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Is your site design getting in the way of your success?
How easy is it for users to accomplish their goals on your website?
If your website isn’t performing for you, or if users are leaving your site early, it may be time to reevaluate your site design.
Don’t Make Me Think
It’s no surprise that the competition for a user’s attention is becoming increasingly more difficult every day. In today’s interactive environment, it’s more important than ever to make sure that a user can find what they need quickly and easily on your website.
One of the best ways to make sure that a user interacts properly with your site and can accomplish tasks quickly is to employ a strategic and well-thought out site design. The first step is to develop a site architecture. Just like building a house, the site architecture is the “blueprint” for your website — it sets the foundation for the user experience. By creating a site architecture, you can strategically group similar items to help guide the user to important information and activities, alleviating frustration and site abandonment.
Location, Location, Location
For a user to effectively accomplish the goals you want, such as making an online donation, they need to be able to find your call to action easily. That means placing the most important information above the fold — the area on the screen that a user can see without scrolling. And, since users scan websites in an “F” shaped pattern, the best place for buttons and other calls to action is in a prominent position in the top right portion of the page. This helps make sure that a user recognizes the action you want them to perform and increases your rate of conversion.
And, when it comes to action items on a website, size does matter. The size of a button relative to its surrounding elements determines its importance. Large buttons indicate greater importance, and vice versa. Also, buttons that feature clear language and distinctive colors encourage users to take action.
Layout and Visual Design
Once you’ve established your site architecture and the most important action items that will be on your site, it’s time to work through the layout and visual design of the site. Because users don’t read everything on a website — they scan — it’s important to have a clean, uncluttered layout that draws the eye to the most important areas of the page. Websites that are cluttered frustrate users and can lead to confusion — and site abandonment.
In addition to a clean layout, a compelling visual design helps keep users engaged and interactive with your site. Striking images and colors add to the immersive aspect of your site and help users stay excited about the experience — and about coming back.
When all of these elements are combined, you can dramatically increase the effectiveness of your site and allow users to interact with your organization and your cause in a successful way. If you want to see how your online performance stacks up, drop us a note to receive more information.
Tags: button size, conversion rate, improve site abandonment, increase conversion rate, increase effectiveness, Information Architecture, interactive, online donation, Online Fundraising, online strategy, site abandonment, site architecture, site design, site layout, site redesign, strategy, website, website architecture, website buttons, website design, website layout, Website Redesign
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