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Brand & Identity Design SEO Technology

5 Tips To Improve Website Readability

The copy is the backbone of your website; we all know that. But, do users really read the copy on websites? Do they have an attention span long enough to read all the content you want them to read? The answer is NO! According to past research published by Nielsen Norman Group, 79% of users scan any new page they come across and only 16% of them read word by word. The same holds true today, with users finding time to read only 28% of the copy on an average visit. The human attention span has dropped drastically over the last few decades; today it stands at eight seconds only. Therefore writing an engaging copy to convert your website visitor into a customer is a crucial task, and these tips will surely help you in improving the readability of your website content.

1. Ensure The Perceived Benefit Outweighs The Perceived Cost

Readers always do a cost-benefit analysis before they read anything (unknowingly mostly). They ask themselves two things:

  • How much time and effort would reading this web page take?
  • What useful information/solution will I extract from this web page?

If the perceived benefit outweighs the perceived cost, they read.

Hence, it is essential first to identify your target audience. Everyone has a liking to their own style of writing. But, does that style suits your target audience? Understanding the readability level of your target audience is the primary exercise that you must do before putting your pen to paper. 

One of the effective ways of writing is to use the inverted pyramid style of writing. In this approach, you make your point right up and then go on to explain the specifics. It helps users easily scan the main points and then decide for themselves if they want to go into the details. Further, use contextual headings, subheadings, and keywords in bold so that the user can scan what you are offering. 

The other effective approach is to use the APP (Agree, problem, preview) method. You start with a statement to get the agreement from readers. Once the reader agrees with it, the handshake is made. Then you state the problem and make a promise to solve it. This is where the user is assured of the value from the post. And, then we present a preview of the solution and how it will change things for the better.

2. Use Words That Users Can Comprehend

Users get comfortable with your writing when you filter out unnecessary jargon and trim down on fancy vocabulary. Using words that users can relate to is the key. Readability tests such as Dale-Chall use a list of familiar words to gauge readability. However, in order to use words that your user is familiar with, you have to be familiar with your reader first. Give a little thought to the audience you are writing for, and try to keep your copy in sync with their cultural and educational background for better readability.

3. Use Legible Typography

Copywriters and content specialists cannot do much about visual design. A copy-friendly visual design uses default typefaces, backgrounds, and layouts that improve the legibility of your copy. Use contrasting texts and text hierarchy. The text color should appear distinct against the background. Use headings and subheadings and bullet points to make the copy structured and organized. Shorter sentences and new paragraphs every 3-4 lines would also give your readers some breathing space— it might hook them till the end.

A short line height also increases the horizontal eye movement and exhausts our eyes. Scanning through the text becomes easy with the optimum line length and height. It also makes reading less strenuous for the human eye. Responsive web design takes care of adapting the line length to different device screens. You need not worry about fixing the line length with different screen sizes. Also, it would be best if you avoided smaller fonts as larger fonts are easier to read. The font size ideally should vary between 14 px to 16 px.

4. Follow The SUCCES Principles

Chip Heath, a professor at Stanford Graduate School of Business, and his brother Dan Heath, a Senior Fellow at Duke University’s CASE center, authored a book called ‘Made To Stick. In that book, they summarise conveying impressionable ideas in six principles:

(S) Simplicity: Avoid complexity in the language and structure.

(U) Unexpectedness: Make your copy interesting. Surprises could be interesting bits of information or surprising data, fun facts that are relevant, examples to illustrate.

(C) Concreteness: Be specific with numbers. Use stats and figures. Don’t use vague adjectives and long paragraphs. Listicles are popular for the same reason.

(C) Credibility: Data points and numbers are instinctive to grasp on. The user remembers them more. They also make your copy more credible.

(E) Emotion: Using emotion in your copy is to make it relatable – if readers relate, they remember. But be aware of the dangers of overstating a point.

(S) Story: Stories stick to users. Create stories!

Adding emotion and stories is subjective from copy to copy. Emotional copies may not go down well when what is required is a rational approach. Use these elements with caution, when feasible.

5. Drive Attention Using Images

The more you can break down the text pattern, the easier it is to read. Images are perfect for this. People also “get” visuals much faster than text. Relevant images solve the purpose of storytelling and emotional appeal. Also, images can be used effectively to shift the user’s attention to the copy on web pages. 

Not just images, image captions are scannable elements as well. They are read 50% more than the rest of the copy and have a recall rate of almost 100%. Write your captions to capture interest just as you write headlines to woo the reader.
Readers on the web do have a small attention span, but they read with a purpose. Your copy must be able to extract the purpose effectively to be highly readable. Our experts can guide you more on this topic. Talk to them now!

