Getting your design right is crucial to not only the user experience but your conversion rates too. But how do you know if you have everything in place to maximise engagement rates and profits?

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The difference between a successful website and a site doomed to fail could be down to a few key features that are missing. You may have heard of a car leasing website that attracted all sorts of attention recently because of its borderline design, but according to the Independent Newspaper, its retro flashy web pages have created a media storm. It’s bold, it’s brash but it’s real. The design is just one area of consideration, and your customers will love it or loathe it, but what other features do you need to consider?

Animations

Your website needs to be engaging and interactive. Attract customers to stay on your site by using bold areas, sliders, animations and videos. Visual feedback is key to keeping people engaged. Use a hover animation by bringing up a text or picture box to describe something in more detail. Keep flashing animations to a minimum, although they still serve their purpose, depending on what you are trying to achieve.

Calls to Action

One of the biggest killers of user interaction is the lack of ‘call to action’ buttons on a website. If you are hiring a web designer, then it is vital to look at previous website builds by that company. There is an organisation specialising in web design in South Devon called http://www.igoweb.co.uk/igoweb-website-design/website-design who showcase some of their recent designs and builds to give you an indication of what they can do. A ‘call to action’ button is there to motivate the visitor, such as signing up to a newsletter, or just as important nowadays, social media platforms. A ‘Buy Now’ button is particularly important on a retail site. All these do is send the visitor to different pages of your site, but nevertheless you retain them, hence lowering your bounce rate.

Search Box

If a user can’t search for what they are looking for or navigate to it quickly, then they will lose interest almost immediately in your website and go straight to your competitors. An intuitive search bar is very important to enable your visitors to find want they want in the fastest possible time.