“You should also have alternative suggestions there, things like “you may also be interested in this product”, or “have you thought about this?” It’s all about upselling and cross-selling. Make the user do something.”
Your calls to action should also include some links to social media. The experts suggest putting up some graphics to your Twitter and Facebook pages, along with a LinkedIn profile, so users can feel immediately connected to your web strategy. These could even be of your own design to match your overall site.
However, Reardon says businesses should be wary of putting up actual feeds of Facebook and Twitter posts because they can end up being a distraction.
“We are starting to see more social networking feeds integrated into sites. I think it’s an interesting idea but we really have to be careful that it doesn’t become a distraction.”
“Of course we want to see more social networks and links to those to allow people to join them, but there can be a point where the actual feeds are the main drawing card. Your social networking site is the place for that, not your website. Don’t let it be distracting.
Creating a good-looking site is one thing but it all means nothing if your users can’t find their way around. These experts say creating a solid navigation system is as critical as the design of the site itself.
“Navigation is primary to your site, the horizontal primary navigation is the preferred method. But one of the really interesting innovations is the concept of a mega menu,” Bernie says.
A “mega menu” allows users to float their mouse over a menu option, which then reveals more options for them to click. Bernie says this allows businesses to structure more options and keep the main site nice and clean.
“This has been a recent trend, and it’s quite a usable option. It means you aren’t burying options down below dozens of menus.”
Robertson points out that when users work their way through a website, they want to eliminate options and need clear directions. Therefore, your menus need to be distinct and separate. She says too many websites have menus that could be fitted under one category.
“You can’t have confusion. With your language, it needs to be completely simple and consistent, and you don’t want to have two options that are similar. Keep your subpages distinct and make sure each option has a purpose – remember, don’t clutter.”
Robertson also warns that users should be able to make their way through your site within a matter of seconds, no matter how content-rich your site is. Ideally this needs to be within two or three clicks of any one page.
“These are the smaller headings that tell you what’s going on. The main thing is that you should be enabling each user to get to where they want with a minimal amount of clicks. One click is overly optimistic, but we try to allow content navigation within two clicks.”
She also warns too many businesses put the management of their navigation systems into the hands of designers. While this makes sense from a visual standpoint, she says, only the business owners will know which menus to make more readily available to users, and which ones to bury.
“You know your customers best, you know what information they want, so that’s up to you. If you handle that all up to the design agency then you won’t be achieving the best navigation system you can.”
Reardon says you can play with the navigation design as much as you want to, but there still need to be some basic principles all sites follow – one of those is the use of breadcrumbs. Essentially, breadcrumbs are titles at the top of each page reminding the user what section or subsection they are in, along with links so they can backtrack to the index.
While it seems like a simple idea, he says they are often ignored.
“Breadcrumbs are a popular way of allowing users to find exactly where they are, using little links and subheads at the top of the page. But not enough pages use them. They aren’t complicated, just be sure to map out the entire site before you use the navigation and then make sure they are nice and prominent, but not overbearing.”
Keeping your website simple is the key to success but these experts say you should be using as much content as possible on the site. Users want to know as much as they can about your business before they purchase or contact you, and your website gives them that chance.
By far, these experts say the worst offense is photography. Too many businesses use low-quality, pixelated photos and graphics that make you look unprofessional.
“Invest in good photography of your products. And do not take copy or images from other websites, you could be infringing copyright,” Taliana warns.
“If you don’t have images and cannot afford a photo shoot, use royalty free stock libraries, many can be found online, such as iStockphoto.com.”
She says it’s especially important that online retailers take good quality photographs of every single product – customers won’t settle for anything else. Reardon agrees, saying good quality photography is becoming cheaper and you will lose sales if it isn’t up to scratch.
“The fundamentals still aren’t being done properly. Probably the main thing is that photography still needs to be good, because it’s possibly the most important part of your site. Certainly if you are a retailer, and it’s still beneficial even if you’re not.”
Information is also extremely important, these experts warn. Taliana says the ratio of text to visual aids largely depends on your business, but all sites should contain some staples including: information on the business, key players, history, clients, product information, opening hours for different locations, maps and other contact information.
“It generally depends on the focus,” she says. “If you are a home wares business, then things definitely have to be visual. But if you’re more of a technical site offering a service, then keep the information as much as possible.”
“Write paragraphs of information, but on the home page state what is you do. Always keep those keywords in mind. And coupling these with photos is a good strategy.”
Much of the purpose for this is so your site will show up in Google. SEO plays a part here, meaning your paragraphs need to use certain keywords and keep them as relevant as possible. The more well-constructed and relevant to your keywords, the higher you’ll show up in rankings.
“I tend not to keep my websites bogged down in too much text but there is also a need to show what it is you do and describe that so your SEO will get a benefit.”
Fishlock says your site should also be constantly updated with new material, and for most businesses that means updating a blog. “If you have a blog presence,” he says, “that’s going to help your business in a number of different ways.”
Johnson agrees and says you need to try and differentiate yourselves from the competition in any way possible – and that means updating your website through blogs and other content, including media releases. He says these are just as important as maintain a consistent visual design, and will only serve to enhance the quality of your site as a whole.
“As a service provider, you need to sell yourself as an expert in your field. So if you did have a blog, you don’t need to be writing about what you have for breakfast, but have a relevance to your writing.”
“It helps position your brand, helps differentiate your site from all the others and Google will like it if you keep pumping out regular content. Even if you post once every couple of weeks, whether it’s your perspective on the industry or what have you, you should be writing something.”
Patrick Stafford is a freelance journalist and a former deputy editor of SmartCompany.
