer behavior.
In short, incorporating SEO into your website design can help you increase visibility, improve user experience, and ultimately drive more traffic and revenue to your business.
7. Driving Conversions and Achieving Goals
Creating a top-notch website design extends far beyond mere aesthetics. It’s about curating an online experience that leaves a lasting impression on your visitors. Your website should strategically place call-to-action elements throughout its layout to entice users to take specific actions. By thoughtfully guiding visitors toward desired behaviors, businesses can significantly increase their chances of converting leads into customers.
The art of good design lies in optimizing the user journey. When users land on a website, they should feel naturally drawn to perform the intended actions, whether purchasing, subscribing to a newsletter, or filling out a form. By making these actions easily accessible and seamlessly integrated into the overall user experience, businesses can foster a sense of trust and confidence in their audience, paving the way for greater engagement and, ultimately, higher conversion rates.
Strategically position a website’s call-to-action elements to catch the user’s attention without being intrusive or overwhelming. By carefully analyzing user behavior and preferences, designers can determine the most effective placement for these elements, ensuring they align harmoniously with the site’s content and layout.
Moreover, a good website design addresses potential pain points and streamlines the conversion process. It considers load times, mobile responsiveness, and intuitive navigation, ensuring a seamless experience across all devices. By removing obstacles and barriers, visitors are more likely to complete the desired actions, be it a purchase, sign-up, or any other valuable engagement.
Online competition is fierce, and users have increasingly high expectations for online experiences. A well-designed website, beyond just aesthetics, exudes professionalism and credibility, instilling confidence in potential customers. It communicates your business’s commitment to providing an exceptional user experience and meeting the needs of its customers.
Conclusion
To wrap it up, building a successful online presence for your business is crucial in today’s digital world. In the case of Top Ten Percent Hunting, lacking all these features, we needed to own up to past mistakes and do what was necessary to make it right. Businesses like Top Ten Percent Hunting can establish a solid online presence and drive conversions and growth by leveraging social media, creating original media, building a scalable website, and incorporating SEO.
Technologies & Tools
- Website Design
- Styling Guide
- Social Media Templates
- Analytics Integration
- Hosting
- SEO
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