10 Website Design Hacks That Convert Traffic and Look Amazing Visually

A great website does two things: it looks great and it converts traffic into sales and leads. While conversion rate is top priority, no business wants to have an ugly website. “You want your website to be visually appealing and give off a strong first impression” says web development co.

Your website is typically the first interaction a potential customer has with your company, so you want it to look good. Something that looks outdated and just poorly designed doesn’t always give off a professional appearance. So, how do you have the best of both worlds? A website that looks great, but also does its job, and generates money.

Here is a new website checklist that looks great, but also help to convert a higher percentage of your visitors into leads, sales, and highly desirable revenue for your business.

1. Create after-post calls-to-action.

“It’s important to publish a lot of content on your blog, both for SEO and to give the visitors something to read – like this post to improve results. It’s a great way to market your business, but what about when they finish reading your blog articles? You want to have something for them to do at the end of each article.

Design a nice offer, whether it’s an offer to have them join an email list, or a coupon code they can use right now to make a purchase and receive a discount. The goal is to make it visually appealing so it draws their attention. If it’s enticing enough you will see a high percent convert, especially if the content delivered a strong message.” – Christopher Kerr, VP Marketing at Earnhardt Lexus

2. Use custom CSS in your checkout and cart pages.

“I see so many e-commerce websites that have a great custom theme, and the entire experience is great until the customer goes to make a purchase. They are sent to a shopping cart and checkout pages that are generic and they do not have the same look and feel of the website.

This will turn a lot of people off, as it disturbs the flow. You never want to use the standard layout and colors. Instead, have your developer use your custom CSS and apply it to the shopping cart and checkout pages. Having the same colors, fonts and style buttons will streamline the entire process, resulting in higher conversion rates. It look so much more professional as well.” – Christopher Dziak, CEO of Pure Nootropics

3. Use full-screen exit offers.

“Not everyone is on board with exit popups, but if you design them right they work very well. The little ones that pop in the middle or slide in can all look the same, so take advantage of a full-screen offer. Not only can you design them to really look great, but they require the visitor to give them all of their attention.

With a great offer you will see conversion rates go through the roof. You can create a full page offer that is a solid color that matches your design, so it feels more like the actual website and not just an annoying pop up. Use a tool like OptinMonster and split-test different full-screen offers.” – Michael Herron, Law Offices of Michael R. Herron

4. Create animated explainer videos.

“If you want to be create when trying to explain your product or service, or highlight special features and selling points, consider having an animated explainer video made. These look great on a website and most people are going to be willing to watch a two minute animated video rather than read a long article or a full page of information.

People are lazy and you need to find creative ways to get your message in front of them, requiring the least amount of effort on their end. A fun video will entertain and explain, and then with the right call-to-action at the end it will help drive more conversions.” – Paul Kelly, 247 CCTV Security Ltd

5. Design custom blog images and featured images.

“Everyone blogs these days. Your competition is all doing it, so you need to find little ways to make your blog more appealing. Aside from writing better content, you can take steps to make it more visually appealing, and you can start by designing custom images for your posts.

You can use a tool like Canva to create custom images for free and make them brandable by using your company colors and fonts. This little customization tips makes you stand out, especially if your competition is using cheesy stock images that don’t stand out.” – Chris Moberg, President of Slumber Search

6. Publish infographics on your blog.

“Make sure you mix in some different type of content in your blog. Infographics are a great format of content, as they are visual and people just tend to enjoy them. Not only will you engage your readers, but infographics tend to generate more social shares and attract more links than any other types of content.

Have your SEO team use them in their outreach and link building activities as well. This will help to justify the cost of having them created. It’s better to spend the money to have custom ones done than go cheap and publish template ones that don’t stand out.” – Hyung Park, President of Abraham Lincoln University

7. Take professional product images for a custom feel.

“Have you ever shopped online and you just didn’t feel confident on a website because their product images were either stock images or poorly done? With so many online store choices, you need to take every step to build trust.

Taking custom pictures gives your website a better look, and it also sets you apart from all of the cheap drop shipping sites and low level operations. A customer knows a stock image when they see one. Take it to the next level and take high quality studio shots that are branded for your company.” – Chad Gaynier of Clarity Clinic

8. Never use stock images to portray your company.

“Do not use stock image photography to represent your business or the people that work for your business. You have seen it a million times. You go on a website and there are random stock images of people in an office setting. It just makes the website look cheap.

If you want to show the people at your company, hire a photographer to take images that are well done and showcase your team in a fun manner. Stock photography looks cheap and it makes your business appear to be generic. Use real photos that are done professionally or no photos at all.” – Tad Thomas, Managing Partner of Thomas Law Offices

9. Have a custom email template designed to match the look and feel of your website.

“Email marketing is one of the most effective ways to re-target people that have both purchased from you before, have expressed interest in what your business offers or have abandoned the checkout process prior to finalizing a purchase.

When you send them an email that contains an offer, you want them to connect with it right away. If it looks like your website, then you are going to make that strong connection, and they are going to click-through your email offer and land back on the site. A custom newsletter template that looks like your site keeps the flow going and leads to increased conversions. You can have a custom template design and coded for a couple hundred dollars. It’s a smart investment.” – Ignacio Soria, CEO of Cann & Co.

10. Create forms with one or two fields.

“Big clunky opt-in forms not only look bad and are an eye sore, but they also push people away because they don’t want to commit to filling all of that information out. You are better off having a form with one (email) or two (name and email) fields initially, and then attempt to collect the rest of the desired information during the second contact. Forms with limited number of fields not only look better, but they are completed more frequently than long-form opt-ins. You can always test both, but you will find that the initial opt-in with one or two fields will always convert at a much higher rate, no matter what the offer is.” – Pat Skinner of AnswerFirst