Hints and tips for a successful website looking at design, colours and understanding your target audience.

1. Top Tips for a Successful Website
...with the small business/SME in mind
By Nigel Harding
Referon High Wycombe
6 March 2013

2. Agenda
● Your website, your shop
window
● Understanding your target
audience

3. 1. Your shop window
Check list:
● Establish/re-enforce corporate ID
● Use consistent, complimentary colours
● Use good quality photography
– Good lighting, relaxed professional look, no holiday
snaps
● Importance of usability
– Different form factors (smartphones, tablets)

4. Colours - psychology
● Blue = corporate, business-like
● Red = passion/danger
● Purple = health, healing, spiritual, counselling,
helping
● Green = restful, environmental
● Grey = safe, trustworthy
● Black: statistically more people will click away.

5. Colour Wheel

6. Colour opposites

7. Colour - analogous

8. Colour – tertiary

9. Photography

10. Which would you choose?
●
●

13. Responsive Web Design

14. Some Facts & Figures
● The number of smartphone searchers doubles every two
months
● In 2010, Google became a ‘mobile-first’ company (this means
they develop their sites and tools on mobiles first)
● Smartphone sales overtook PC sales last year (two years
earlier than expected)
● In three years time, tablet sales will be bigger than PC sales
● Smartphone sales will continue to grow – will be 3 times the
sales of PCs
● 52% of UK mobile phone users have a smartphone

15. 2. Your target audience
Check list
● Understand who you are trying to reach
– Demographics (age, sex, niches)
– Suitable colours & style that appeal
– Personas
● Tell your audience what you want them to do
– i.e. “Call to action”, telephone, complete a form, click on a “buy”
button

16. Vending machine industry persona
● Vending machine operator company
● Facilities Management for SMEs/corporates
● Target audience, think about...
● Male? – most likely
● Age? - 28-45?
● Role? - CEO/COO/MD?
● Disposition? - quite analytical

17. Call To Action – tell your audience
what you would like them to do...
● Every page should have a purpose
● Tell your visitor what you want them to do...
Great article: 10 techniques for an effective call to action http://boagworld.com/design/10-
techniques-for-an-effective-call-to-action/

18. MailChimp – calls to action

19. Questions?
Email: nigel@amodeowebdesign.co.uk