Don't Create Information Overload!!

How is your website looking? Dopey? If it is, you need to pay special attention to the most innovative ways to set up your website user interface based on what is trending this year!

The user interface is what the viewer sees. It's the whole experience they become immersed in when viewing your website. You could replace 'interface' with 'experience' to make it 'user experience' instead of 'user interface' as today the experience as a whole is focussed on more heavily than just the look of the site. Other 'experience' makers or breakers can include: website speed (loading times) and how frequently content is updated and how engaging it is. Is all your website content really that relevant?

Ever sat on a website and just got lost in time only to find out later you spent a lot longer on a single site than you thought, like playing your favourite video game?
Whether you have experienced that before or not, that's the style of website you need to create!

Did you know most customers decide within the first few seconds or so if they want to stay on the website or not, and if they are looking for an item which sells on many places, it is very important to keep them on your site just that little longer. Your website has got to have some wow factor that just tips them over the line and they choose to stay and have a browse.

That is what this blog will tell you and we will look at the biggest and best features and design ideas for your website leading into 2014 and a new financial year. Make this year the one!

There are so many websites out there that it makes it hard for a consumer to digest all the information as it swarms their faces with millions of listings generated in seconds - in a single search engine search! It is very important that you do not pile mounds of information on your website, especially your home screen (aka landing page). If I saw a website home page with paragraph after paragraph of information I would instantly close that tab. People are so used to receiving information instantly that no one has the time nor wants to make the time to read your entire essay only to find out it's not even what they were searching for. Thus in saying this it is important you keep your home page, especially, free from 'information overload.' that is not to say you may have a page explaining about a product elsewhere on your website, but your home page? This is not a good idea in the slightest.
For your home page I strongly recommend a simple graphic to introduce a new product with a sentence or few dot points to provide information. Remember a picture can literally tell a thousand words so make sure you have a graphic that portrays a lot and seriously speaks the product without saying a word.

Landing pages are also a great place to collect customer information. Whether this is a good idea for your home page, I would probably avoid it, but on the other hand, this is a good idea if your website is still under construction and you both want to build interest and can potentially market your website opening date to people, and remind them to pop by when it opens, because I'm sure in the millions of other things they did over those last two weeks from entering their name and email on your website to your actual website opening, they have probably forgotten you even exist - so keep them informed!!

If you have a website that sells products, make your website home page a sales page or new arrivals to your store, etc. It's far better than a page jam-packed with information or of every product you sell. Showing a page with sales or new arrivals means it's updated frequently so customers have a need to return.

An example I can provide is my own company's home page becoming a landing page with a weekly deal. Every week there is a new deal which can range across any of our products or services and they are all random. This is a great way to provide customers something new and every week they can get discounts on services they may need or were looking to buy anyway, but now they can get it cheaper.

That sure does conclude my first article on turning your website the right way up! If you have any questions or need further clarification feel free to email daniel@amaxdesigns.com anytime for a chat..