Hopefully your website is beautifully designed, easy to navigate, has a nice aesthetic, and the content is helpful and informative. But what if the next website down on the list of search results has all those same things, too? How can you further differentiate your web design so visitors are compelled to choose your brand over another?
You can connect with them on an emotional level.
Here are a few ways to do that …
First Impressions
Once a user clicks on your website, you have between three and five seconds to show them what you’re all about in order to keep them there. If you don’t demonstrate that you have what they’re looking for in that time, they’ll move on to the next site. This is called the blink test. In order to pass it, you have to make a good first impression.
If your website is too busy, if it inundates the user with too much at once, or if it’s slow to load, that can elicit a negative user experience — and a negative emotional response — creating a bad first impression. Instead, focus on a few key images that are visually appealing, and give an idea of what your brand is like. You might even include an introductory video to let people know how you can help them. Whether it’s a a video, or text on the page, keep the focus on the VISITOR and their pain points. In other words, talk about benefits, benefits, benefits … At first glance, this advice may seem simple, but it’s often not followed. But a good user experience goes a long way in creating a positive emotional connection.
Oh, and by the way, stock photos will rarely engage with visitors emotionally. So if you have the budget, invest in original photography that places the website visitor front and center.
Usability
Aesthetics are great, but just as important in web design is how easy your site is to navigate. Is it clear and intuitive? Will it help the user go where they need to and find what they’re looking for? In other words, are next steps obvious?
A single menu across the top of each page of your site can go a long way in adding clarity.
In this age of instant gratification, a user will gain a certain amount of satisfaction, and even pleasure, from a website that makes it easy for them to see where they need to go, do what they came to do, and accomplish their overall goals quickly!
There are all sorts of ways to elicit an emotional response with your website, and different things work for different brands. So how do you know what your audience will like? Ask them. Do some research and determine what works for them, and what designs and layouts best evoke the emotional response you’re going for. Then use that data to create a website that will connect with your audience quickly and keep them using your site for a long time to come.
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