If you ever dine at a fancy restaurant (I know because I have seen them on TV) you will notice that they take the presentation of their food as seriously as the quality of the food itself. I have been working on a client’s website and I got to thinking about this issue when it comes to a small business website.
You need quality content on your site, that much is a given. But it is also important to present that content in a way that makes sense and which converts visitors into customers. Here are a few thoughts on presentation.
Don’t Overwhelm with Content
The big mistake a lot of small businesses make is that they try to cram too much content on one page. This is not necessary, and in fact it can be counter-productive. Instead, try to focus on just one topic per page. You will complement that content with links to other information, but the main body of content should focus on just one thing.
Even the main page should be simplified as much as possible. You can think of the main page as the welcome center for your website. Use graphics and linked lists. Also, a welcome video or screen capture video tour of your site can work really well.
Keep your navigation menu simple as well. Don’t include every single page on your site in your navigation menu.
Present Like Things Together
One of the best ways to organize a lot of information on your website is to present like things together. This means that if you have a page that explains the energy efficiency of your windows, for instance, that you would include a link to the page that explains Energy Star ratings and the page which includes information on the Federal Energy Tax Credit.
This is a better way of organizing your information than including everything in a long list format. You anticipate the needs of your site visitor and present them with other information that you think will be helpful to them on any give page.
Think About Flow
By thinking through the path you would like site visitors to take, you can arrange your presentation in a useful manner. In general, you will want visitors to work their way from general pages to more specific pages. For instance, if someone comes to your website trying to figure out a Quickbooks problem, you will of course present them with the information they are looking for. But on that page you will also include other information that could be helpful and which might lead them to become a customer.
Of course, you cannot anticipate the needs of each visitor. You should think in terms of your ideal customers. What information do you think they will need? How can you educate them and move them to a sales process? And, perhaps most important, how can you keep the information that the visitor doesn’t care about out of the way?
Go for Simple, Clean, and Crisp
This goes back to not loading up too much information. The fact is, visitors come to your website with very specific needs. First, meet their need. Do it well and you may be able to attract their attention and get them to dig further.
Don’t fill up each of your web site’s pages with graphics and special offers and a ton of links. Instead, present one bit of information as the central piece. Include a related call to action off to the side as well as some links to related information. Do this, and you will have served the visitor well and you will have a greater chance of making them a new customer.
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photo credit: omar_chatriwala
Bradford Shimp is the President of Broad River Creative, a blogger and blog designer. He designs blogs and websites for small businesses, and teaches small business owners how to use the web to grow their business.