How to make a website that sells
How to make a website that sells LIKE CRAZY
Are you wondering how to make a website that sells without hiring an expensive web developer? As a conversion-focused web developer myself, I will share some of my best tips with you below. All of these you can easily apply to your website right now and see an increase in sales/enquiries almost immediately!
Let’s start with your homepage.
Do you know what the first job of a good homepage on your website?
It’s to make the visitor not bounce, i.e. leave your website immediately. Depending on the quality of your page, this will happen with 50% or more of the people who land on it.
So, provided the person who’s visited actually sticks around to absorb any of the content you have on there, what are the elements of a good homepage? First, the area you want to focus on the most is ‘above the fold’, so the part of the page which is visible without the user having to scroll down. That’s your prime real estate so use it wisely.
✅ Do use a strong, clear hero image
❌ Don’t use sliders
The image is what will grab the visitor’s attention first, that’s why it’s important that it’s top quality. A slider on the homepage, although used by so many, is actually proven to hurt conversions. Objects moving before you get a chance to read them is pretty annoying for the end user, so try and avoid if you can!
✅Do use a short sentence to describe what you do and how that helps them.
❌Don’t write a long paragraph about your company history etc.
Within the first 30 seconds of the user landing on your homepage, they should be able to say what’s in it for them – and then be able to find out more if they wish.
How to make a website that sells – Sort out your navigation
The rule of a thumb is – if it takes your user more than two clicks to find the thing they want to buy, you’ve already failed. Keep your menu straightforward and only use secondary items if necessary. If you have a lot of items which should be included in the menu, for example if your website is an ecommerce store, your best option will be a megamenu, which will display those vertically, without the user having to scroll down.
The other mistake I see people doing a lot is have too many options in the menu. I get it, you want to show all the things you can do but chances are you’re just confusing them.
Try and think about this from the user’s perspective – what pages would they want to find on your website and what path would they expect to take there?
Create a website that sells – Forget YOU
It’s about them, not you – your homepage, that is.
The most common mistake I saw when reviewing the homepages submitted by you in the last couple of weeks was a complete fixation on Me Me Me 🙂
If your homepage talks about YOUR experience, YOUR company history, or worse yet, YOUR hobbies and interests – I would reply with a big ‘so freakin’ what’ every time. And so will your visitors.
A person landing on your website only cares about one thing – themselves. And what they want to know from you is how you can help THEM.
As an exercise for today, I urge you to go to your homepage and check how many times you talk about You – when you should be talking about your visitor and their needs.
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I help ambitious online retailers like you sell their products online.