Engaging Website Design

At 5 by 5 Design we believe it’s possible to change the world by posing the right questions, listening to the honest answers, and following the path that emerges from the dialogue. Today’s discussion focuses on how to design an attention-grabbing website.  

With over 20 years of experience, Jennifer Strumbel has become proficient at building unique, one-of-a-kind websites that skillfully reflect a company’s brand and smartly help to grow its business. As the owner of Flying Orange, she is passionate about helping others achieve their goals in and out of business and that passion is reflected in all the work she does. We’ve asked Jennifer a series of questions about website design and the user experience. Here’s what she had to say.  

1. Why should an organization consider the user experience when designing its website?

The design of the website is about the user experience and the journey you want to send them on as they click around your website. The look and functionality of your website should provide a user with a good overall experience including easy navigation, smooth content flow, and thoughtful accessibility. These elements combined can help website performance for search engine optimization (SEO), brand recognition, and conversion/sales.

2. What draws users into a website?

Each website should be unique and have elements that set it apart from the crowd. A good set of branding guidelines will help create the overall look and feel for users to experience the message you are trying to convey. The less “cookie cutter” you can make your site; the more engaged users will be. Branding graphics including icons, background textures, clear/concise fonts, and vibrant photos will help draw users to the content on the page.

3. How do you prioritize what content should be included in your website?

My favorite saying is… “It’s the internet, people don’t read.” Website visitors skim your content so make it easy for them to read by using key-phrase headlines, short paragraphs of no more than three sentences, and bulleted lists when possible. The more succinct you can make the text, the more likely a user will find the information they are looking for on your website. If you bury the information in multiple long paragraphs, users are going to miss what may be important.

What is the message you are trying to tell visitors? Focus on that message and provide the journey to the answers that users are looking for when they are on your website. You don’t need a novel to get your message in front of users. You want to convey it with good use of headlines and short pieces of text that get your message across. Spend less time on the “story” or “background” and put yourself in the place of the visitor—what are they trying to find. Your story can be buried elsewhere on your site but should not be the leading content in front of your visitors.

4. How is AI changing how organizations think about website design

AI is not new. It has gained momentum and increased attention over the past six months and is having an overall effect on website design. AI can’t be ignored, and website owners will need to adapt in areas such as content writing and search (search engines), user behavior (data analytics), performance, and functionality. Leveraging the capabilities of AI for algorithms and data analysis will only help business owners grow and evolve their online business.

5. How can organizations gather and evaluate feedback from website users?

I recommend using any or all the following options:

• Website analytics—what are users doing and engaging with on the pages of your website? Is there a page(s) that has more activity? What sets that page apart from others?
• Survey users—Nothing like a good survey form to ask your users specifically what they like and don’t like, what do they want to see, etc.
• Newsletters—Use your newsletters to draw attention to specific portions of your website. Analyze the click-throughs to see what engaged your users more than others.
• Social media—Ask users on social media how they use your website. What can you improve? What do they want to see?

Don’t be afraid to ask users what they want. A website is about the USER, not the owner’s wants, likes, and needs. It should be all about the user experience.