Tips to Make Your Website User Friendly - MGR BlogNo matter what the size of your business is or no matter how long it has been operating, it can certainly benefit from the establishment of an online presence. That starts with having a great website.

Pointing Web users to your website takes a lot of work. Marketing campaigns require an investment of substantial time, effort, research and resources, all for the purpose of driving good quality traffic to your online asset and potentially transforming mere website visitors to actual customers.

As such, once you’ve got your target audience right at your virtual doorstep—your website’s homepage—you want their experience to be an excellent one. You want your online “houseguest” to be intrigued and interested in exploring your page. You want them to want to stay and look around. Additionally, you want them to be so engaged that they proceed to check out the rest of your website. The goal is to put the results of your marketing campaign to good use by captivating your audience and motivating them to really check out your site.

So, first things first—these eight tips to make your website user friendly are sure to be instrumental in making your website a real magnet for prospective customers.

1. A great website helps you make a good first impression

As more and more consumers go online to start the purchasing process, it has become imperative for businesses to get the best possible first impression through their website. More often than not, it takes just a few seconds for potential customers to assess a website and gauge if the company can help them with their needs.

A generic website will not always allow you to make that good first impression or set your business apart. In fact, if you choose the cheaper option, you risk letting go of that small window of opportunity to connect with your audience.

2. Save more over the long term

Perhaps you are thinking that you’ll opt for a website built upon a template and upgrade later on. However, you can end up paying more than you really ought to. Apart from the monetary aspect, you also have to consider all the work you have had done for your website, especially when it comes to search engine optimization.

3. Display your carefully composed value proposition right off the bat

You want visitors to find out what your brand is about right from the first time they lay eyes on your homepage.

Make it short and sweet; a sentence made up of eight words or less is said to have the best chance of being 100% understood by readers. Also, type the mantra out like a normal sentence—not in all caps—to increase your readers’ ability to immediately absorb your message.

Also, make sure that your mantra contains the main keywords for your brand—your product or service should be clearly identified.

4. Offer Web visitors standard, easy-to-recognize options

Presenting a homepage that delivers a strong impact by offering just one or two messages makes your website a better draw for Web users. If there are too many ideas and options on the homepage, visitors can get confused and lost, and they may just leave right away in search of a site with a less busy homepage.

5. Connect with mobile users

A significant number of consumers now use their smart devices for browsing the Internet. What this means for your business is that you will need a website that looks great across different platforms, from desktop to mobile. Although there are templates that allow your website to be viewed on mobile, these pale in comparison to tailor-made website in terms of speed, overall look and functionality.

6. Make strategic use of original, attractive and useful images

Web users respond well to high quality, beautifully composed images and well-designed graphics. Be smart about using these images—pick a large main image for a more minimalist but striking look. Place it on the left side of the homepage, and ensure that the subject of the photo is looking in the direction of the page’s call to action.

7. Provide a clear call to action

Visitors to your site will appreciate finding text or links that gently steer them toward the next step. Your homepage should have a single, prominently displayed call to action—the biggest button above the fold—as this will greatly motivate visitors to move on to the next stage.

8. Optimize the homepage for local search

Your goal is to bring as many people to your website as possible, and the way you structure your homepage to respond to searches can make that happen. Key details of your business—name, address, phone, city and state, and hours—should be all there so that visitors will easily know how to find you.

A quick test to review your own website is to show it to a few close friends.  Let them tell you without any constraints what they think about it from the visitor’s standpoint.  You’ll be amazed how sometimes they will point the most obvious things that you may have not thought about.  If you want our team to provide you with our basic MGR Website Analysis, simply contact us at MGR Consulting Group and we will be glad to review it for you.

Thank you for reading.  Until next time, this is Manuel Gil del Real (MGR)