Lead generating web design - the essentials

August 25, 2018

Your website is there to tell the story of your business, but it’s main task is to deliver plenty of great leads.

This is common for every business website, but it’s surprising how many get it wrong and inadvertently miss countless opportunities to reel in potential customers.

Thankfully, there are some tried-and-tested ways to create a website that has lead generation built-in from the ground up, and we’d like to share them with you today.

Include the obvious

Sometimes, the simple stuff really helps, and that’s why your email address and contact number should be prominent on your website. Don’t let it reside solely on the ‘Contact Us’ page.

Think about how many times you’ve visited websites only to be frustrated by the need to hunt around for a way to contact the business in question.

Make sure your contact details are bold, easy to read and positioned within the upper third of every single page.

Create calls-to-action on every page

What do you want people to do when they land on your website? It’s this final stage of the customer journey which needs to be made abundantly clear, and you can only do that with a great call-to-action (CTA).

You can have different CTAs throughout your website, but every page should have one. It might simply be to contact you, but if you want the visitor to download an eBook, register for your newsletter or book a demonstration, make sure the CTA is in the upper third of the page and designed to stand out.

Add plenty of credibility

You’re a credible business - you know that. But what about strangers? How do they know you are who you say you are?

There are lots of ways to add credibility to a website, but it’s best to focus on the most obvious to begin with. Add photos of staff and customer testimonials to show the faces behind the business and support your claims of greatness.

Use power words

When describing your product, service or offer, use action verbs such as ’feel’, ‘have’ and ‘get’ to elicit action on behalf of the reader.

Sometimes referred to as ‘power words’, these verbs act as much stronger compellers to the alternatives (i.e. ‘imagine having’); they make you want to do something.

For instance, if you’re a software retailer, a phrase such as ‘get hours of time back with our latest release’ will likely tempt plenty of visitors to get in touch.

Avoid templated websites

One of the most important things you can do when building a new website for your business is to avoid either doing it yourself or accepting the offer of a customised site template.

A website template is anything but unique; lots of other people and businesses are probably already using it, and you’ll be constrained significantly by its design.

As we noted earlier, lead generation should be built into your website from the ground up, which is why a bespoke design is essential. An experienced web development company will liaise with you and create a website that is right for your business, its audience and the customer journey.

Wrapping up

Is your business website letting you down without you knowing? How many potential leads have wandered off to a competitor simply because your website didn’t serve their needs?

A beautiful, functional website is nothing without the elements above - make sure yours is lead generation-ready!