Whether it’s what you wear on a first date, your first interaction with your future in-laws or the home page on your website - the importance of a great first impression cannot be overstated. 

Your website visitors will form their impression of your site, and ultimately your business, in the blink of an eye. You only have a few seconds to create a positive first impression and this determines whether your visitors will stay, or go.

With this in mind, your first task is to create a website that invites your visitors to stay through a combination of visuals, copy and an intuitive design layout. Users expect businesses to care about their digital presence and how they present themselves online with 75% of consumers judging the credibility of a business based on their web design alone.

What makes good web design?

Mastering web design takes years of training, experience and an understanding of human behaviour. To generate leads from your website there are some essential elements to consider:

Consistency

There’s a reason why the cliche “consistency is key” is drummed into every designer and marketer - because it’s true. Users expect a consistent experience across your website in terms of how it looks and how they interact with it which is then reflected in how you do business.

Brand guidelines are a great way for you to maintain consistency. This includes a logo, colour palette, where logos should be positioned, tone of voice, etc.

Positive User Experience (UX)

Designing a positive user experience not only involves creating a site that looks the part, but also takes into account how your website visitors interact with, and navigate around your site.

5 UX Tips to Increase Website Enquiries

1. Create strong introductory content - when a visitor lands on your website, be crystal clear about who you are and what you offer - what value can you bring to your visitor.

2. Create clear calls to action (CTAs) - if your website visitors like what that they see, they will naturally want to take the next step and look for a call to action to guide them. Make sure your CTAs stand out and are easy to find.

3. Keep things simple - get your message across in a clear and concise way, long and tedious text is a massive turn off. What exactly does the visitor need to know and what action would you like them to take? Does it pass the ‘grunt test’ (can they tell what you do within a few seconds of being on your home page)?

4. Make your design responsive - it’s important to have a responsive web design that adapts to whatever device someone is using. If someone has to pinch and squeeze to see what is on your website, they won’t hang around long and definitely won’t convert.

5. Make navigation easy - by building organised navigation, visitors will be able to find everything they’re looking for with ease, from your product pages to information about your business, right through to making an inquiry. Many people like to think outside the box and try different navigation styles, but this makes it harder for the user to interact with your website intuitively.

Professional Visual Assets

You want to make sure your visual assets are of the highest quality across your site. Your website is only as strong as its weakest link, so make sure your images and graphics uphold your site's credibility. Our advice is to avoid using amateur photographs taken with a mobile phone - keep it professional. A quality photographer may be a cost you don’t want to pay, but professional photos can provide a great return on their investment.

Does Colour Really Matter?

Colour is a powerful tool and has the ability to affect human behaviour and evoke different responses. While everyone may not respond in the same way, the science of colour psychology shouldn’t be dismissed.

With the end goal of increasing enquiries and conversions, how can colour help?

Take a look at this wheel which outlines the emotional triggers of colours, this will give you a guide on which emotions you might evoke from the colours you choose on your website, this might include:

• Backgrounds
• Hero graphics
• Headlines/font
• Buttons

By choosing the right colour scheme for your site, you can ensure you make a good first impression on your visitors, and if you’re clever with your colour choice, you can also boost conversions and enquiries.

Colour can also mean different things to different cultures, so it is worth making sure the palette you choose is sensitive to your audience. 

Finally

First impressions matter and consumers form their impression of your website and business in the blink of an eye, so it’s imperative that your website showcases your brand in a positive light through an intuitive design and the right colour choices.

A well-designed website is a powerful tool in your lead generation arsenal. Collaborating with a design team, providing them with a clear brief and the freedom to do what they do best will offer outstanding results and a beautiful website that generates leads for your business.