As a business owner in Portland Oregon, you know that web design is essential to your success. Not only does it give customers a first impression of your business, but it also plays a key role in converting website visitors into paying customers. In this blog post, we will share the following web design tips that are specific to businesses in Portland Oregon. If you follow these tips, you can be sure that your website will look great and convert more visitors into customers!
What are your goals?
Before you start the web design process, it is important to sit down and think about your goals for your website. What do you want your website to achieve? Are you looking to increase sales, generate leads, or simply provide information to customers? Once you know what your goals are, you can start planning out your web design accordingly.
Increasing sales: If your goal is to increase sales, then your web design should be focused on conversion. This means that your website should be designed in a way that makes it easy for visitors to purchase your products or services. Include clear call-to-actions (CTAs), prominently display pricing information, and make the checkout process as smooth as possible.
Generating leads: If your goal is to generate leads, then your web design should be focused on capturing visitor information. Include forms on your website where visitors can input their contact information. Make sure that these forms are prominently displayed and easy to find. You may also want to consider including a lead magnet, such as an ebook or white paper, that visitors can download in exchange for their contact information.
Providing information: If your goal is to provide information to customers, then your web design should be focused on creating a great user experience. Make sure that your website is easy to navigate and that all of the information is well organized. Include search functionality so that visitors can easily find what they are looking for. Also, be sure to include contact information so that visitors can get in touch with you if they have any questions.
What is your target audience?
Another important factor to consider when designing your website is your target audience. Who are you trying to reach with your website? What are their needs and wants? When you know who your target audience is, you can design your website in a way that appeals to them.
For example, if your target audience is young adults, then you will want to use a modern web design with an easy-to-use interface. If your target audience is older adults, then you will want to use a more traditional web design that is easy to navigate.
Keep your target audience in mind when designing your website and you will be sure to appeal to them.
Web Design Tips
Make it easy for visitors to purchase your products or services:
If you want people to buy what you’re selling, make it easy for them to do so. Include clear call-to-actions, prominently displayed pricing, and logical navigation.
What is a clear call-to-action?
A clear call-to-action (CTA) is an instruction to the reader that tells them what you want them to do next. It should be brief, specific, and easy to follow.
Some examples of CTAs are:
- Buy now
- Learn more
- Sign up for our newsletter
- Download our free e-book
- Add to cart
- Check out
- Schedule a free consultation
- Join our webinar
The best CTAs are actionable, relevant, and specific to the page they’re on. They should be easy for the reader to find and understand.
How can I make my CTA stand out?
There are a few things you can do to make your CTA stand out:
- Use actionable language
- Use contrasting colors
- Make the button big and easy to click
- Place the CTA above the fold (so people don’t have to scroll to see it)
- Use a CTA that’s relevant to the page content
- Include only one CTA per page
- Make sure your CTA is visible on all devices (including mobile)
- Test different versions of your CTA to see what works best
What is logical navigation?
Logical navigation is the process of organizing your website in a way that makes sense to your users. It includes things like labeling your pages clearly, using drop-down menus, and putting the most important information “above the fold.”
Navigation should be easy to understand and use. The last thing you want is for people to get lost on your website.
Here are a few tips for creating logical navigation:
- Label your pages clearly and concisely
- Use drop-down menus sparingly
- Put the most important information “above the fold”
- Don’t use too many fonts or colors
- Make sure your website is responsive (works on all devices)
- Test your navigation regularly to make sure it’s working properly
User Experience:
User experience (UX) is how people feel when they interact with your website. It’s important to create a good UX because it can make the difference between someone staying on your site or bouncing off to another one.
There are a few things you can do to improve UX:
- Make sure your website is easy to navigate
- Use clear and concise language
- Make sure your website is mobile-friendly
- Include customer testimonials
- Use high-quality images
- Make sure your webpages load quickly
Hosting:
Don’t forget about hosting. Hosting is important because it can make your website fast or slow, secure or vulnerable, available or down. That’s why it’s important to choose a good hosting provider.
Do not choose shared hosting. Shared hosting is when your website shares a server with other websites. This can slow down your website and make it vulnerable to attacks.
Instead, choose a cloud hosting provider. Cloud hosting is more expensive but it’s worth it. With cloud hosting, your website will be extremely fast and secure.
SSL Certificates:
If you’re running a website in 2022, you need to have an SSL certificate. SSL stands for Secure Sockets Layer and it’s a protocol that’s used to encrypt web traffic.
An SSL certificate makes your website more secure and helps to build trust with your customers. It’s important to note that Google also gives preference to websites that have SSL certificates when ranking search results.
You can get an SSL certificate from your web hosting provider, web design company, or from a third-party provider like Symantec or Comodo.
Mobile / Responsive Web Design:
More and more people are using their phones and tablets to browse the web. That’s why it’s important to make sure your website is mobile-friendly.
Responsive web design is a type of web design that makes your website look good on all devices, from phone to desktop.
Test, test, test!
One of the most important things you can do as a business is to test your website regularly. Testing helps you to find and fix problems so that your website can run smoothly.
There are a few different types of tests you can do:
- Functional testing: This type of test checks to make sure that all the features on your website are working properly.
- Usability testing: This type of test checks to see how easy your website is to use.
- Performance testing: This type of test measures how fast your website loads.
- Compatibility testing: This type of test checks to see if your website works on all devices and browsers.
- Security testing: This type of test checks for security vulnerabilities on your website.
You can do some of these tests yourself, but it’s a good idea to hire a professional to do them for you. A professional web designer or web developer will be able to find and fix problems that you may not be able to see.
Conclusion
If you are a business owner in Portland Oregon, be sure to follow these web design tips to create a website that looks great and converts more visitors into customers. And if you need help creating or updating your website, our team of experts at Graticle is here to help. We have years of experience creating successful websites for businesses in the Portland area, and we would love to put our skills to work for you. Contact us today to learn more about our web design services and see how we can help you take your business to the next level! Call (360) 450-3711
