Can you guess what many, if not most, websites lack? No it’s not video, but that’s a good guess. It’s not colour or originality or even good looks, but those are all nice tries. No, every good attribute of an effective website derives from one single quality. How it’s organized. How it looks and feels. How it reads. It all boils down to the most critical quality every website needs. Clarity.
“Organizational clarity helps breed brand loyalty. It shows you’ve thought through their experience when it comes to using your website. It shows you care enough to do so. It’s a pure act of customer service.”
1. Ensure Organizational Clarity
Clarity starts with how your site is organized. This is page taxonomy; you’ve heard us use that term before. Believe us; where each page can be found on your site matters.
Your customers, be they consumers or other companies, want transparency from you. They want to easily find what they’re looking for. Proper organization allows your site visitors to locate information in just a few clicks. Don’t make them look too hard because they’ll give up on their search. They’ll give up on you. If any information is important enough to your business to take up real estate on your digital footprint, it’s important enough to be easily found. Make it so.
Organizational clarity helps breed brand loyalty. Users will inherently see you as a trusted source for the information you offer. And it communicates to your audiences who you really are as a company. It shows you’ve thought through their experience when it comes to using your website. It shows you care enough to do so. It’s a pure act of customer service.
Transparency is doubly important if you have an e-commerce portion on your site. If you’re taking your customers’ money at any point in the digital journey, the process needs to be linear and obvious. Lay it out for them as if they’re simply connecting the dots 1. 2. 3. 4. A progression of simple steps in e-commerce makes conversion easier. It makes you more money.
2. Design Clarity
Enter design clarity. When people feel comfortable with how a site is presented visually, they’ll feel good about returning. Visual breathing space is good. White space. A typeface that’s easily legible. A colour palette people actually like. (Your brand colour may be fuchsia; your site shouldn’t be.) Strive for clarity of design. Make it easy on the eyes. Lay the groundwork for return visits.
Ensure your site is designed in a way that instantly communicates who you are, what you do and who you do it for. Decisions to remain on a website are made in milliseconds. Make sure there is nothing that turns your site visitors away before they’ve had a chance to truly meet you. Use imagery that resonates with your target customer to drive home the point that you are the company that they have been looking for.
3. Story Clarity
Are you clear about the story you tell. Your site copy needs to state what it is you do, in simple terms everyone can understand. Not every stakeholder who visits your site will speak the same industry-specific vernacular you do. Don’t lose prospects by not being clear enough about who you are and what you do. Be yourself. Be clear. State it simply. Lead your customers through the narrative you’re presenting.
Tell a story your key audiences will recognize. Do so in a way that allows them to see themselves in your brand. Let them recognize a company and a mission that feels familiar to them. (And like we always say, hire a copywriter to get you there. Don’t leave the task of writing compelling copy up to a staff member who has their regular day to contend with.)
Organizational clarity. Design clarity. Story clarity. These simple principles will lay the foundation for conducting smart business digitally.
Ask yourself this one question: Is a visit to my site the simplest thing someone will do all day? If the answer’s no, drop us a line. We’ll be clear in how we answer. It’s how we do business here.