Read About Copy-First Approach of Designing a Website Here

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SEO UI Design Web Design

The Importance of Content in Web Designing

Designers around the globe may argue that the most essential aspect of a web design’s success is its visual appeal, and that content is secondary. But, the truth of the matter is that no matter how good and appealing your website may be, it will not be able to achieve success unless it is designed and developed based on solid, useful content in web designing. Great content is what sets your website apart from the masses and delivers the right message to your audience. 

The success of your website is determined primarily by its content. All other components of your website (design, visuals, videos, etc.) provide a secondary support role. The key to a successful website is having clear, relevant, and keyword-rich content that delivers the right message with power and conviction. The content for web designing should target your audience, engage them, and persuade them to take action.

Before you get started with the web design process, make sure that you have the content ready with you. The reason being, your website needs to be built around the content, not the other way round. Here are a few reasons why content is more important than it looks.

SEO

One of the benefits of publishing good content is that it will increase the number of people who find your website through search engines. Search engines love content, especially frequently updated content. Content is the most significant catalyst when it comes to boosting your SEO. Google checks the content quality of a website to determine its ranking. It reviews the relevancy and authenticity of the content to the subject topic. 

There are so many websites on the internet that have amazingly beautiful homepages, but no relevant content at all. In most of the cases, the homepage is the most frequently visited page of a website and therefore it should contain information about what you do, who you are and what you offer. This is one of the main reasons why scrolling websites have become so popular in recent times. If your site contains less information and content, it will be difficult for Google to identify what your website is about, and it will impact your ranking in search results. Visitor traffic, business visibility, and sales will all increase with higher search engine rankings, which is only possible by creating and offering high-quality content while web designing.

User Experience

High-quality website content enhances usability. Usability can range from the navigation of your site to the ease of use for visitors, to the accessibility of your content and to the interconnection between relevant pieces of content. When relevant and useful content is easy to locate, it results in better user experience and more satisfied visitors. If visitors don’t find your website easy to use, then they are more likely to bounce off and visit competitors’ sites instead. A high bounce rate means a loss to the business.

No matter how good the design and functionality of a website is, if the content is poor, the overall user experience will be disappointing. Visitors come to your website for information; to seek answers to their queries. They also want to find out about you, your services, and/or products. They want to know how are your offerings are unique and different from your competitors. They want to know your contact details, your business hours, the experience of clients using your products/services, and a lot more. This is all content and must be available for visitors. Importantly, the content must be available at convenient locations, where people expect it to be. If they have to search rigorously on your website to seek their answers, that’s negative user experience.

Sales generation

Building trust is a vital part of sales generation for any business. One of the important ways of creating that trust is by establishing yourself as an industry thought leader and authority, through the content you produce. In terms of sales generation, good content can be especially useful if you know how to drill down on your targeted demographics and guide them to the purchase.

An estimated 77% of consumers read online content before making a purchase decision. Publishing product-specific content such as FAQs, product reviews, and instructional videos or blog posts can help reassure potential customers and lead to sales. Add screenshots to reviews and include videos where possible. Videos create a next-level impact. Always use a conversational tone while writing and create blog posts on trending, relevant topics. Provide links between the content which can lead the reader to the related product or service. It is an effective way of generating sales.

Competitive Edge

The sole purpose of a website is to showcase a business and its offerings. We all want to attract customers and words play a vital role in enticing potential buyers or clients. People buy from people, and you are more likely to stand out over your competitors by making a connection with your customers by offering them the right content.

As a business, you would have to do things differently and bring your personality at the forefront to attract customers; do this through your website copy. Use your website content to highlight what makes you different, and why a potential client should choose you over someone else in your industry. Make valuable connections with your website visitors to gain a competitive advantage.

Content Is More Than Just Text

Content doesn’t always come in the form of text. Visuals, especially videos, on websites are changing the way important messages are communicated. Visitors expect to get the information they need effortlessly. Custom videos provide a great way to engage audiences and drive essential messaging in a format that requires less effort than reading large amounts of text. Additionally, illustrations, infographics, diagrams, and interactive presentations are often used to explain difficult concepts and help users in taking decisions.

Market Your Content

Even great content will not be able to become effective content, if not marketed properly. Content Marketing involves the creation and sharing of media and publishing content to acquire customers. This information can be presented in a variety of formats, including blog posts, news, videos, white papers, infographics, case studies, how-to guides, photos, etc. Content Marketing is one of the best methodologies for marketing your website and your business. Posting relevant, valuable, and frequently updated information on your website will also boost your search ranking and will allow you to build long-lasting relationships with your audience.

