While it may not be anything spectacular, it does a reliable job of keeping regular patrons informed and offers a concise rundown of what your business does. There’s no question that hanging onto repeat customers is important for any enterprise, but attracting new clients is what every company should constantly strive for. With countless forms of media demanding our attention from all angles, human attention spans are at record lows – meaning your site needs to make a lasting impression within several seconds or risk losing new customers’ business forever.
Abundant Visual Content
Although a regularly-updated blog is a staple of a well-maintained business website, content that is purely text-based is liable to turn off a large portion of first-time visitors. People who are already familiar with your company and love the services it provides are the only ones likely to be content with imageless blogs, interviews and feature articles. Taking this into account, make sure to incorporate abundant images into any content found on your site’s homepage. This will provide first-time visitors with a clearer understanding of what your business does, as well as entice them to stick around.
Gamification
Once regarded as a hobby enjoyed exclusively by geeks, video gaming has come a long way in recent years. Social media-based games like Farmville and smart phone hits like Candy Crush have helped facilitate gaming’s emergence into the mainstream. “Gamification” refers to the practice of incorporating game-like elements into your company’s website. Some sites offer badges to visitors for completing certain tasks, while others reward them with coupons and special discounts for posting a certain number of social media links. This essentially kills two birds with one stone; first-time visitors are kept engaged and provided with incentive to help you build brand awareness. As Forbes contributor Michelle Greenwald points out, gamification is being utilized to great effect across a variety of industries.
Responsiveness
If they have to click on a link or icon more than once, chances are they’ll leave your site and never return. In addition to featuring near-instant loading speeds, your company’s website needs to automatically adapt to any device upon which it’s being accessed. Whether it’s being visited on a traditional PC, smart phone or tablet, the browsing, responsiveness and accessibility need to be seamless across the board. Luckily, an experienced web designer should be able to make short work of any responsiveness issues that are plaguing your site.
Companies interested in holding visitors’ attention for more than a few seconds need to take measures to make their sites stand out. If web design isn’t your strong suit, bringing your site up to snuff is liable to seem like a tall order. Fortunately, putting the previously-discussed tips to good use can make a world of difference when it comes to maintaining visitor interest and growing your business.
More to read
- 3 Things to Consider When Optimizing Your Website
- Overhauling an Outdated Company Website
- Using Search Engine Optimization to Your Advantage
- Website Features that Will Keep First-Time Visitors Engaged
- Making Your Site Stand Out in the Digital Age
- The Best Ways to Gauge Your Website’s User Experience
- Cheap Web Design