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As research yields more
information on website usability, website design trends adapt to follow suit.
Visual design is becoming bolder, cleaner and more refined in order to
correspond with the way readers utilize the Internet.
But using the latest
design parameters to get readers to your
site is only part of the battle. Now you have to keep their interest and convert
them into prospects … which starts by putting your top-level messaging into
play.
When adapting your
messaging platform to the Internet, think lean and succinct. Treat your website
navigation as you would any first-time conversation … one that goes from
initial “handshake” to a gradually more in-depth “conversation” to a final “call
to action”:
> Put your key value statement
front and center in the opening of your home page. Capture your reader!
> Slim down your message
and save volume for deeper in the conversation. Research tells us website
readers start out as skimmers who will leave
if they see a wall of content on top-level pages.
> Create section headings
to further encapsulate content for the reader still in the “skimmer” phase. Get
even more mileage out of section headings by writing them as headlines to draw readers
deeper into the site.
> Once past the top-level
navigation, true prospects will be ready to hear about your features, benefits
and product specifications. This is where you put deeper, more-involved content.
> Consider embedding
multiple calls to action in your site — at the bottom of each page, for
instance — inviting readers to the next page. And of course, include a strong,
active call to action on the final Contact Us page.
When infusing your message
platform throughout your marketing initiatives and collateral, remember to adapt
and play to the strengths, parameters and delivery of every medium. And, in the
case of website content, more is not necessarily
better. Slim and trim is the way to go.
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