Conclusion

Good quality content while web designing is pivotal to the success of your website. It helps in achieving better Google search rankings, enhanced user experience, and leads to more sales. An aesthetical appeal is also important, but the content is the base of any website. Just like web designing, copywriting also requires expertise. Therefore, you must consider hiring a professional copywriter to create your content. Talk to our team of experts now!

Read more about how to design a content-heavy website

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Design SEO Web Design

5 Ways To Improve Website Performance By Combining Web Design And SEO

In today’s world, where approximately 93% of the buying circles start on the internet, it’s critically important to maintain a high-performing website. And, you must realize that there are several factors which should be considered while trying to improve your website performance. For starters, your website must rank high in Google search to enhance your presence. The better you rank, the more is your web traffic and conversions. People think that only focusing on SEO will fetch them high rankings. Well, it takes more than just SEO. Your website also needs to be designed well, or you risk blowing away all the organic traffic.

SEO and web design go hand-in-hand more seamlessly than many people might realize. Their components mingle and flow together so well that, when executed correctly, your visitors should simply start navigating through your site, without actually noticing anything about what you have created.

So, what are those elements where SEO and web design collaborate? Let’s check them out.

1. Mobile-Friendliness

Anyone who’s even slightly familiar with SEO or web design should already know the importance of making your website mobile-friendly. Google made mobile-friendliness a ranking factor in 2015. It then introduced mobile-first indexing in 2017. It’s obvious how much importance Google gives to mobile-friendliness. Sill, a lot of websites don’t acknowledge the importance of creating a mobile-friendly website.

Read More About Mobile-First Indexing Here

The trend of searching has changed over the last decade or so. People are searching more on hand-held devices, especially mobiles, and searching less on desktops; the number is steadily increasing. More than 50% of all web traffic is driven by mobile devices, which means more than 50% of your audience is most likely to be accessing your website through mobile phones. Without a mobile-friendly website design, you could be unintentionally squandering half of your users. If your website has a high bounce rate due to not loading properly on a phone or tablet is going to send wrong signals to Google, and your rankings will tumble down.

2. Website Speed

We all know how important website speed is for the success of a business. People on the internet are impatient, and they want answers to their questions within seconds.  If you haven’t been ranking well, it could be that your website is just too slow and people are bouncing quickly.

And, If your website loading speed is slow, you must know what’s slowing your website down? It could be something to do with your web design. Website speed is one of the most important aspects of technical SEO, and it’s a primary deficiency for many websites.

Ideally, your website should load in two seconds. When it takes longer than three seconds, half the users visiting your site are likely to abandon it. Page speed is more critical on mobile devices, where people are even less likely to spend time waiting. Web designers can consider various elements like image optimization, content suppression, CSS optimization, etc. to speed up the site.

3. Sitemaps

Web design can help with the crawling of your website in more than one way. A sitemap is a crucial element to have in place if you want search engines to be smarter about how they crawl your website. Your sitemap provides search engines with a guide of all the pages and content on your website. This gives you the chance to tell search engines what pages are most important to your site.

In addition to their benefit to search engines, sitemaps also aid in user navigation. A new visitor to your site can refer to your sitemap to get around it. Sitemaps also contain essential metadata about your web pages to give them a better chance of ranking highly.

4. Easy-to-Read Design

If you’ve been working on improving your SEO, you would have been focusing a lot on the content. Some people might not realize what a huge impact the design of a website can have on your content, or at least the presentation and structure of it. A poorly designed website can make it impossible for users to read the information on your website. Oddly placed content blocks, with a lot of hyperlinks, don’t serve a clear purpose. 

At some point, you’ve probably been on a website that had a text that was impossible to read because of the page design. Maybe it was a light-colored text on a pure white background or a dark color on black. But the issue is not always color. The text may also be too big or small or written in a hard-to-read font. Like websites that aren’t mobile-friendly, sites that are difficult to read on any device or desktop are going to turn people away quickly. 

Web designers understand how to create websites that make it easy for users to absorb your content, so you get the most for your money. White space, line length, and any extra elements such as images can all affect how people pay attention to your site. Also, remember to consider people with disabilities by going for an inclusive web design format.

5. User Experience and Trust

Unlike some other SEO factors, you really cannot measure how much people trust you or your website. However, gaining trust is still a huge part of getting your website to rank higher. There’s no doubt that most people are quick to form opinions, and once they have them, it can be challenging to change their minds. Over the years, we have gotten used to seeing perfected websites that provide phenomenal user experiences. This is what we naturally expect to see when we open a website. We want something clean, easy to navigate, and that can quickly give us the information we want. We tend to think these kinds of sites seem more trustworthy.

