Maximizing the Contact Us Page

Your Contact Us page can be one of the most important destinations on your site, so it's important critical that you ensure that the right information is included, and that the right method of contact is given. Having more or less than is necessary can hinder a visitor who wants to communicate with you.

Microsoft Office Live Small Business's Monte Enbynsk summarized several suggestions that website writing specialist Leslie O'Flahavan offered. The suggestions include:

• Check regularly for messages sent to the e-mail that you have listed on your Contact Us page. Make it as easy for visitors to find and click on your address or contact form (a contact form protects you from spam) as possible.
• Use a picture of your business if it has a physical address and list directions if you want customers to be able to visit you in person. Pictures, Enbynsk notes, should be relevant, such as a photo of your staff.
• List other places that you are online—like Facebook or other social media and networking sites—where someone can learn more about you and contact you.
• Let visitors know where you'll be holding events so they can come and participate.
• While including all of this information, Enbynsk says you still need to keep it simple. Include all information that is relevant to allow the visitor to get in touch with you—that's all.
  

Read Enbynsk's full article.

Improved Website Navigation

One trend that not only makes your site look better but makes it easier to use are innovations in how website navigation is currently being designed.

Dynamic buttons using flash make it easier for your visitors to know what they are clicking on. An example of site that was designed by HIT Web Design is http://expressionsphotography.com. This makes the site more interactive and helps the visitor know how to navigate the site.

There have been, and still are, many sites that are cluttered with pictures and information making it difficult to navigate. One thing that is being seen in more recently designed websites is a good use of whitespace which has made websites easier to navigate as well as it helps visitors find important information on the site.

Another useful trend is footer navigation which makes it easier on your sites visitors to navigate the site without having to scroll back to the top of the screen to click on a button.

Updating your sites navigation will not only improve the look of your website but will make it easier for your customers and site visitors as well.

For more information, please visit http://www.hitwebdesign.com or call 1-866-211-0743.

Personalizing Your Website

One trend in music, artist, and personal blog sites that is really exciting is adding personalized elements such as hand drawn illustrations to the site. The reason personalized elements have caught on with these types of sites seems obvious, it helps create more of a connection with visitors to your site while also showcasing your own creativity.

Hand drawn personalized elements are definitely not suitable for all industries, but used appropriately they can really add to the overall feel of a site and make it stand out. Daytrotter, a music site, has been using hand drawn pictures of their daily musical guests for years now, and uses many other hand drawn elements to give their site a relaxed feel.

Most of these sites that use these kind of elements are trying to portray a young, hip feel. If you are in an industry such as art, music, retail, or even if you are just trying to appeal to this demographic then maybe this is a design element you should explore for your site. These sites trend to be very focused on the actual design elements as a means to create and keep interest in the site.

For more information, please visit http://www.hitwebdesign.com or call 1-866-211-0743.

Varying Price Points When Promoting Products

When cross-selling and up-selling, not only is it important to keep the products you promote related to what your visitors are searching for, but you also want to promote products with varying price points.

This means that when you are suggesting products to your visitors for a potential cross-sale or up-sale, you want to promote products that have a wide range of prices; some that are expensive, inexpensive, and mid-range.

By doing this you gain the possibility of getting more sales. Those visitors who are impulse buyers are very likely to add an item to their shopping cart at the last minute if the item is inexpensive. Some visitors just want a one-stop-shop for all of their needs and will buy the more expensive products that you promote. Others may not buy any of the items you suggest right away, but by letting your visitors know that you carry that item, they are more likely to come back to your website for it in the future.

Promoting products related to what your visitor is searching for and making sure those products vary in price points ensures you are not missing out on an opportunity and are achieving the highest sales potential for your website.

Ask about HIT’s Recommended Products Module and how you can take advantage of cross-selling and up-selling on your website.

For more information, please visit http://www.hitwebdesign.com or call 1-866-211-0743.

Don't Misuse or Overuse Pictures on Your Website

It is true that websites are becoming more and more visually engaging, and using pictures and graphics properly can help improve your site's ability to market your products and services to your potential

customers. However, just like too much text on a website may turn off a visitor to your site, too many pictures, or pictures used poorly, can also be detrimental to your website. Following are some things to keep in mind when using pictures on your site.

The pictures and graphics you use on your website should not detract from the text. They should guide the reader to what you want them to do, whether it is to buy your products, to call your place of business, or some other call to action. Too many pictures can be distracting and can make it hard for visitors to your site to even find the information you want to convey.

Using pictures, graphics, or animations on a site should not only be used because they look “cool” but should support the overall purpose of your website, which should be to market your products and services to potential customers, or to provide information to your visitors.

For more information, please visit http://www.hitwebdesign.com or call 1-866-211-0743.

Becoming an Industry Expert

Adding a saying or slogan can also help you build visitors’ trust. Your saying may include “Certified in …” or “Over. . . customers served,” for example. You want to make sure that your saying is honest and accurate.

