Keep It Simple

18 Nov Keep It Simple

Why do some websites convert wave after wave of new customers while others struggle to stay afloat? In this article, we will identify seven key differentiators that high converting websites do right and struggling websites should do right now.

Keep It Simple

Let’s start with two key elements of every website, design and navigation. A cluttered or disorganized layout will drive visitors away, and that’s not even the worst of it. It’s not like they’ll leave to come back and try again another time; they’ll leave and never return.

How can you avoid this from happening on your website? It’s easier than you might think:

• Keep it simple.
• Remove all non-critical elements.
• Don’t make your visitors think.
• Keep it simple.

Visitors to your site will either have a positive or negative experience. On your end, creating a positive experience is more about what they don’t see. Remove every possible distraction and lead them from landing page to checkout, without a single blip or annoyance in between. If you visualize your website as a funnel and guide users to taking the action that you desire, your business will grow and prosper.

So how do you inject simplicity into your website? Well, you could either design it from scratch, find an existing WordPress theme and remove all the unnecessary bits, or use something like our WordPress theme builder to design your own custom website with a customizable foundation to work from.

Do this now:

• Remove widgets and plugins that clutter your sidebar and footer.
• Limit yourself to 5 navigational links.
• Remove social media sharing tools. They’re ugly and rarely used.
• White space is your friend. It doesn’t need to be filled.
• Craft a short site description. Focus on keywords.
• Remove busy photographs. Use clean photos with shallow depth of field.
• Remove gimmicky effects (example: parallax). They’re played out.
• Make sure your headlines have appropriate top and bottom margins.
• Make sure your paragraphs have appropriate line height.
• Choose a color palette with appropriate contrast.
• Craft a short and compelling call to action on your homepage, with a button.
• Use only a few tags. Assign posts to one or two categories at most.
• Make sure your website is responsive.