Your company’s website design has the power to make or break your business. Functional, clean, and optimized web design can drive traffic to your site, enhance brand awareness, establish trust, and generate leads. Sloppy and inconsistent web design will make your visitors feel like your business might not be open anymore or that your business is unprofessional.
At MTC, we have a talented and experienced web design and web development team based in Elkins, WV. We can design a website that speaks directly to your target audience and utilizes robust SEO and content marketing to establish your company’s branding. We specialize in helping companies build trust and engagement through quality web design. Here is a look at the top six features we recommend that our clients include on their websites.
Intuitive Navigation Flow
One of the first places your site’s visitors will go is the menu. Most people visit websites because they are looking for answers or information, and they understand that the site menu is the easiest and fastest way to find them.
The menu navigation is the bar along the top of your website. The menu should be well organized and intuitive so that visitors can easily find what they’re looking for. It should include the top-level categories for the services and products you offer as well as your contact page and a section that introduces you as a company. The most common (and useful) elements of a site menu are:
- Home Page
- About Us
- Contact Us
- Services/Products
- Blog
- Reviews
Each of these top-level categories can have subcategories that appear as users click or hover on each section. Subcategories are additional web pages that are related to or in the same grouping as the top-level category; for instance, if a user hovers on the ‘About Us’ section, the related subcategories that pop up might be:
- Why Choose Us
- Our History
- Our Team
Thoughtful Hierarchy Design
Your site’s hierarchy design is the flow of information that organizes and structures the site in a way that is easy to understand. Effective menu hierarchy design and navigation flow will improve user experience and encourage visitors to stay on your site longer, rather than clicking away to a competitor’s site. A well-designed hierarchy will guide your visitors along a carefully laid path through your website, encouraging engagement and providing clear calls to action.
Creating menu hierarchy design requires proper use of color, size, and font and clear groupings of related items in distinct sections that are easy to identify. You should keep the fonts, colors, and other design elements consistent to eliminate confusion and enhance readability. The most important elements of your hierarchy design are:
- Clear labels for each section on each page
- Grouping of related items into distinct sections
- Consistent placement for sections and categories throughout the site
User-Friendly Design
Imagine your visitors going to your website and encountering error messages, broken links, and slow page load times. They will get frustrated and won’t waste time trying to learn more about your company. User-friendly design is one of the most important elements of a quality website. In order to be user-friendly, your website must:
- Be optimized for mobile so that it automatically adjusts layout, size, and navigation based on the device the user is on while accessing the site
- Have a clean, easy to read layout that uses consistent typography and branding rather than overwhelming or confusing design elements
- Include high quality graphics and visuals that are engaging and make it easy for visitors to figure out where to go next for the information they want
Contact Form and/or Chat Bot
You want to make it as easy as possible for your visitors to take the next step with your company. If they have questions, it should be clear to them where they can find answers. If you don’t have a contact form on your site, they may think that you aren’t interested in hearing from them or giving them information. Including a contact form and/or a chat bot feature is one of the best ways to encourage your visitors to become customers. Your contact form should contain clear calls to action. Your chat bot should encourage visitors to reach out, and should offer a few suggestions as to why they might want to get in touch, such as:
- Ask a question
- Book an appointment
- Request a call
Accessibility Features
Website accessibility features ensure that everyone can visit your website and engage with it. Including these elements will make navigation easier, allow everyone to find the information they need, and encourage them to take the next step. Accessibility features also establish your company as one that cares about inclusion. Our web development team can help you incorporate accessibility features like:
- Clear, easy to read fonts
- Alt text like image descriptions, link descriptions, and video captions
- Complementary colors
- Keyboard navigation
- Captions and transcriptions for video or audio elements on your site
Quality Visuals
You might be tempted to use stock photography on your website, but bear in mind that most visitors are sophisticated enough to recognize stock images. They do not convey the best tone for your company, and may come off as cheap, disingenuous, and lazy. The best way to remain consistent with your branding and create a genuine connection between visitors and your company is to use high-quality visuals that are carefully curated to provide information, establish trust, and showcase your skills in your industry. Hire a professional photographer and videographer to take photos of your staff, products, and facilities so that site visitors instantly establish a connection to your brand.
Call MTC for a Guiding Hand in Designing a Quality Website
If you’re not sure how to implement any of these website design elements into your company’s site, our team at MTC can help. Call us now or reach out to us online to set up a web design consultation. We work with businesses of all sizes, in all industries and specialize in IT consulting, network management, hardware solutions, digital marketing, and website development in West Virginia. Our team will take the time to get to know your company, understand its messaging and branding, and find solutions that help you reach your goals.