Enhance your website

A well-structured website is paramount. Visitors should easily find what they're looking for without feeling lost or frustrated. This includes clear menus, logical categorization, and a functional search bar that should all appear at the top of each webpage, so it is easy to find.

It also includes how fast and reliable your site is for the end user. Ask yourself:

• How long does it take for someone to load your website?
• How easy is your website to navigate from page to page?
• Upon first glance or a quick skim of the page, what is your main takeaway?

Bonus tip: Test your website’s speed with this online tool to assess where you’re at on desktop and mobile. A fast website loading speed improves the overall customer experience and prevents high bounce rates.

Your page's setup should guide a user to complete an action. Visual hierarchy ensures that users can quickly skim your website, navigate with ease, and know exactly what they’re being asked to do or understand.

Here are a few best practices for building an effective visual hierarchy:

• Put the most important content “above the fold.”
  "Above the fold" refers to the portion of your website that is visible to users once a page loads, before scrolling is required. Prioritize the most important message you want to convey. This is often your main call to action (e.g., "Shop Now"), or a prominent headline summarizing your offer.
• Use whitespace strategically.
  While it's tempting to cram a lot of information on a page, remember that less is more. Use whitespace (i.e., the blank space surrounding text and images) to create breathing room and prevent the page from looking cluttered. This helps important information stand out.
• Add contrasting colors and font sizes.
  Your primary CTA should appear high on the page and use contrasting colors, strong verbs, and a clear benefit statement to encourage clicks. Your CTA might be surrounded by a headline in a larger font and body content in a smaller font that describes your brand or product offerings.
• Support your message with compelling visuals.
  High-quality images or videos can quickly convey your message. Place impactful visuals above the fold to draw users in and ensure they’re optimized for fast loading times to avoid delays.
• Apply the “rule of thirds” to your design.
  The “rule of thirds” is a visual composition principle that divides a screen into 9 equal sections with 2 horizontal and 2 vertical lines. In web design, placing key elements like text, images, or calls to action along these lines or at their "power points" (i.e., intersections) creates visually appealing and balanced layouts. (See the image below for an example “rule of thirds” grid from Webflow.)

A high-converting website provides clear, concise, and strategically placed CTAs that guide visitors towards their next step: placing their order.

To clearly direct shoppers to complete an action, your CTAs should:

• Be formatted as buttons, front-and-center on your pages.
• Include action-oriented language, like present-tense verbs and direct guidance (e.g., Place order).
• Stand out visually, with unique colors, large fonts, etc.
• Be limited in number; have 1 main CTA on a page at a time that stands out among the rest.

To spur a click on your CTA, the content surrounding it must be engaging, informative, and directly relevant to your target audience's needs and interests. This includes well-written product descriptions, informative blog posts, helpful guides, and engaging videos. Content should address potential customer questions and provide solutions.

Approximately 53% of ecommerce consumers shop on mobile websites. Mobile friendliness is also a key factor in how search engines like Google determine how high up in search results your website should be featured.

As a result, your website must adapt to various screen sizes (e.g., desktops, tablets, and smartphones). This ensures a consistent viewing experience for all users, regardless of device type, so that they don’t immediately leave the page (i.e., resulting in a page bounce rather than a conversion).

Best practices for mobile design:

• Use a responsive design, meaning that your site automatically adjusts to the user’s device type.
• Design for a vertical page layout, with the most important content appearing at the top of the screen.
• Make CTAs large enough to click with one’s thumb and ensure sign-up forms are mobile friendly.
• Keep text simple and brief, allowing users to easily skim the page.

Learn more about mobile-friendly web design from Shopify.

Bonus tip: As you design your website, test that it appears as expected across devices and in dark mode, as many people set certain devices to the dark mode setting, which alters how images, text, and colors appear on screen.

Every element of your website, from the initial impression to the final call to action, plays a crucial role in influencing a visitor's decision-making process. A cohesive experience makes someone more likely to see the value in your brand, and thus your product.

Keep the following in mind as you design your site:

• Brand voice
  The copy on your website should all feel like it is coming from one cohesive entity: your brand! Avoid jargon and overly technical terms unless required. Be straightforward and concise, and stick to the writing style and themes that exist across all of your marketing content.
• Brand style
  While not solely about aesthetics, a visually appealing website that aligns with your brand identity instills trust and professionalism. Consistent branding across pages (including colors, fonts, and imagery) reinforces your message and makes your website memorable.
• Value proposition
  What makes your brand unique and valuable? Clearly articulate this in a value proposition that is shared prominently on-site. Visitors should immediately understand why they should choose you over competitors.

Beyond using forms to collect contact information at the top of the funnel, you can also use sign-up forms to drive conversions on your website.

For example, you can use forms to:

• Highlight a new product, using the CTA button to direct someone to that product page.
• Promote a seasonal or time-sensitive sale that routes to the sale catalog page.
• Target first-time shoppers vs. repeat shoppers with unique discounts for subscribing to marketing.
• Share a unique coupon with those who subscribed, browsed, but never shopped.

As a best practice, your website should enable a personalized experience for each individual. Target your forms based on what someone has previously browsed, what messages they’ve engaged with, and how they found your site. Learn how to target Klaviyo forms to specific customer segments.

Remember: A high-converting website is never truly "finished."

Monitor your website’s analytics (e.g., bounce rates, time on page, conversion funnels, etc.) so that you can spot where drop-off occurs before someone places an order. Then, work to make adjustments over time and consistently test out new elements to see what resonates best with your audience of customers and prospects.