If a website looks old and outdated or is too difficult to use, most people will be left with a bad impression, and they could leave and not come back. You could have a product or service that might be exactly what they are looking for, but your website doesn’t convey this. A bad website will make it look like your business or organization simply doesn’t put in much effort.

Conclusion

Higher ranking in popular search engines is crucial, for which SEO is vital. But, not just SEO. If the best practices of website designing are carried hand-in-hand with best SEO practices, your website will become more efficient and perform better. Please speak to our web design experts for more details.

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Blog Brand & Identity Design SEO Web Design

Top 10 Hacks To Create Effective Exit Popups

Most people don’t like popups. They feel popups are spammy and deplete the user experience. However, times have changed and exit popups are no longer the annoying spammy ads. Today, if you move the cursor to the top right or left corner of your screen, with an intent to leave the page, the website senses that you are moving away from the page and displays a last-minute popup using Javascript. These popup ads are called exit-intent popups.

These might belong to the not-so-popular popup ad family but are the most powerful and effective digital marketing tool in today’s time. And, we are not glorifying exit popups for no reason. Studies show that you can recover more than 50 percent of your abandoning visitors by implementing an exit-intent popup. It helps in reducing cart abandonment, increasing downloads, getting email signups, and a lot more.

Considering the importance and effectiveness of exit popups, here’s a list of exit popup hacks to boost engagement, sales, and subscribers.

1. Offer A Discount

Who doesn’t like discounts? The moment you offer a discount to your visitors, the majority of them will stop and at least consider your offer. The discount can be offered in many ways. A lot of websites offer a discount coupon in return of email id, signing up for newsletters, or subscribing to their email campaigns. Others may choose to simply offer a discount code that users can use upon purchasing from the website. The bottom line is that users love discounts, and thus it’s a great way to retain them

2. Personalize Your Message

Personalization creates a powerful impact. Be it email campaigns, or generic messages. It always works. Capture the name of your visitors even before you attempt to make a sale and when they are about to abandon your web page, grab their attention by exit popups with their name on it. Personal messaging will create a positive impact and users will feel more connected to your website.

3. Offer Content Upgrade

Another great way of reducing abandoning customers is by offering them an upgraded version of the content that they were reading. A more in-depth version of a particular blog post. So for instance, if your blog post is a ‘how-to’ tutorial, your visitors may want to read it in full but may leave as the content is too long to be read in one go. As they go to close the browser, present them with a free download of a PDF version of the post. Most likely they will download it for later use and will subscribe to your newsletters as well.

4. Provide Them Options

The real problem with unsuccessful popups is that they don’t really offer what the users want. This happens because the business a lot of businesses have many different buyer personas and each one of them will respond differently to a particular offering. The solution to this problem is to offer them multiple choices and allowing them to choose the one that they want. Once they select an option, an opt-in form can be used to capture the lead.

5. Add Pictures To The Offer

Images create a greater impact and make a big difference to any online campaign. A good quality offer image along with other essential information will entice the users and will increase the chances of acceptance. 

6. Optimize The Exit Popups

The user is ready to leave the page and a delay of even one second in displaying the exit popups can be the game-changer. Therefore, it’s essential to optimize the popup message and design, so that it pops up instantly. Remove heavy images and graphics, don’t use special effects, and cut down on the content.

7. Overcome Objections

One of the major roadblocks to a purchase is also one of the best exit popup hacks, especially for eCommerce products and checkout pages. A lot of times the customer is on the verge of purchasing your product but is stopped by one small objection. 

One of the biggest objections that shoppers have is the Buyer’s Remorse. Do they get doubts in their mind like what if this is not the right product for me? What if I have to return it back? Offer money-back offers, 30-day free trials, and easy returns to the customers, in exit popups, so that they can purchase with confidence.

8. Provide A Simple Reminder

Sometimes just a reminder can make a difference. When customers are abandoning your website, they must be reminded of the products left in their carts. The reminder creates a strong and irresistible desire to close the purchase. Use solid copy to create more impact. Wait! are you sure you don’t want to buy. Wait, you still have some items in your cart. Don’t leave without your items. These are some examples that you can use.

9. Offer Free Shipping

It is a fun fact that shipping cost is one of the primary reasons for customers abandoning their shopping carts. Therefore, using free shipping exit popups is a great way to retain customers. Discount coupons or direct discounts on shipping along with the link to the product they wanted to buy. 

10. Create A Sense Of Urgency

The scarcity of something makes it more desirable. If customers are informed that there are only a few units of their favorite products are left, they won’t want to miss it. Hurry up!! Only two left in stock, or Hurry up! you get it at this price only today, is something that you can use in your exit popups copy.

