Ecommerce revenue in Guyana is expected to grow to USD 82 million in 2022. User penetration, which is currently at 36% is expected to increase to 52% by 20251. This is a significant increase and a clear indicator that businesses need to seriously invest in improving their online presence and digital marketing strategy.
The most important platform for a business online is their own website. According to a survey conducted by Adobe, 38% of respondents said they would stop interacting with a business because of a poorly designed website2. If your website is outdated or performing poorly, it may be time for a redesign. In this article, we explore some simple but effective tips that businesses can implement when redesigning their website to improve UI/UX design and boost their website’s performance.
1. Use whitespace
Businesses sometimes underestimate the importance of whitespace. Having empty space or white space around your text blocks and design elements makes it easier for users to consume content on a website. If your website is more than 2 to 3 years old, it might be a good idea to revisit the amount of whitespace that has been allocated to your layouts.
You can make your website feel fresh and new by simply increasing the padding around certain elements and between sections of your website. If you are creating a new website, don’t insist on filling the page up with visual and text elements. Remember, less is more. Let your website design and development company guide you on the recommended layout for your webpages.
2. Re-structure your text
Word count is important from an SEO perspective. Having in-depth coverage of a relevant topic on your webpage is an effective strategy to rank for search queries. Often sites that are ranking in top positions for long tail search queries will have over 2000 to 2500 words of content. In such cases, it is very important to structure the content in a way that is easy to read.
Break your text into new paragraphs when you start a new idea or every 5 or 6 sentences. Use bullet points and lists wherever you can. Implement ‘read more’ buttons, so that users can choose to see more content for sections that they are interested in.
If you have service pages with large amounts of text, talk to your web development company, and see if the text can be consolidated towards the bottom of the page in an expandable section with a ‘read more’ button. This will satisfy the need for the high word count required for search engines without increasing the length of your web page.
3. Improve your page speed and responsiveness
Have you ever used a flagship phone from Apple or Samsung? What makes these devices feel so premium? There are other android phones on the market that have similar or at times even better specifications than the latest iOS device or the top-line Galaxy phone, and yet these other devices don’t always feel as premium or high quality. More often than not that is because of poor software and lag in touch response. The same is true for websites.
Websites that load quickly, do not lag, and have smooth transitions feel of higher quality. By improving your website’s page load speed and responsiveness on devices, you can greatly improve user experience. If your website takes more than 5 seconds to load, you could be losing potential customers. Therefore, page speed and performance should take highest priority during the redesign process of your website.
An experienced website design and development company for businesses in Guyana, WebFX, can help you improve the technical performance and design of your website. If you are considering a redesign for your business website, contact us to learn more.
Source:
1. n.d., “eCommerce – Guyana”, Statista, [available online], available from: https://www.statista.com/outlook/dmo/ecommerce/guyana [accessed Aug 2022]
2. Feb. 18, “2018 Adobe Consumer Content Survey”, Slideshare, [available online], available from: https://www.slideshare.net/adobe/2018-adobe-consumer-content-survey [accessed Aug 2022]
