You hired designers to do their magic, your website seems to have all the features needed for your business to bloom, but somehow, Google Analytics numbers are not that satisfying. The good news is, you’re not alone when facing conversions on your website that are far from perfect. So, what do you do?
“It looks great” vs. “Data-driven redesign”
Like every trend, website design trends are also changing and evolving. Naturally, you would think that every time your website starts to look like it’s falling behind with its esthetics and functionality, radical change seems necessary. Yes, most people do redesign their websites every 3 or 4 years, which pretty much resembles cleaning out your wardrobe to get rid of the clothes you won’t wear again. However, is radical change really necessary?
Amazon, for example, didn’t change much of its interface dating back to 2008. They just tweaked a thing or two, accordingly to their visitors’ behavior and needs. They change just one thing at the time, but only after conducting tests to see if it benefits any of the metrics. This way, they know if a redesign worked or not.
To make an analogue reference, when Walmart redesigned their stores to appear less cluttered based on the opinion of customers, they actually saw a drop in their sales. How, you might ask? Well, people tend to say and do opposite things. It turned out that cluttered aisles send the signal to customers that items are cheaper, thus, prompting them to spend more money.
Continuous optimization
Assuming that your website looks satisfying enough, without any technological issues, you might want to consider the evolutionary approach. If you have returning visitors, but your conversion numbers are low, then your efforts are fruitful but require tweaking. With enough visitors, you have just enough time to perform tests at least once a month to see which parts of your website could use more optimizing. This approach is best and should be used as a default approach when it comes to website design and website redesign.
Analyze conversion performance
What’s better than website redesign? A smart website redesign.
What’s far more important than your pretty website is how people behave when they visit it. What do they want? Why do they leave? Is there something preventing them from purchasing your product/applying for your services? These variables affect your conversion rates, which are basically bringing you money. So in order to have customers perform actions on your website and return wanting for more, analyze their behavior. Try to understand your Average Joe’s needs when they come to your website, and you’ll be hearing “ka-ching” in no time.
Bring in the Designers!
Of course, while data is not everything, it will help designers work on your website. A good designer will have an intuitive sense of how their design can pack up all of your data and transform it into a conversion-friendly designed website. They will have to think one step ahead of your customer, as well as your sales team, in order to achieve your goals.
With this in mind, even when you achieve desired website conversion rates, you will still have to continuously optimize your website in order to maintain the numbers at a satisfying level.
