Webupon

When we are looking for a relationship with another person, one of the first attractors is appearance. The second attractor is personality. The third is a sense of humor or intellect that matches our own. We know that if we can find another with all three of these traits that meshes with our own, we are most likely to enjoy a comfortable relationship with them – one which may last for some time. Often if we find someone with the latter two qualities, we can overlook appearance, and still enjoy a wonderful relationship. People who are searching the WWW however can have a tendency to be a bit more superficial.

Imagine you are at a party and someone walks up to you with their hair uncombed in wrinkled clothes and a very large pus-filled sore on the edge of their lip and they proceed to try to sell you something. They are trying to sell you something you really want to buy, but your initial gut reaction is to run away. If they are able to keep you in conversation for a few minutes, you may begin to feel some compassion for them and actually buy from them.

On the web there is no conversation to keep you from running away, there is no compassion. In fact on the web you have about five seconds before your prospect hits the back button on their browser to go back to the search page for the next result. If you have about five seconds, the first thing they see is the most important, the design of your site. The next most important thing is the first paragraph of actual text. If the visitor finds your website pleasing to the eye (appearance) they will stay around for a few more seconds to discover the purpose of the site (personality). Now you are going for the hook. I can’t say you can inject the third element or humor I spoke of previously into the page because your product or service may not allow for such frivolity. You however demonstrate your intellect through the crafting of your message.

Once you have gotten the attention of your visitor, it is important to them to be able to find the information that is important to them and it is your job to make sure that information is available. But not necessarily all of it. If your intention is to have your visitor pick up the phone, they should be encouraged to do so by at least the second or third paragraph on the home page. If you are asking them to buy a product or service directly on the site, you should ask that of them in the same space.

As important as the content is to actually convert a visitor into a buyer, the first hurdle you must overcome is that initial impression of the look of the site. If the site is less than attractive, I can almost guarantee you that selling from it will be extremely difficult. I am not saying your site has to be a living and breathing work of art. It has to look like a real business is behind the site. The design should be appropriate to your target audience. If you are a musician, an artsy site with grunge lettering and moving images is appropriate for your target market. If you are an accountant however, you may have a bit of difficulty being taken seriously if you had the musicians site design.

So in having a web site designed, or doing it yourself, it is best to do the research and find out what successful companies in your industry are doing. Successful does not mean the site at the top of the search engine. It means the company at the top of the Fortune Five Hundred. These companies have invested a lot of capital in marketing research. They have discovered what it takes for success on the web. By emulating them, not copying the site directly, you can develop a design that will encourage the visitor to go to the next level and when they arrive, take a moment to discover the personality of your company, which then gives you the chance to actually sell them something.

Or you can ignore the design and visitors will simply run away screaming!

The choice is yours, Will you have a beauty or a beast.