Creating a Website Your Customers Will Love

Creating a website can be tough if you have never done it before. Trying to choose from all the different colors and styles can feel like trying to find a needle in a haystack. The options seem to be endless, and you may have considerable trouble trying to narrow it down to that perfect one. To make it easier, remind yourself that you aren’t making the site for you. You are making it for your customers.

Is the Look Inviting or Distracting?

When you see all the different options, you may be tempted to choose something flashy, something with bright colors and blinking, scrolling letters. “Wow, that’s nice!” you think as you click the image to enlarge it. Yes, it may look nice to you, but there is a good chance it may not look so nice to your customers. The bright, blinking colors that pulled you in may be a strain on your customers’ eyes.

You must also consider that colors can look different depending on the screen they are being viewed on. Colors that may seem bright on one screen may see too dark and harsh on another. To avoid this problem, make sure your colors are on the “browser-safe colors” list, which can be found online by searching that same phrase. A general rule of thumb is to use dark text on a light background. Black on white is most common, but some find that to be boring. If you are looking to make your site stand out from the rest, avoid the urge to use a black background with white words. It is hard on the eyes. Consider a navy blue background with white text. It is easier on the eyes and less common than the norm.

The Content

Before actually making the website, you should have all the content prepared and arranged according to pages. Obviously, you have to include the products you have for sale, but there are other important components that also add to a website. Customers like to know they can contact the seller with ease, so the Contact page should be easy to find from the Home page, and it should contain as many different ways to get in contact with you as possible. If there is a physical location, include the address. If there is a phone and email address, include those as well.

An About page is also something that new customers like to read. If they’ve never heard of you before, the about page should answer any questions they have about who you are and what your business is all about. Fill this page will all the information you would like to know about other companies. Customers usually want to know the same general things, like how long the business has been around, what you sell and why you sell it. Don’t miss out on this chance to let your customers know just what you’re all about.

FAQ pages are great resources for customers who may be unsure about certain things. To prevent your company voicemail and inbox from filling up with the same questions over and over, list and answer the frequently asked questions you are asked (or think you will be asked) on the FAQ page. Customers often have questions about shipping charges, return policies, and forms of payment accepted.

The Arrangement

The arrangement of your content is just as important as the content itself. Don’t think that’s true? Think of how you would react if you went to a website and all the words were tiny and packed together with no paragraphs or images to break it up. Would you take the time to read it or just find another site? Surely, you would find another site. No one wants to feel like they are reading a legal contract when they come to your site. Make it as easy as possible on your customers by using as few words as possible, using short paragraphs, and using bullet points and appropriate images when possible. As long as the information doesn’t seem overwhelming and time consuming to read, your customer will have no problem reading it. If ever in doubt that you have too much content, read it over and see how long it takes. If you can’t get to all the important points in two minutes, you may have more than what is necessary.