Few tips to Reduce the Bounce Rate of your site. Read Here

The above-mentioned hacks will surely help you in retaining your customers and increasing conversions. If you want to know more about how to create exit popup campaigns, you can talk to our team now.

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Blog Brand & Identity SEO Technology UX

5 Tips To Select The Right Button Labels

Designing a website is not just about making it look visually appealing; there’s a lot more to it. One of the most critical aspects of developing a successful website is to give due importance to the copy and button labels. What your buttons say is as vital as they look. No matter how pretty and attractive your buttons look, if you choose incorrect words to describe them, it may all go wrong.

Incorrect button labels can confuse the users, making it hard for them to take the desired actions. It also reduces the speed at which the actions are performed. If you wish to simplify the process of taking actions on your app, you need to choose the right words on your button labels. So how do you do that? Here are some pro tips to get your words right.

1. Use Action Verbs Instead Of Simple Words

The one thing that you want your buttons to do is encouraging users to take actions. Thus, button labels should be inspiring, and action words are the best for the same. An action verb on a button makes users aware of the action which will be performed upon clicking on it. There’s no need for additional text along with an action verb to guide the user.

Let’s take an example of generic “yes/no” button labels, which are often used on confirmation screens. Users have to read the dialogue before they can take action. They can’t take action without reading the message, and there’s every possibility that they press the wrong button. If the button label is replaced by an action verb like ‘save’ instead of ‘yes’, the user clearly gets the action message without any supporting information. It saves time and allows them to make quick, correct actions.

2. Use Clear Verbiage in Button Labels

Each action verb you use has a specific connotation. If your verbiage is unclear or isn’t precise, you may confuse users about the real action attached to the button. For example, the words ‘delete’ and ‘remove’ are very close in their meanings, but different in their intentions. ‘Delete’ implies the item will be erased completely from the system or the memory. On the other hand, ‘remove’ means that the button will separate the item from a particular group. Using these words in the wrong context can make the users press the button to initiate an action they don’t want.

Another example could be of a playlist of songs, using ‘delete’ instead of ‘remove’ is incorrect. The ‘delete’ label makes the users think that the song will be erased completely, from the system memory as well, whereas that’s not the case. The song will be removed from a particular group of songs. That’s why ‘remove’ is the more apt and correct label.

Read More About Designing The CTA Buttons: Tips To Design Buttons on a Site

3. Language Must Be Task-specific

Button labels must be clear, precise and specific. A vague and generic button label causes uncertainty and users feel unsure of the actions that they are about to take. They don’t have a clear idea about what the button will do, because the words used on the label are not specific. Using a task-specific language ensures that the users are aware of the results of their actions.

For example, the word “submit” and the word “publish” may seem to perform the same action. However, ‘submit’ is a commonly used, generic, technical term. But if you wish to make the button more specific, you should use a word about the actual result of the action.

Like ‘publish’ is a specific button label with regards to online publishing. ‘Submit’ can also work very well here, but ‘publish’ informs the user explicitly that the item will not only be submitted but would be broadcasted too. This button label is more precise and gives users certainty to act.

4. Use Active Imperative Form

You should aim to use as fewer words on a button label as you can. More words make users read more, which slows down the action process. Use of imperative form in an active voice minimizes the number of words, and the button label becomes more natural to scan.

The active imperative form turns verb phrases into commands. The subject and unnecessary articles can be dropped off using the active imperative form, to get a concise button label. All you need to include on your button label is a verb with an adverb or direct object.

Users trust and understand commands on button labels. It gives them certainty and clarity about the intended action, which aids their decision-making. Let’s take an example of “click here for more details” in a button label. The label is too wordy, and it’s also redundant for the user. Instead, use verbs that are unique, describe the action and provoke users to click. ‘Read details’ is a suitable replacement for the label mentioned above. 

5. Button Labels Should Be In Sentence-case

The capitalization style of your button label expresses your tone to users. It’s more about how you’re saying it, rather than what you’re saying. The tone of your message and interaction with users creates an emotional reaction in users. This reaction will either repel them or motivate them to engage with you actively.

The perks of a sentence-style capitalization are many. It conveys a friendly tone, comforts the users, and invites them to press the button. Most of the reading done by humans is in sentence case. They are familiar with it, so when they read it on your buttons, they feel like someone is really speaking to them, in a natural voice. 

Title case breaks the natural reading flow and distracts users from the underlying message. Additionally, unnecessary capitalization is considered rude in some cultures, hence giving you more reasons to avoid it. 

The call to action buttons is imperative for the success of your website. Words on your button labels play a crucial role in determining the effectiveness of the CTAs. If you choose the wrong words on your button labels, the call to action won’t matter. Want to get more action on your buttons? Talk to our design champs now!

