#683 Make Visitors Feel Welcome

Have you ever been to a website that just makes you feel right at home? Everything is where it's supposed to be. And you know, you've come to the right place. That's a website that's was designed with the user experience in mind.

What is user experience?  According to our guest Joey Donovan Guido user experience is the positive, negative, or neutral experience somebody has when they show up on your website. This is important, because when somebody arrives, and they feel comfortable, know where they've landed, have a really good idea of what to do next it goes a long way to building trust before they ever ever talk to you. 

Websites are very much like an apartment or a house. Things get cluttered with piles of stuff and boxes and dust. And that happens on websites. There's all this noise and distraction with multiple calls to action, and three navigations and moving pictures and elements. The visitor is overwhelmed and may leave thinking, "Hey, nice to see you, Lorraine, but your house is a mess, I'm leaving."

So if you are not looking for a cluttered chic look in your design there are things you can do to create a streamlined experience that isn't cold and impersonal. 

1. Take a look at your navigation. Make sure you have one and only one navigation visible. 
2. Get rid of social media buttons there's a very specific reason for them in the navigation area
3. Eliminate sliders 

Joey Donovan Guido —  

Joey Donovan Guido is the owner of Cuppa SEO Web Design, and author of the book, A Holistic Guide to Online Marketing. In addition to running his web design firm, he offers consulting and speaking services based on the principles found in his book.