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January is all about "fresh starts," "restarts," "new beginnings," etc. If you currently are feeling the need to declutter, clean, or organize, don't forget about your website.
Here is a list of six things to ditch on your website in 2023 that will ensure potential customers stick around longer and engage more.
1. Long Paragraphs
Paragraphs serve three useful purposes. Firstly they help the writer to order and organize their thoughts. Secondly, they give the reader 'rest points' as they work through the text. And finally, paragraphs give us entry and exit points into documents. his is particularly useful on the web, where we know that readers browse.
Try to limit your paragraph to five lines – not sentences. If it's too long, break it down into a series of paragraphs on subtopics.
Keep paragraphs short. Two to three sentences are often enough.
2. Testimonial Page
It may be the case that if you only have the testimonials on one page, they may be missed or overlooked. The best thing for you to do is to select relevant testimonials and sprinkle them throughout your website. This way, those testimonials are more likely to be read, which is the whole point.
When you are displaying specific testimonials throughout your site, it is essential that you do something to make them stand out. Try doing this when adding Testimonials
Use color and other graphic elements to highlight the fact that they are different
Add large quotation marks
Separate them from the other text on your page with borders
Include a picture of the customer whose testimonial you are using
3. Too many Pop-ups
Being bombarded with pop-ups as soon as you visit a website can be really annoying and end up making visitors leave your site. The website visitor came to your site to browse or read-- being hit with pop-ups can become easily distracting.
Don't overdo it. Remember, new visitors will automatically get a cookie pop-up as soon as they log on to your website for the first time. With that in mind, do not add more than two pop-ups.
Make sure people can easily exit out of a pop-up. Make sure the 'X' is visible or there is an obvious way to minimize it.
Always check to see how your pop-up looks on a mobile device. If it is really messy or overwhelming, turn off on mobile
Set up parameters and timing for your pop-up. Using Wix lightboxes- you choose which page a pop-up appears on, and how long a visitor has to be on a page before it appears.
4. Greedy Forms
The more you ask for, the less you’ll receive. A “greedy form” is a form that asks visitors for more information than they think they should provide.
Here is what to do instead
Ask for basic contact information, or the minimum information needed to direct and respond to a lead. If their phone number is not relevant to a subscriber or contact information, don't ask for it. The same goes for an address, etc.
Ask questions in a follow-up email
5. Design
I've dedicated much of this blog to website design. It is an intense process that entails a lot of hard work. Color scheme, layout, and text. Here are a few suggestions to help your visitor on your website-- without redesigning the entire thing.
Font Choice:
Handwriting fonts are all the rage! However, they are often times IMPOSSIBLE to read. These types of fonts should be used sparingly. You can still use them, but just make sure they do not convey important details. Instead, use a typeface of a Serif or Sans Serif. Generally, serif typefaces are used with the intention to bring forward a more formal. Sans fonts, on the other hand, most often symbolize minimalism, simplicity, and straightforwardness
Font Size:
While on the topic of fonts, let's discuss size. I am pushing 40 now, and while I hate to admit it, I have old eyes. Tiny writing has become harder and harder to read.
Desktop Web Typography
1. 16px is the MINIMUM for text-heavy pages.
2. 18px is a better font size to start with. You aren't writing a word document, you're writing for someone sitting a couple feet from a monitor.
3. 20px+ may feel awkward at first, it is always worth trying out.
4. 14px-16px is the norm for interaction-heavy pages. But there won’t be just one font size. There will likely be smaller sizes for less important things, and larger sizes for more important things (titles and subtitles and sub-subtitles, etc.), and it’ll all be blended together in a giant hodgepodge.
Mobile Web Typography
1. Body Fonts Should be about 16px. Understanding that different fonts can be more or less legible even at the exact same size, 16px is a good place to start when choosing your default mobile font size. Consider going smaller if you have (A) an interaction-heavy page or (B) a font with particularly large, easy-to-read characters.
2. Text input sizes should be at least 16px. If it is smaller iOS browsers will zoom in on the left side.
The gold standard for choosing mobile font sizes is to view your designs on an actual device. I can’t recommend this practice highly enough, since the feel of a mobile app design on your laptop screen is way different than when you’re holding it in your hand.
Button Design:
Taking the two tips about font selection and size into consideration, let's talk about button design. The font choice and size are both critical. So is color choice. The color contrast between the label and background is one of the biggest considerations for button accessibility. If your site visitor can't read the button- they won't click on it. There goes a potential sale.
6. Too many clicks
There is no magic number of clicks as long as users find what they want without expending unnecessary effort to get it. Focus on your users’ needs to guide you in finding the best approach. Click progress should feel natural and not like a puzzle to solve. Visitors will happily continue to click if they understand the content.
Consider:
Looking at your website data to understand what users want
Highlighting popular actions within navigation and action buttons
Removing these items from your website will declutter it and make it easier to read. Doing this will also help your SEO score, which will help your site’s ranking on Google’s search results. Plus, it will definitely make it look better overall. Your audience will surely stay on your site longer once you minimize distractions. If you would like help determining what should be removed immediately from your website, contact me.