Month: August 2016

You only have an average of 15 seconds to capture the attention of your online audience.  And in a world where your website could very well dictate the need for an in-person visit or an online purchase, this 15-second challenge can seem AB.SO.LU.TELY terrifying.

At first.

You see, the key to building a great website – one that captures and maintains the attention of a person – is to keep things simple.  Too often, businesses feel the need to overcomplicate their website.  They bombard users with too much content, and they give away unnecessary information just for the heck of giving it away.

But when things are simplified and all that stuff is streamlined, it’s easier for people to engage with your content.  Your website suddenly becomes easier to read, easier to maneuver through, and just easier in general, and because of this, overcoming that 15-second challenge has become an actual possibility.

Why?  Because everything is easier.  And when things are easier, people are happier.

Here’s what you should keep in mind when improving your website.

Contact Information

Your phone number, location, and email address should be the easiest thing to find on your website.  It should be within one click of the homepage and should be found somewhere near the top of the page.  Consider placing the phone number on the homepage and making it clickable, as well.  This way, if they’re on a phone, they can tap to call.

When they get to the Contact Us page, don’t give people any more than what they need – phone number, location, and email address.  You can also include hours of operation and maybe a map of where your brick-and-mortar exists.  This is not the place for an introduction to your business or a detailed history of your where, what, and when.  This is the place where a consumer has made up their mind to contact you – so don’t ruin it.

Photos

The photos on your website are, in many cases, considered more valuable than your text.  People want images.  But not just any images… good ones.

High-quality, relatable photos are the ones that will make the most impact.  They will draw the person in and basically force them to read your content.  Which is what you need.

It’s crucial to think outside the box here, though.  Just because you’re an accountant, doesn’t necessarily mean you need a photo of a spreadsheet or two people discussing numbers at a desk.  Get creative and think in terms of what will spark the most interest.

Text

Bullets.  Short descriptions.  Simple words.  Conversational tones.  These are the things that work now.  People don’t want huge paragraphs, and they don’t want to open up the dictionary just to read your website.  Keep your content informational but engaging and user-friendly.

When it comes to text, you should also remember to keep it as user-centric as possible.  Focus on the customer rather than your business.  You’re not just selling a service or product… you’re solving a problem.  Remember that, and you’ll go far.

Roadmap

Your navigation should be straightforward and streamlined as much as possible.  If you offer a variety of services, do your best to narrow these down to four or five core services.  If you sell products, make sure these are categorized in a logical way.

If a consumer has to work too hard to move through your site, then they’ll be gone way before that 15-seconds is up.  And if they have too much stuff to look through or have trouble understanding where to find specific items, then your site has crossed a not so pretty line.

Social Media Icons

scyther5 / Shutterstock.com

Whether they’re on the side, near the menu, or on the footer of your website, you need those social media icons.  And if you don’t have a need for social media icons, then you have yourself a problem.

Either way, social media icons are a must for any professional website because your social media profiles are the logical next-step for a person seeking out your services.  If you have them on your website and they’re easy to get to, then you’ve made things – yup, you guessed it – easier.  And when you make things easier for the consumer, they suddenly like your business more.

Simply put, workplace productivity is a crapshoot.  Your ability to remain productive hinges on so many random, off-the-wall, and sometimes contradictory factors that you never know what you’re going to get for the day.

It could be a burrito you ate for dinner the night before or a coworker who had a rough morning and decides to talk about it for the next eight hours.  Whatever it is, these sorts of situations can take your productivity and make it look like it never even existed.

But if you expect to keep your job, then nonexistent productivity is something you should probably consider avoiding on a semi-regular basis.  And if you have any shot at doing this, then you need to learn how to perfect those elements of working that you can actually control… such as your physical working space.

The space you work inside of can affect your mood, energy, and physical self.  It can make you feel really good about where you’re at and what you’re doing… or really terrible.  But luckily for you (and every other working person out there), creating a productivity-inspired workplace really isn’t all that hard.  Here are a few elements you should look for.

Light

If at all possible, you should work around as much natural light as you can.  It can help keep you alert.  However, this isn’t always doable.  For instance, you might work primarily inside an office that’s smackdab in the middle of the building.  If this is the case, what type of work you do will determine what type of lighting will help your productivity.

Lifehack says you should consider lighting as just another facet of ergonomics, and it should change as your tasks change.  For example, there are bulbs designed to imitate daylight, others geared towards detail-oriented work, and even more meant to soothe and relax.  In other words, you might require a combination of different light bulbs – For example, the room is lit with a daylight bulb, but there are several lamps around the area equipped with halogen bulbs.

Temperature

When it’s too cold, it’s hard to remain focused on your work.  Why?  Because your energy is spent trying to keep your body warm.  So if your office is typically kept on the below-freezing side, consider keeping a small blanket at your desk or even a heater.  Staying at a comfortable temperature throughout the day will help you make less mistakes, and it will give you the ability to channel your energy into more important matters.

Plants

Plants are great, especially if you work inside a building and rarely see daylight.  Place a few plants around your office and on your desk, and everyone will notice the change.  Research suggests that a little green at the office can decrease stress, save you on energy expenses, limit sicknesses, and reduce noise distractions.

Technology

Everything from the software you use to that mouse you click can have a drastic effect on how productive you are.  If the technology you rely on to complete your work tasks is inefficient and out of date, you will also be inefficient and out of date.

Do your very best to keep your technology in prime working condition, and your business will be better off.  Depending on how many employees you have, the resources you have available, and the type of work you do, this process might involve an outside company.  For a small to medium-sized business, hiring a Managed Services Provider to handle your IT typically equates to the cost of a part-time employee.  That’s not such a huge price to pay for a well-oiled machine.