3 Tips on How to Increase Your Online Presence With a Professional-Looking Website

Your audiences have a set of expectations from your brand or line of business. Unless you want to be a trailblazer in web design, you have to toe the line of professional look that befits your business.

At the same time, however, your site should stand out from the rest, in terms of user experience (UX) and appearance alike. Internet users only browse from two to three seconds, and those few seconds may make or break a lead for you. You also have to design a website that is more than what meets the eye. It should last indelibly on your target audience’s psyche that they would want to share it with their friends and business networks.

How do you achieve such a design? We have a few tips for you.

Since your website is your business’s face on the internet, its appearance naturally extends to the way that people will perceive your organisation offline. You want a design that reinforces your reputation, bolsters your business’s brand and propagates awareness of your business the moment your visitor sees your site.

The importance of your web design works the same way as conducting business offline—spick and span offices are likely to seal the deals for businesses’ clients. Your office should also be arranged or located in a way that it is easy for potential clients to look for you. If you’re an owner of an e-commerce site, the products you sell should be arranged neatly and displayed seamlessly.

A minimalist and clean layout is what a professional-looking website is all about. Your website’s colour contrasts, fonts, and backgrounds should all make it appear that you are a serious business owner. Your website’s design should go beyond aesthetics and make a good impression the instant your visitors click on the tabs or links. Generate positive word of mouth on social media so that more people will visit your website and boost its visibility.

Imagine trying to locate a maker of high-quality pair of shoes you’ve heard about but who is unfortunately not on the local map. No matter how good your products are, no one will know that you exist if you’re not on the map. Search engine optimisation (SEO) somehow works the same way as a map, except that it applies to the online world. As was previously mentioned, your site should be easy to find for most people, especially your target audiences. If they type words related to your company or your line of business, you want your website to appear first on their search engines. That’s because up to 95% of search engine users ignore page results outside of the first page. You are missing out on a lot of potential traffic if you don’t optimise your site for both search engine bots and human users.

SEO, which is about achieving a higher search ranking, involves designing your website to make it easier and faster for search engines to pluck your site and make it appear first on search engine results. SEO also involves producing a positive user experience for your visitors. Positive user experience reduces your website’s bounce rate, boosts your traffic, and increases your “use value” for search engine algorithms. The higher your “use value” or reliability, the more likely the search engine bots will choose to display your site on the search engine results of your target audience.

With more and more people browsing the internet through their phones, your website’s design should appear seamless even when viewed through people’s smartphones. Google has recently made changes in its algorithm that prioritises sites that are easy to use and view in both smartphones and computers. Because the world of mobile is in constant flux, your website’s design should also adapt continuously at the same time. Only then will you be able to ensure traffic for your site and growth for your business.

A website should not just look pleasing but serve a purpose. Make sure that yours helps you towards your business goals and encourages people to stick around. Our tips will guide you on your journey to creating a more professional-looking site. Good luck!