Website Presentation
Users express what’s important on website's. “Poor visual presentation” was given, in a recent poll by Webcopyplus, as the number one reason that 24% of people on the web leave websites. This compares with a similar poll in 2007 in which only 6.6% gave “poor visual presentation” as the number one reason they left a website. Thus, in only two years, there was a 267% reported increase in this issue.
More web users are aware of the effectiveness of a well presented website in relaying what is pertinent and not bogging them down with extraneous information. Specialists should present web content that conveys the important information that web users are looking for.
318 Internet users were polled on what was most likely to drive them from a website. The results are displayed below.
This compares with a 2007 poll in which 51.2% of web users chose “slow load times” and 42.2% chose “weak web copy” as the greatest reasons they left a website.
Effective Structure Comes from Effective Understanding
Business owners and effective web designers know the importance of presentation and going beyond merely flashy visual appeal. Because, globally speaking, a majority of consumers will look at a company’s website for information, it should convey necessary information in a manner that can be found easily. This means focusing on the critical and considering website space and a visitor’s time to be at a premium. A simple approach can be achieved with understanding what the user needs to see initially and, by derivation, the subcategories of that with well titled menus. As more people turn to the Web for everything from basic communication to alternative energy needs, this will no doubt result in more businesses relying on specialists who understand the importance of efficient, well-honed web design that streamlines information.
The increased need for a knowledge base within a particular industry and the technologies that help present it more effectively will continue to place demands on upper echelon companies. They will seek professional web designers who understand their needs and correspondingly grant them higher compensation than those who don’t have the tools to fit their needs and who appeal more to clients that don’t place a premium on expertise.
As more businesses are willing to put more and more of their marketing budget toward the Internet, more professional web designers will benefit. It makes sense for companies to do this in view of the fact that consumers might spend 25% of their time on the Web, instead of using another form of media, while a company may only be providing 5% of its budget for this form of media.
The Importance of Web Copy
Generally speaking, there is a growing awareness of web content, but many businesses still fail to see the true importance of the professional writer of web content and how they can help a business’s revenue stream. Since 24.8% of polled web users consider weak web content to be a main reason for leaving a site, businesses should consider this a serious matter.
Specialists in web content, also known as SEO writers, or simply web writers, are often left out of consideration when a website is designed or even overhauled. These web writers know how to pull in traffic through search engines, make a business stand out from competitors, emphasize what the user will gain, and draw more customers away from competitors.
Many schools and organizations that recognize the importance of effective copy on the web are offering copywriting courses to fit that need. This will help meet the increasing demand for qualified web copywriters, especially in Canada and the United States. In turn, this will help offset the ineffectual and extraneous, self-driven copy that stands in need of editing and occupies too much of the Web.
Clock that Download!
In a world driven by convenience and information overload, the importance of speed cannot be overemphasized. Considering that 50% of web poll takers gave slow loading pages as the biggest reason for getting off a website, web designers should take a lesson. Image resolution, more effective code, and the fact that users may find Flash and other visual tools an unnecessary drain of resources and waste of time should all be considered in effective web design.
Consider the Customer's Needs
Addressing an Internet users needs should include thinking in a structurally simple context and allowing the conveyance of useful information in a readily accessible format and that means inculcating speed with organization. Utilizing this approach, everyone wins. Web visitors are given their requested respect for time and efficiency, businesses gain more sales, and Internet professionals allow themselves to grow a portfolio they can readily reference and use to help increase their income.
