The technology required for good web design

For those working in web admin or eCommerce entrepreneurs looking to get more traffic to their site, website design plays a critical role in landing visitors and getting them to explore their webspace.

What are the elements of good web design?

There are several elements of web design that are critical to the performance of a site. Site performance is also indicative of the type of traffic one can expect to arrive at said website. At the end of the day, this should be a primary goal as an internet entrepreneur or marketer – to attract traffic.

As any web design in Manchester would likely know, effective web design goes beyond just having a pretty and functional site. Of course, the website’s look and the navigation play a big role in keeping people on a site, but what can one do to get them there in the first place?

Several elements of web design are critical in optimising the amount of traffic flowing to a site and landing pages. Here are a few strategies to help any entrepreneur get more out of their website and marketing strategy.

Fast loading times

According to research, one has less than three seconds to load their webpage after a visitor lands on their site. If they fail to meet that deadline, the chances are that the visitor will bounce back to the search results and forget all about the website.

This would be a shame, especially if one has spent money on a marketing campaign. It’s a good idea to hire a team to look at the SEO on your site. Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) describes a set of best practices encompassing the function and connectivity of a site.

By mastering basic SEO principles, one can help their site perform better and rank higher in search. One of the basic functions of on-page SEO is to improve the loading speed of a site. A professional SEO expert will look at the workings of a website and fix any problems which are holding up the loading time.

Removing duplicate content, broken pages and links and compressing media files can go a long way in improving a website’s loading times. It might cost a few dollars to hire an SEO professional, but the ROI is worth it.

Mobile responsive web design

The world is moving towards mobiles as the preferred way to access the internet. Today, the majority of traffic to a website will probably come from mobile devices. If a site isn’t set up to handle and cater to mobile traffic, the site owner might be in for a rude awakening.

Google and the other search engines will penalise a website for not including mobile functionality and responsiveness.

When users arrive at a site and find they have to pinch-and-zoom their way around the pages, they’ll bounce back to search results. Ensuring one’s web design is mobile compatible is a no-brainer.

If a website is still providing a bad mobile user experience in this day and age, it might be a good time to improve your website.

Flexible custom CMS platforms

Every great website relies on a content management system (CMS) as the backbone of its online presence. Setting up a business on a free platform might seem cost-effective at first. However, any business is going to need more functionality eventually, and it’s going to cost a fortune to move the website across to another platform.

It’s a good idea to start your eCommerce business on a WordPress website.

WordPress is the world’s leading CMS, with more than 60% of CMS websites being powered by WordPress. One can get a range of free templates, a community support group and excellent integration with a range of free eCommerce plugins.

Secure payment gateways and flexible payment methods

When customers enter their credit card information into a website, they need to know they are doing so over a secure payment gateway. It’s best for one to ensure that they offer visitors fast and secure transactions, with gateway options to the most trusted and popular payment providers.

PayPal, Venmo and Stripe e-wallet services make it easier for millennials and Gen Z’s to complete transactions. They may prefer to spend on sites offering these methods over websites that only offer direct credit card – and let’s not even mention the possibility of a website only having direct bank transfer as a payment method.

In 2021, one might even be considering to add cryptocurrency payments, as it is a growing market offering businesses more exposure of products and services, increasing one’s sales performance. When selling to younger markets, it’s critical to adapt to payment methods used by the correct target demographic – and in the future, that might just mean accepting cryptocurrency.

Excellent website security practices

With cybercrime seeing a rise in 2020 and 2021, the trend isn’t reversing anytime soon. Businesses need to protect valuable client data from falling into the wrong hands. Ensuring one is running SSL certificates on their site gives customers a secure connection they can trust.

Companies should be sure to store all customer data off-site, away from hackers and bad actors. Most importantly, it’s important for one to back up all of their systems in the event of a catastrophic cyber-attack or system failure.

The reality is that one never knows when a hacker is going to pick on their site. No business should make itself a soft target.

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