It is so easy to get carried away when creating a website. You have so many ideas and so many messages you want to give your readers, but in the end, trying to fit everything into one can end up with a complex and difficult to navigate website. The keyword here is a phrase we like to call ‘KISS’ – Keep it Simple Stupid.
With that in mind, you can create a website that leads people to the information they need instead of cramming it all into one page. Actually, if you look at most marketing websites and other services style websites, the home page (or landing page if you will), generally keeps things very simple. All that is needed is a short intro that explains in brief how the company can help those looking for their service grow, improve, and get value by using these services.
What will you learn from this article?
First of all, we would like to begin with what you will not learn. We are not trying to tell you how to design your website or the colors you should use, or even how to choose the best web designer. The aim of this piece is to plant the seed in your head of how you should be presenting information and funneling website visitors through that information in the correct order.
We believe this makes what we have to say in this article very different to the usual regurgitated splurge most other ‘how to design a website’ or ‘how to get your intended message across’. We have also used some of the most complex industries such as the online gambling market and cryptocurrency/blockchain industry to explain how companies design websites to deliver information in such a way that it puts their readers’ minds at rest.
If you are not working in either of these two industries, then learning how some of the most challenging industries get around these issues will make your job much easier. In the end, it means you will be able to make shorter work of things and make slightly less effort than the casino and crypto companies that have a hard time gaining trust and helping their target markets understand that what they have to offer is honest and trustworthy.
In fact, the most successful websites rarely talk about the company itself on the home page until you scroll down to the bottom where there is a short ‘about us’ description. If you want to expand on this, then you have the ‘about us’ page. The idea is to get the services into the website visitors’ heads first, and then provide them with further information for their research on other pages on the website.
I mean let’s be honest, if you are looking for an online gaming site to download or play games, you are not going to want to read about the company’s history in detail. Likewise, if you are looking to hire a marketing company. You may see a small paragraph about the brand, but the main information you will see is clickable boxes with short descriptions of that service and the chance to click through to read more about it. Then, if you like what you see, you may want to check out the company to verify it is legit.
Another way you can show off your brand without taking the focus of the service is logos. Perhaps one of the best examples to use is the online casino industry where there is a lot of mistrust. Some people believe games are rigged, and that the games are set to ensure the casino will win. The problem is, the first thing a casino wants to do is bring any potential players’ attention to the games and bonuses available and not take up half a page explaining why the casino is trustworthy.
So how do they get players to focus on their massive online slot collections, real-time webcam operated live dealer games or bonus offers. Well, it is simple. Instead of saying how good the casino is, how the brand is superior in its industry, as well as the fact that it is in fact licensed by a local government authority, the casinos focus on the games and bonus deals then use logos, infographics and badges to prove that the casino is offering an honest gaming system.
This is achieved by using logos from organizations like the UK Gambling Commission, trusted software testing companies, and partners that guarantee casinos are safe like ecogra.org (eCOGRA). Next, the casino will offer a frequently asked questions area, terms and conditions, and more information on other pages on the website that are easy to navigate and made plainly obvious to players that if they want to find out more about the how the casino remains trustworthy, they can ‘click here’.
Using this method, the casino has achieved its main objectives. Show people the amazing games it offers, but at the same time use logos to clearly make it visible to those that may want to join that the website, algorithms, and games are all government regulated in the same way a land-based casino is regulated.
Now, this is only one industry and an excellent example because not many people trust online casinos. So, what about blockchain technologies and cryptocurrencies? This is another industry where there can be a lot of mistrust. Mostly because we hear so often that exchanges are hacked, ICOs (Initial Coin Offerings) have operated Ponzi schemes, and some of the early ICOs that emerged when there were very few government regulations applied to these companies, let alone come under the scrutiny of the SEC (Securities Exchange Commission) which an IPO would need to go through, it is fair to say that the cryptocurrency industry has brewed its fair share of mistrust.
As with online casinos, they too now need to not only focus their website home pages a lot more closely. They need to briefly get the message across to explain how good their cryptocurrency is, why it will increase in value, and how their blockchain ecosystem will grow into its target market and benefit the industry in the future (be this law, finance, health, gaming, and so on). However, now another challenge these ICOs have is to help people understand that their operations are not a scam.
The only way to achieve all of these objectives on one neat and easy to peruse web page is to be brief. Layout boxes and small sections that do not overexplain the topic that section/box is meant for. Use infographics and logos to show trustworthiness and enable readers to absorb information quickly.
Once interested parties have a brief overview and the website’s home page has stirred up excitement, liking, and most importantly of all interest, then the site visitor will feel inclined to seek further information – and the clickable boxes are already on the home page leading the site visitor to the specific topics they want to research further.
There are numerous other examples we can use here to explain just how a simple home page cam speak a thousand words in just a few short sentences and neatly laid out boxes. Every industry, blog, website, or organization needs to follow the same pattern. Then the next challenge is making sure those pages lead to the user to the right information in the correct sequence, which effectively is what we would call a sales to funnel.
The sales funnel does not necessarily need to lead to sales because not every website is trying to sell a product. Take c9betwin.com for example. This website is not selling a product, it is selling information and that information is free. There are no prices, just information that helps people in Malaysia and Singapore get an honest gaming experience rather than making the wrong decision and choosing a company that will scam them. In c9betwin’s industry, there is a lot of mistrust, so it is websites like these that are in fact selling ‘the process of making the right decisions’.
In effect, we have not explained to you how you should build a website. We have not told you how to use colors or what you need to do create the perfect design. All we have done here is help you understand that overcomplicating things will just lead your site visitors into a confusing path of information overload and deliver the right information but at the wrong time. In this day and age, the order that information is delivered is so important, and if it is delivered out of sequence, then you will end up losing the site visitor to a competitor with a better strategy.