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Design SEO UX Web Design

Tips For International Expansion Of Your Website

The growth of the internet has led to a world without borders. Businesses are no longer confined to specific regions. E commerce has provided an opportunity for sellers to explore new markets and attract customers from all over the globe. If you wish to grow your business to the next level, going international might be the best bet. How do you do it though? With proper homework and following the below-mentioned pro tips. These tips can significantly simplify the process of expanding your website to international markets. 

READ MORE: Infuse International Flavors to your Website

Multilingual Content

It’s very convenient for users to get the content in their native language. The first and the foremost step of global expansion is to create different versions of the website in languages, that are most commonly used in the target geographies. A global site needs to effectively communicate with the worldwide audience in the most understandable manner. An identifiable language can create the connection customers need to feel comfortable and trust your business.

Remember, more than the language, the quality of content is imperative. Poor website content presented in native languages is of no use. Never compromise on the quality of content. It’s sporadic to have a translator in the team, so consider taking services of a professional translation company. Their experience will come in handy.

Optimized Content

Ranking in Google searches is essential for businesses to grow and achieve success. It all begins with finding the right keywords through in-depth research. Different keywords may be popular in different countries. An international SEO strategy is essential for a global website. It will drive more traffic to generate leads. More visibility, more leads, better conversion ratio.

Global websites must use multilingual SEO meta tags, so that Google picks up the language of the site. In an ideal world, there should be a separate website for every country, but different languages are good enough for starters. SEO is tricky and requires constant modification in the approach; however, it’s very rewarding.

Faster Page Load Time Across Platforms

People on the internet are impatient. High-speed internet access and plenty of options have spoiled them. If your web-page doesn’t load with a blink of an eye, they will go to the next best option available. Speed is a crucial factor to consider when going global.

Moreover, your website will be accessed from many geographies and through various devices. So, it becomes crucial to optimize the site, to offer consistent performance and experience across all channels and devices like tablets and mobile.

According to a study, when a site doesn’t load in three seconds, 53% of mobile users leave the site. Losing so many potential customers is lethal for the business. It gives a wrong impression of your brand too. Users assume that you are not a serious brand and even doubt your credibility.

No Text in Images

You got to be smart while designing global websites. Translation can take care of the content in terms of text, but images can be troublesome. Avoid using text in images as much as possible. This can protect your brand image in the long-run. A website that uses too much text in its pictures can be problematic.

Design elements play a vital role in online purchasing decisions of consumers; undermining its potential is a big mistake. An appealing website is a mix of excellent content and attractive visuals.

Handling International Currency 

You don’t want your users to sit with a calculator trying to convert the dollars into pounds. A website that doesn’t display prices in local currency ends up confusing the customers. When expanding the site on a global scale, online businesses need to accommodate customers. Showing the prices in their own currency is necessary.  It creates a seamless experience for the customers and rewards your business with increased revenue. A suitable API tool can be useful for currency conversions. 

Suitable Payment Options

The payment process and options must be more accessible to a global audience. The standard payment is mostly convenient, but in some cases, they might not be suitable. For example, German consumers prefer ELV bank transfers, while African consumers prefer using phone credit. Based on the region, the website must tailor the payment process.

The checkout process is a crucial point in the customer’s journey. Ensure that all the additional charges, if any, that a customer may incur, are clearly mentioned. Making the checkout process simpler will drive more sales for your global website.

Local Laws and Regulations

Rules and regulations differ from country to country, and they all need to be abide. The formalities must be completed in full, when conducting business in different countries. Do your homework, conduct thorough research and find out the laws and regulations that might affect your business in other nations. 

A website that caters to international clients must be aware of all the legal requirements and charges, taxation, shipping, freight charges, fees etc. The more you know about these details, the better it is for your business.

The global expansion of your website will need understanding the requirements of the worldwide audience, analyzing the challenges, and tailoring the site based on it. Looking for global expansion? Talk to our experts.

Categories
Blog Brand & Identity SEO Web Design

5 Annoying Things To Avoid In A Web Design

Competition over the Web Design internet is fierce. Today, there are a large number of individuals and businesses who spend money and time on digital marketing and SEO to rank higher on Google searches. It has become tough to differentiate from rivals and get users to visit a particular website over others.

Since acquiring new visitors is very difficult, providing a delightful user experience gains importance and is pivotal to retain each hard-earned customer. If a website offers an unpleasant experience to its users, forget about winning repeat visits, they might never come back on the website. Here are some of the most common things in a web design which leaves users in frustration and thus must always be avoided.

