No matter how great your marketing strategy you need to have an impressive website for your prospects to visit. When I refer to impressive, I mean a site that looks reputable, is easy to navigate and has call to actions that entice you visitors to buy from you.

So what elements make up a good design?

1. From my experience good website design should revolve around your target audience. Think about a brick and mortar store that sells shoes then the types of customers that they want to attract, generally the buyers from the store are the same people who would buy from your online store.

2. Good web design should be supported by quality content. If your website has quality content which supports the design then you’re more likely to convert sales and get repeat customers.

3. Let’s face it most of us skim read. When was the last time you read word for word all the content o

   n a website? We tend to look for certain words or points then continue through the the site keeping track of the things we like which helps us with the decision making process. Keep the content relevant, think ‘Need to Know Basis’ with the only information that people need is the information that will help them move forward with a  purchase.

4. We all want instant gratification. Users are impatient, a website should meet a user’s expectations from the minute they land. Make sure that the site is user-friendly and easy to navigate if you want to keep them to stay longer on your website.

5. Never make a user think. This is based on Krug’s law of usability. A website should be obvious and self-explanatory. Make sure to take out any information that leaves question marks with your visitors. The only information they need relates to the pros, cons and alternatives.

6. K.I.S.S. That’s right Keep it Simple Stupid. Don’t clutter your website it will confuse your visitors, a nice clean simple design is always a winner.

7. this is probably the most important element. Split testing is a great way to find out what is converting on your site, we have conducted split testing on the Crucial Paradigm website with 2Datafish and if your interested in implementing this testing model I highly suggest getting in touch with 2Datafish.

If you’re thinking about selling online make sure you consider these simple guidelines and don’t waste your money on websites that does not work. Testing is key to the success.