In the online world of digital marketing, there are enough acronyms to keep a dyslexic confused for a very long time.
But there are two acronyms in particular that, we find, are less popular than others and they shouldn’t be because paying attention to them and getting them right is often the difference between building your clients a website that smashes out conversions and boosts up sales versus a website that underwhelms and frustrates.
The two that we are referring to are CRO (Conversion Rate Optimisation) and UX (User Experience).
UX, as the name suggests, involves making your client’s website as enjoyable and easy to use for the visitors as possible. CRO refers to the practice of analysing the website and improving elements like design, loading speed, colour themes, picture quality, copy efficacy and more to improve the chances of a lead converting into a sale.
Nowhere on a website are these two practices more important than on a client’s Homepage. Obviously, this is going to be one of the most popular destinations on the website and the good news is that the best practice tips that we’ve outlined below can be implemented onto any page on the website to improve the results there too.
So, here are 3 things you can do right now to your or your client’s Homepage to improve conversions.
- Keep it simple and clear
The tendency is almost always to cram as much information, copy and images onto the Homepage of a website as possible. Most people think that this is a great idea as it’s the way to people to see what’s on offer.
However, practices like this can often land up confusing and irritating the visitor leading to them bouncing from the website without making a purchase.
When designing a Homepage, try to focus on keeping everything in a logical order and including only what is 100% necessary. You’ve got a bunch of other pages you can create on the website to sell the services or shout about an offer. The Homepage should be reserved for introducing the visitor to the brand and services and telling them what you want them to do next.
Of course, the rule remains that you should have enough well-written, unique and value-laden copy on the Homepage (300-350 words minimum) to keep the Google bots happy, but don’t try to shove everything onto one page.
- Keep it speedy
In case it needs to be said, AGAIN, online citizens are in a rush and spoilt for choice. If they come to your client’s website and it takes more than a few seconds to load fully, you’re more than likely losing them to a competitor.
To ensure that the Homepage (and the rest of the website) loads speedily and creates a great experience for the user, make sure you’re using high-quality images that are low enough in size to load even with the slowest of connections.
Avoid adding any videos that will cause the site to take too long to load and be very aware of what WordPress plugins you’re using which could also be effecting the load speeds.
If you would like us to take a look at a website Homepage for you and give you a free report on the CRO of the site, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
- Keep it mobile
According to Statista, the number of mobile phone users in the world is expected to pass the five billion mark by 2019. The lesson: don’t build for desktop, build for mobile.
Every element, every upload, every change that you make to a website while you’re developing, hit refresh on your Smartphone as often as you hit CTRL+5 on your laptop. This is where more people will be experiencing your client’s website, this is where they will be purchasing. Make it a great experience.
Let us know how these tips have helped you improve your latest website Homepage build.
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