Everyday thousands of websites are being created based on the needs of website owners and not the needs of their visitors. Visitors are being ignored which is the biggest reason most websites are not successful; here are 5 ways to optimize your design:
- Become the visitor
Put yourself in the visitor's shoes. What would a visitor browsing your website want? The goal of your website should not just be to fulfill your needs, but also fulfill the visitors needs. A good way to figure out what a visitor would want is to survey a few people who are interested in your products and services and adjust your design to fit their needs as well as your needs. This does not always have to cost money, no reason why you can't just ask a few of your friends.
- Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication
If you look at some of the most successful websites on the web such as Google, Flickr, and Blogger they are all simple. Why add bloated features to your website when 80 percent of your visitors will only use 20 percent of these features. Keep your goals as well as your visitors' needs in mind when adding a feature.
- Content is king
Make sure the content on the website is laid out in an effective way. If you just concentrate on the look and feel of a website and ignore the content, how high of a conversion rate do you think you will have? You need a concise, convincing message and solid information architecture if you want your visitors to buy your product or service. And most importantly, make sure that the content is readable and easy to understand.
- It's the little things that make a big difference
Every aspect of your website design needs to be thought out and scrutinized. Things such as colors, shapes and even gradients can make a big impact on the overall message. Using colors such as blue, green, turquoise, and silver can create a calm effect. Using rounded corners instead of hard edges within your design can enable a soft and personalized feeling. By combining color, shapes, pictures and effects together you can create a strong message that can help create a memorable experience for your visitors.
- Guide your visitors
You don't want your visitors clicking all over your website just to find a product. Reduce confusion and guide your visitors through links, navigation menus, and call to actions. Show them the right path so they only have to make a few clicks instead of 10 to buy a product. By reducing the amount of clicks your visitors make you will decrease their frustration and increase your conversion rate.
These methods of optimizing your design may seem simple, but in most cases they are overlooked. Give them a try; you might be shocked on how effective they can be and how much you can save on advertising by maximizing your design.
译文:
优化网站设计的五种方法
每天有成千上万的网站被创造出来，这些新网站不是基于浏览者的需要而是基于网站所有者的需要。浏览者被忽视，是大多数网站不成功的最大原因。这里将给出5种方法来优化您的设计。
1. 成为浏览者中的一员
把自己放在浏览者的地位。浏览者到您的网站来，他想要什么？您的网站的目标不仅仅需要满足您的需求，更重要的是需要满足浏览者的需求。要得出浏览者想要 的，有一种好的方法就是，对对您开发的产品和服务感兴趣的人做个调查，并调整您的设计以满足他们的需求和您自己的需求。这并不需要花多少钱，比如您可以问 问身边的朋友们。
2. 简约是最终的目标
假如您看了比较成功的网站，比如 Google、Flickr 和 Blogger，他们都是简约的。为什么要加上臃肿的内容呢？尤其是当只有80%的浏览者使用了20%的上述的内容。当加入每一个特征时，请考虑浏览者的需要！把它当做您的目标吧。
3. 内容为王
确保网站的内容以一种有效的方式排列。如果您仅仅将注意力集中于网站的视觉及其引起的感受，而忽视了内容，那么由浏览者转化为忠实的会员的比值，您认为会 很高吗？如果您想浏览者购买您的产品或服务，就需要一种简洁的、令人心悦诚服的内容和立体化的信息结构。同时最重要的是，内容要通俗易懂。
4. 细节是大的区别
网站的每一个方面的细节都需要仔细考虑。有一些元素，比如颜色、形状甚至梯度改变后，在整体上就有可能给浏览者很大的冲击。使用蓝色、绿色、青绿色和银白 色，能给人一种平静的氛围。在您的设计中，使用圆角比使用尖角更能给人一种柔和的、个性化的感受。通过适当的混合颜色、图形、图片，您可以创造出强烈的氛 围和感受，这将对浏览者产生深刻的映像。
5. 指导浏览者
您并不想要浏览者为了寻找一个产品而点遍您的网站。避免混乱，通过链接、导航菜单指导浏览者，是可行的。在页面上”告诉”浏览者，以便他们仅通过几次点击就可以买到产品和服务。通过降低浏览者点击的次数，可有效的降低浏览者的挫折感，提高从浏览者到会员的转化率。
这些优化您的设计的方法可能看起来很简单，但是大多数情况下，他们被忽视了。试着用用，他们所起的作用，通过优化您的设计就能节约很多广告费用，这些将震撼您！