Feeling a little cluttered lately? If your website looks overcrowded, too “busy” or blindingly bright and flashy, it is highly unlikely that your site is performing as it should. In fact, you could even go so far as to say that your cluttered website:
- Distracts from your brand.
- Confuses your customers.
- Increases bounce rates.
- Stifles conversions.
Drives your consumer base to your competition.
The good news is that less is more and minimalism reigns in today’s cyber society. Your customers aren’t interested in random, meaningless functions or obnoxious animations and imagery. Your website is a virtual storefront for consumers who expect a more intuitive experience. A cleaner website makes for an expedient presentation to customers looking for information fast! Simple, clean websites have the power to:
- Leave consumers with a positive impression of your brand.
- Compel consumers to interact with your brand.
- Make it easier to explore your content.
- Lead consumers along your sales funnel.
- Increase clicks on your CTA (call to action) button.
- Boost conversion rates.
Fortunately, there are a number of things you can do to remove excess “clutter” from your website in order to make for a more compelling, user-friendly experience. Start by removing unnecessary graphics, pointless images which serve no purpose and fail to reflect your brand and irrelevant content and subheadings.
Simplify your main menu by condensing options. Keep the important links only such as “Services/Products”, “About”, “Blog” and “Contact”. Don’t make your customers jump through unnecessary hoops in order to locate simple information. Avoid a pesky mega menu stocked with numerous categories and sub links. Be sure your linking strategy is clear and incorporate secondary links in the drop-down menu and in the footer of your website if applicable. In addition, consumers spend an average of 45 seconds on a website. Internal links which connect users to alternate pages on your website are valuable as they can increase the amount of time consumers spend on your website. External links can also be valuable for improving SEO (search engine optimization), however too many links can confuse consumers. Closely evaluate the purpose and necessity of each individual link to determine which ones fulfill your goals! Think strategically!
Consider every screen by optimizing your website for all devices: smart phones, desktops, laptops, IPads, etc. Test your website on all platforms to ensure it is clear and orderly whether viewed on a tablet or a desktop!
Evaluate your content and readability:
- Avoid “fancy” fonts that are difficult to read.
- Be sure your content is engaging, employing strong SEO techniques.
- Evaluate your website for a pleasant color scheme that isn’t too harsh on the eyes.
- Check for an obvious, well-placed CTA (call to action).
- Consider average sentence length and word syllables.
Efforts to maintain a simple, clutter-free website comes with a big payoff! Enjoy improved website performance, smoother navigation experiences and greater conversion rates, all of which go to improving your bottom line!