Slow Website Speed

With the boom in technology, everything has become super quick. Everyone has a smartphone these days, and access to the internet is just a tap away. Even half-baked questions or half-remembered trivia get instant answers from Google. People can contact each other, sitting halfway across the globe in a matter of seconds. Today, the speed and responsiveness of our hyper-connected world have spoiled us all. Therefore, when we click on a search result, and the page keeps loading even for only three to four seconds, it is equivalent to eternity for users.

Remember, you’re not the only one providing an answer to a query or serving what a user is looking for. If your page doesn’t load within a blink of an eye, they will click on other best available options. Get rid of all the unwanted elements which are dragging down the speed of your website. Ensuring a good page load speed is critical to create new visitors and retain them.

Too Many Popups

It’s a shared experience, wherein we click on a link in our Google search results, and we are directed to a webpage which is full of popups. So much as so that we are not even able to read the actual content available on the page. Moreover, they keep popping up, even after you close them.

Combined with a browser alert that “this website would like to send you notifications”, the overall effect is one of being barraged with irrelevant information. It ultimately kills the actual content you were trying to reach.

Some advocate the fact that popups significantly improve conversion rate, while others get put-off by their potential of pestering the users. No matter which side we stand, one thing is for sure that popups are badly planned, throwing information and content which is not relevant for users. Therefore it is better to stay away from them.

Not Mobile-friendly

According to Statistic, 52.2 percent of internet traffic was generated through mobile phones in 2018. That’s a considerable ratio, and thus it’s pivotal that the website is responsive and mobile friendly. We are in 2019, yet we come across many mobile sites where items aren’t aligned properly, overlapping, strangely formatted or subject to some additional oversight from the designer. It creates a negative impression on users. They might feel that your company doesn’t take the time to go over little details.

Coupled with the recent change in Google’s algorithm to prioritize mobile-first indexing, there is now no reason at all to ignore the mobile experience of your website. A low-quality mobile site can negatively affect your SEO performance as well as the experience of your users, so it’s essential to get it right.

Animation Overdose

We like animations. Yes, they do look good and enhance the aesthetic value of a website. A few smooth transitions, transforms, appearances, and well-deployed animation can infuse vital life into an otherwise static and dry layout.

However, animation should be used sparingly, as and when required. Overdoing it can distract the audience. The key role of animations is to draw user attention to key content and call-to-action buttons. Users should not feel confused to read the actual text.

Animated introductory screens, too, are great attention-grabbers when users first reach on to your website, but avoid making them sit through the same animation every time they want to return to the homepage. Their beautiful presentation shouldn’t dictate the function of website elements.

Users shouldn’t be waiting for an element to appear or to become interactive. Using a lot of moving parts or content that flashes can pose problems for users. Some users may have an attention deficit disorder, making it very difficult for them to concentrate on the content.

Video Autoplay

Videos are an essential aspect of your online marketing efforts. They are a good source of explaining your products, brand message and other aspects, better than text can. Designers are often tempted to put the video on autoplay when they place them on the website. There are ways to do it tastefully, but it’s so often misused and creates a negative user experience.

Many sites place a video next to the body text. Usually this is entirely irrelevant to the content of the page. Even if you close it before navigating to another page, it quickly reappears. That’s really annoying.

Even worse, many sites preface these videos with automated advertisements which, given that the videos themselves are generally advertisements in one form or another. Some web users also hate auto-play as it can ruin their user experience and would rather prefer reading the information on the page without a distraction. It is more polite and effective to let the video be turned off until the audience chooses to play it.

To wrap up

Everything which we have mentioned above is basically issues of a bad UX design. It is important to consider every element and its effect on the overall user experience. If something hinders the user in finding what they’re looking for or detract them from the actual content of the page, it should be avoided. Speak to our design experts to know more about it.

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SEO

Top 5 Reasons Why Websites Have A Low Conversion Ratio

Every day we see tons of new businesses and new ideas arising in the market. Companies invest a lot of money and time on shaping their ideas and finally their startup is launched. Once the startup is up and running then they wait for customers and revenue but often fail. In an urge to get users they spend a fortune on PR and marketing activities which gets them a decent number of users. But, it again doesn’t suffice the end goal and hardly any of the users convert into customers. Here are top 5 reasons why some websites have a low conversion ratio despite decent traffic:

1. Lack Of Trust On Your Brand

This is the most common reason for a visitor to be skeptical about becoming a customer. It’s a human tendency to bend towards a renowned and mass favorite brand. This is the reason why people prefer market giants like amazon, Walmart, Tesco etc.

What to do?
You need to try and build your trust in any and every possible way. Use customer feedbacks, images of real people and display your associations to make your brand look more personal and trustworthy.

