Are you guilty of making these common website design mistakes in your business…
Running a profitable website takes a lot of work to ensure it’s converting consistently for your business. One way to quickly turn off potential high-end buyers is a site that doesn’t give them a great experience.
Are you a luxury brand founder making the following web design mistakes?
No worries, you can fix them! First on the list (this is in no particular order) is your navigation.
No Clear Focus
Part of having a successful website experience is to ensure there is a dialed-in focus for your website. When someone lands on your website, it should be clear about what you offer and for whom.
Remember, if someone has to spend more than 8 seconds figuring it out, they will likely click off your website.
For example, keep like items together and categorize them if you sell products.
Also, think about how you’d want someone to click through your website. We call this your customer’s journey in the design industry. It’s essential to be intentional about how you want someone to navigate your site. You can do so by being clear on their next steps to get to a desired outcome.
Think of your goals and work backgrounds to figure out which steps make the most sense for someone to take to reach that goal.
In addition, don’t forget to consider other ways your website visitor may choose to navigate your website based on their intentions.
If they are a new visitor they will likely have smaller chance of converting for your top goal but they may be interested in joining your newsletter.
Cluttered Navigation
You may think it’s more convenient for people to see all your links in your navigation so they can easily find things.
In fact, the opposite is true.
When we present people with too many options, it causes people not to act. It’s decision paralysis; they subconsciously get so overwhelmed they click off.
People make better decisions with fewer options. How many times have you been in the grocery store trying to pick out pasta sauce, bread or even cereal? Standing there trying to make a choice.
When it comes to shopping online, you want to help people make easy decisions as fast as possible. A clean and easy-to-use navigation is a great way to make that happen!
Consider using a sub-navigation to list additional options, for example, if you run an eCommerce store with many products.
Also, put your least important information in the footer navigation of your site. That way, your top navigation is focusing only on the most critical links first.
Inconsistent Branding & Visual Elements
When people land on your website, every element should look like they belong with each other. The fonts, colors, and imagery should all match.
One way to ensure brand consistency is to have guidelines that outline your business’s fonts, colors, and logo variations. If you are in the beginning stages of business and don’t have the resources to invest, here is a tip: use a tool such as Coolors to help you develop a high-end color palette and keep your fonts to 2 – 3 style variations.
Also, make sure that the fonts you use are easy to read. Avoiding overly scripted text and instead implementing easy to read text is always better.
This also comes down to your audience if you’re targeting children’s accessories. Fun, bright colors may be a better fit than neutral colors.
Explore Color Psychology in Branding: How Color Affects Your Luxury Brand for insights on which colors align with your business.
Poor Quality Photos
Photos are so important when turning a person who’s just looking into a customer. Great photos are a must for online experiences!
In 2020 it is estimated that as much of 50% of searches will be via images and speech.
Source
If you’re not able to work with a photographer that’s fine you can take quality photos with a quality camera and lighting options.
Most cell phones have HD capabilities today! The trick is to make sure you have well-balanced and good lighting. A photography tip is to take photos an hour right after sunrise and an hour right before sunset.
Decide what story you want your photos to tell and select elements that will support that vision. Want a more elegant outcome? Choose a setting that reflects the level of sophistication you want to invoke.
When possible I highly recommend working with a photographer! Whether you are doing brand and/or product photos. Check with your chosen photographer on their process so that you are all set. Just plan enough time for any special launch dates, etc! (If you need a recommendation – feel free to reach out).
Broken Links
This may seem minor but making sure your links work is essential.
Test those links! Nothing sucks worst is when you’ve created all this excitement and send people to broken links. Some people will be patient others won’t, so make sure you test your links.
If you are adding new content, products, etc test your links before making the changes live. It’s a quick process and you’ll be glad you didn’t create a potential loss in sales.
A Website Design That Doesn’t Reflect High-end
High-end businesses must have a high-end website design.
Otherwise, if you are marketing that your business is high-end, luxury, or affluent, and people land on your website, it reflects none of those things. You’ll create friction between what you say your brand is about and what others perceive your brand to be.
Buyers who value high-end products and services expect each interaction to reflect those qualities.
Your website is one of the most critical first impressions you can make when someone new comes across your brand.
Whether you are a new founder or experienced, there are plenty of ways to ensure that your website truly reflects the quality of your brand.
You can consult a luxury brand strategist to help you decide which website themes will fit your brand if you are not ready to invest. Alternatively, you can work with a luxury brand strategist and website designer to help you build a cohesive luxury brand experience.