Certifications are a good way to help site visitors gain your trust, but they also help show that you are an expert in your industry. Many industries offer certifications. If they don’t, then try to get published in an industry magazine or newsletter. Include a link to the magazine or newsletter on your website.

Another way to show that you are an expert in your industry is by continual blogging. If you want to become an expert in your industry, see what the industry experts are blogging about. Begin to research what the experts are researching, and then blog about your own take. Once you become an industry expert, you’ll get visitors that you normally wouldn’t get. You’ll get sales opportunities that didn’t previously exist. You’ll be better, in some ways, than your competition.

For more information, please visit http://www.hitwebdesign.com or call 1-866-211-0743.

Gain Visitors’ Trust by Using Trust Images and Icons

One way to gain visitor trust is by using trust images and icons. There are several independent companies and non-profit organizations that will help measure your company’s success, your excellent customer service, the security of your website, etc. For example, BBB (Better Business Bureau), Hacker Safe, PayPal Verified, and GeoTrust are all companies that can help bring trust and credibility to your business. Of course, there are several other companies that do the same thing. Make sure that you use the reputable ones. One of the best ways to lose your customers’ trust is by making up your own trust icons—don’t do it!

Take a look at our website, www.hitwebdesign.com. On our landing page, we have the Inc. 500 logo. We have been featured as one of Inc. 500’s fasting growing companies for the last three years. Click on the “Read More” link and you are taken to a page that has almost a dozen more trust images, including Entrepreneur magazine and Google Adwords. You want to become qualified to receive trust icons that are offered in your industry. This not only helps with trust, it also shows that you are an expert in your industry.

For more information, please visit http://www.hitwebdesign.com or call 1-866-211-0743.

Update Your Website Often

The first thing that should set you apart from your online competition is your website. Is your website professional looking? Is your site regularly updated? Updating your site on a regular basis helps ensure customers that you are still operating. There are so many small business sites that go out but don’t pull out. They no longer operate their business, but they (for whatever reason) don’t pull their site down.

Part of the process of updating your content is updating links. If you have links that go to blogs or other websites, check them often to make sure that they still work. It’s easy to get frustrated when you start clicking on links that go nowhere. Frustrated visitors won’t stay on your site.

If your site isn’t up to par, don’t worry. There are several web design companies that can redesign your site for a fair price, including HIT Web Design.

For more information, please visit http://www.hitwebdesign.com or call 1-866-211-0743.

What is Good Website Content?

Less copy (text) is not necessarily more effective than having a lot of copy. The quality of the copy, not the length of the copy, is what determines its effectiveness. Google’s Search Engine Optimization Starter Guide says “Creating compelling and useful content will likely influence your website more than any of the other factors discussed here [including title tags, description meta tag, URLs, site navigation, anchor text, optimizing images, and links). Users know good content when they see it and will likely want to direct other users to it.”

What is good content? There are other factors that go into creating good content, but there are three that make a big difference. It must
• make sense to the reader.
• help sell your product or service.
• have keywords and key phrases that will bring customers to your site.

If you follow these three key principles, you’ll have the right amount of copy on your website.

We'll go deeper into website copy and how to make it the most effective tomorrow, so stay tuned.

For more information, please visit http://www.hitwebdesign.com or call 1-866-211-0743.

Focus on What You Want Visitors To Do

When a visitor pulls up your website, what do you want them to do? If you are a small business owner, the answer is obvious: you want them to purchase a product or service. How do you get them to do that? There’s a lot that goes into it, so let’s start with one helpful concept: Focus on
What You Want Visitors to Do.

Should visitors to your site:

• make a purchase?

• fill out a form?

• click on a link?

• contact your company?

If you aren’t sure what you want your visitor to do, how will they ever know? Starting with the very first line of copy on your website, your content should lead your visitor to the goal you have in mind.

Make effective use of your homepage. If you want a customer to make a purchase, then your home page should focus on the products or services you are offering. If you have multiple products or services, you will want to make sure your customer can purchase multiple products or services as easily as possible: this means you will want shopping cart functionality on your website.

If the purpose of your website is to generate sales leads, don't put a form on your "Contact Us" page and hope visitors stumble across it. Instead, make it a dominating feature on every page. You’ll also want to make sure that the copy on the page further persuades the visitor to fill out the form.

If you want your visitor to click on a link, then don’t bury the link in a large paragraph of text. A colorful “Click here for more information" button is an easy way to get your customer to click on a link and end up where you want them to be.

No matter what you want your visitors to do, your contact information should be in an easy-to-find place on every page. What if your visitors have questions about a product? What if they can’t get a form to submit correctly? Do everything you can to make it easy for your visitors to do what you want them to do.

For more information, please visit http://www.hitwebdesign.com or call 1-866-211-0743.