In today’s world of an often cluttered online space, coming across innovative, sleek website design is truly a breath of fresh air. From clean lines to high-resolution images and videos, as a Digital Marketing Technician, I can appreciate a graphically pleasing website. However, what many don’t realize is that no matter how visually stimulating a site may be, the technical setup could be greatly lacking. Moreover, it is likely the reason that your site looks nice but is not ranking and will not convert visitors.
If we think of a website similarly to how we would view a used car, it helps put this notion into perspective. Let’s say you go to a used car lot and a sparkling vehicle catches your eye. While on the outside it may look visually pleasing and refined, it could have a faulty engine and no breaks. However, this car would pass the “eye test” and fool those who merely look at the exterior. If you were quick to jump the gun and purchase it based on a great price for a flawless appearance, you will eventually learn that the car performance and price correlate. In that same respect, if a website is designed to be graphically interesting and does not keep in mind user experience (UX) or technical components, it is nothing more than a work of art.
Therefore, user experience should play a vital role in website design. Various tools exist for companies to analyze this aspect. For example, heat and scroll map software generates a series of reports on a webpage over a period of time. From the findings, a strategic team can gain insight into user behavior and better determine if a page needs to be reworked in order to benefit UX.
Making adjustments based on UX is crucial, especially as accessing websites through mobile devices becomes increasingly popular. You want to ensure that your website creates a clear path for users to convert on both desktop and mobile. A mobile-friendly is website crucial, as sleek design and functionality on a desktop alone is simply not enough.
Apart from the user experience related to website design, search engine optimization (SEO) and other technical components of a site are important. In order for your site to be found favorable in the eyes of Google, and thus rank higher, hundreds of ranking factors are taken into consideration. Providing relevant, credible, optimized content specific to what your key demographic is searching is a starting point. Trusting SEO in the hands of a technical team, such as the team at Clix, would be advantageous.
Thus, if user experience is factored into website design along with sound SEO practices in place, your website is headed in the right direction. Another aspect to keep in mind would be the overall health of your site. For example, if a theme or plugins are left outdated,images and links on your site may break. With numerous broken elements, your website becomes less credible as a resource, damages the UX, and potentially impacts rankings. Taking a proactive approach to monitoring these items becomes of great importance.
Overall, having the knowledge to determine if your site needs help is a significant first step, but sometimes the hardest. Jason Hylan, Clix CEO, gives an analogy of knockoff handbags on the streets of New York City. Similar to these replica handbags, there are companies that may pass the “eye test,” as we discussed previously. The service they provide can appear to be what your business needs. As with many things in life, you get what you pay for. If the service you pay for is far cheaper than the standard, your website design and technical elements (if any) will reflect that.
At Clix, we strive to be not only a leader in website design and digital marketing services but also a trustworthy partner to the companies we serve. We want our digital marketing efforts to have substance at the core. For more information on our services, or what sets Clix apart from others in the field, contact us today!
