A user-friendly interface can keep people on your page for longer, writes Greg Muller.
Website design is more than animated spinning logos, embarrassing soundtracks and an inappropriate use of scrolling marquees and blinking text.
The speed at which technology has evolved has been extraordinary and it's vital for small businesses to understand the key elements of modern design.
A website with a great design can provide a key competitive advantage. This can lead to new business and even provide an opening to tap into new markets that might not have been possible otherwise. A great website design never comes in a "one size fits all" solution.
But what makes a design successful? The answer comes in two parts.
Fit for purpose
Even the most visually impressive, innovative and over-the-top websites usually fail for one main reason: they rarely meet the needs of their users. Ultimately, if the user doesn't see the value in a website, finds it hard to navigate, becomes confused with content or just generally dislikes the colour palette, they'll switch off and, chances are, go somewhere else. On average, users take less than a third of a second to judge a website.
If you were to build a small grocery store on one of the busiest main streets in the city, you wouldn't think twice about investing a small fortune to get the layout of the shop floor just right, ensuring all the products on sale were strategically placed to maximise their sales potential. You can do the same with websites – and it's called fit-for-purpose design.
Accessibility
Ask any Apple Mac user why they love their Mac and I guarantee the majority of the answers will be about the experience of using it. Very few companies can get this right but, when they do, the pay-off can be enormous.
There is a social and sometimes legal responsibility to make websites accessible. This refers to websites that can be navigated and read by everyone, regardless of disability, location, experience or technology.
The key ingredient to getting that experience right is to make sure the product connects to its users. Many people tend to think modifications to design should be based on feedback you gather once a website has gone live. Making modifications and tweaks to the designs based on testing feedback is much easier and more cost-effective to do before the website has launched.
This should not, however, deter the owners of existing websites from factoring in user testing. Demographics are constantly changing, so the benefits of maintaining user-centred design cannot be overstated. For example, the Office of State Revenue in Queensland had a website that some users dubbed "unappealing".
Through the use of focus groups, a new website was developed that offered unparalleled usability by breaking the visitors into three groups and providing them with navigation features that suited their specific purposes. Since its launch, this user-centric approach has received extremely positive feedback of up to 99 per cent.
It's important for small businesses to make sure their website is designed with the user and user experience in mind. It's equally important to note that every user is different and, as much as we strive to get this magic formula just right, validation tells us so.
Small business owners need to engage their users and provide an environment that not only identifies the business but sets it apart from its competition.
Greg Muller is the managing director of web design and development at Bullseye. He specialises in implementing digital strategy and developing online customer experiences.