Stand Out from the Crowd

Posted by System | Thursday, March 18, 2010

It is well known that when you browse on the web that you don't give companies the same time and attention as you would if you perhaps saw a brochure or visited their shop. Statistics show that you have around 5 seconds to capture a web user’s interest when they visit your website. Design plays a huge role in getting users to stay and browse.

The overall visual look of a website should be telling visitors a number of things in an instance, namely what industry sector you are in, what the key areas of your business are; especially anything that is unique to your company. You should also be setting the tone for how you converse with your customers in the real world, design is your voice online to communicate whether you are serious, quirky or laid back in the way you do business and connect to those around you.

You can also use design elements to create subconscious tick boxes to help users make the quick decisions about whether your product or service is right for them.

• Does your company or organisation only work in a certain part of the country? A map showing these areas highlighted would instantly inform customers of whether they are in your catchment area.
• Do you sell online? A prominently placed basket icon or shopping cart area informs a user they can buy online without the need to visit a shop.
• Do you want users to visit your shop? Lots of things can be created visually to subtly influence decisions.

A big contributor to online sales is also whether a user trusts your website enough to enter their card details. There are obviously elements in the browser window to let users know that it's secure, but a nicely laid out website which has obviously had time spent on it is often taken as an indication that elements working behind the scenes are also in proper order.

So when all these elements have been accessed by a user and your website has been championed as one of the 2 or 3 suitable businesses to return to, you need to ensure they will remember your website. After a very quick Google search and some fast paced browsing, a user may not even remember the name of your business. It will be the design elements that will help them find you again. To be effective in this, it is extremely important to assess the design of your competitors’ websites after deciding that you would like a new design.

Certain industries tend to have set looks they follow, ever wondered why all computer industry websites are blue with a web 2.0 gloss about them? Why follow the trend? It is important that you have key elements in the design which place you within the sector, but you need to be able to visually stand out and be memorable. A strong secondary colour could be enough to define this but if you can start using design elements that are unique to your company, that competitors wouldn't use, it will start to set you apart from the rest. If you can replace your logo with a competitors and your website still looks ok, it may be that your design isn't working hard enough!

When starting a redesign try to speak to the designer working on your project direct. If the time is taken initially for the designer to understand your business and what you are trying to achieve from the website, they should be able to guide you on the best look and what elements you need.

Don't be shy in asking about why things have been organised or presented in a certain way, there is often an explanation for what each device is doing. With the introduction of content managed solutions where clients can update much of the website themselves, it is important to understand what your website is conveying to its users.

Design templates and website guidelines can be produced in much the same way as brand guidelines can be for print, if you want to ensure your website looks in tip top condition moving forward.