A brand-new website that hasn’t gone live yet has so much potential. It can be the best website ever designed when the right thought goes into its creation. As you evaluate all of the details surrounding the site, there are certain factors that can make or break a business. Explore these top features as you build that site and go live for the first time.
Fascinating Domain Name
Ideally, your website or domain name should be the same as the company’s title. You’ll need to work on your domain name registration before any other features are considered on the site. Pick a domain name that’s memorable, easy to spell with an extension that describes your industry. Everyone has a dot-com extension so consider dot-expert or dot-doctor, depending on your area of expertise. Your clients need to be able to remember this name without any confusion in order to drive traffic to the site.
Color Schemes
Amateur, website designers may choose a palette of colors for the site. This strategy, however, is incredibly distracting. The colors should complement the site instead of drawing the eyes away from the content. Choose up to four colors to decorate each page. The background should be a consistent color among all of the pages so that the site appears cohesive. As a result, visitors will be more inclined to stay on the site for a longer time period.
Page Layout
Although you’re looking for a unique layout to excite your visitors, it cannot be overly complicated. Reserve your page tabs for the top- or left-side margins. Visitors need some familiarity on the page so that they can feel comfortable with maneuvering across it. Hiding or spreading tabs out across the site will only drive traffic away from the company.
Popup Accents
Be careful with the use of popups on your site. With advanced software, you can literally place countless popups across the site as people click on items. These popups, however, can irritate some people. Use a simple popup for a chat mechanism with experts, but avoid popups that stop people from scrolling down a product list. A popup appearing when people try to exit the site is also helpful because it makes visitors think twice about closing the window.
Plugins and Videos
Use plugins and videos with care because they take up a lot of bandwidth. You might add your social-media plugins and one video that describes a top product or service onto a page. Avoid the use of multiple videos across one site, however. Slow-loading pages will only force customers off of the website. You want them to engage with the videos as they play without any buffering issues.
Don’t forget to update your website on a constant basis. Your search-engine ranking will suffer when the text seems outdated by only a few months. Alter paragraphs and insert new text whenever possible. A site that’s actively engaging with visitors will rank better than others. As a result, you’ll be on your way to success in no time.