2. You Are not Able To Portray Your Offerings

In a quest to differentiate their product and brand, many people use jazzy messaging, imagery, and gibberish taglines. This provides a negative impact to your brand and confuses your customer. The approach should be fairly simple and the user must be able to crackdown your offering.

What to do?
Take 5-6 people from your target audience to make a focus group. Ensure that they are not aware of your brand and products. Show them your website for 10 seconds and then ask “What does the product do and for whom is it for ?”. If you don’t get the correct response for either one of your questions then you need to modify your messaging and imagery. Repeat this exercise until you get it correct (Of course with a different focus group every time).

3. High on Claims, Low on performance

It’s very easy and a routine job for a creative writer to come up with 10-20 excellent one-liners to market your product. These flattering lines can lure visitors but if your product performance is nowhere near to your claims then you are calling trouble.

What to do?
Be honest. Honesty creates an everlasting trustworthy impression. Flaunt the actual good bits of your product or service and how it can benefit users. Stay away from glittering but unreal product descriptions and false enhanced images.

4. They Simply Don’t Want it

Sometimes the reason for no conversion could be as simple as the fact that they just don’t want it. Your product or service can address their requirement or problem but may be your solution is not the type of solution they want.
For example, you may have identified obesity as a problem and weight loss as a solution. Here the identified problem is correct and logical and you might offer 20 Kg weight loss through intense training and fitness program. However, the customer might actually be looking to lose weight through diet and weight reducing beverages etc.

What to do?
It should always be a primary exercise before starting any business to identify the need/requirement/problem and what is the most popular type of solution for that problem. This helps in zeroing down on the type of solutions you want to offer. If this exercise was not done initially then it’s highly recommended to perform it.

5. A Guarantee or Replacement Option Is Missing

Who doesn’t love a sense of satisfaction and safety? Consumers will always feel more secure when they are treated with options which provide safety of their purchase. A lack of these options will definitely create second thoughts for users and the products might rest in their cart forever.

What to do?
Provide guarantee options to users. Options like 100% money back, 30-day free return, free replacement if product not the same as displayed etc. will give a great sense of safety to the users and they will become happy customers for you.

If your website conversion ratio is constantly low or dropping day by day instead of decent traffic then you must really identify the root cause for the same. If you will not understand the problem you will never be able to do anything about it and will end up wasting huge money on PR, marketing, and other less relevant things. Even if you have a low traffic on your website, don’t run behind the traffic and focus on improving your conversions for a better ROI.

Talk to our experts today for your digital requirements.

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SEO

5 Essential Rules For Writing Title Tags

The most important objective of a web page is to climb up the ladder of Google rankings and sit as high as it can. But, it’s not as easy as it may sound. The are tons of Google logics and algorithms which determine the page ranking. HTML title tags are one of these important aspects which play an important role in determining a page’s ranking. Having said that, most of the times people tend to underestimate the importance of title tags and avoid them.

Avoiding title tags can be very critical in terms of page rankings. Here are 5 essential rules which you must keep in mind while writing the title tags:

1. Primary Keyword Should Always Be At The Beginning

It’s a universal rule that placing the page’s primary keyword at the start of the <title> tag is most beneficial in terms of SEO. However, some companies choose to place their company name at the beginning. Here, it’s a matter of brand power. If your brand name will attract more CTR, then go for it.

2. Include Relevant Keyword Phrases

Incorporate targeted keyword phrases in the title tag naturally (avoiding overstuffing of keywords) which are highly relevant to the page. Many experts believe that keywords don’t matter anymore, and Google semantically matches everything. But using the common customer language still matters. Google will always value crystal clear communication with regards to the content of a web page.

3. Test The CTR

The titles you write for your organic search snippet must be as catchy as your headline for a PPC ad. You can use PPC to test various headline options and then use the best title tag for the organic search snippet. But mind that users who click on paid ads have a different mindset than those who click on organic results. So consider this fact when you analyze the PPC headline test data.

4. Aim At The Searcher’s Intent

Every page on your website creates different needs for the users and must be designed accordingly. Some pages are informational in nature, and the title tags for those should be designed likewise. Other pages are designed solely to sell products or services. Their title tags should be written to aid their purchase decisions. The title tags must match the searcher’s intent. If the page was designed for searchers with a buying objective, the title must focus on buying and shopping. If the page was designed for a searcher in a research mode, use titles as “learn more” etc.

5. Write Tags For Your Audience And Not Just For Search Engines

We all know that the title tag is very crucial for SEO and page rankings. However, this fact shouldn’t overshadow the other fact that it is also for your target audience. Ensure that you communicate what the web page is all about in the most simple, user-friendly manner which is easily understandable by humans.

Reach out to our experts today to know more about SEO and how you can increase your Google page rankings.