Website Conversion and Usability Checklist

CONVERSION OPTIMIZATION & USABILITY ISSUES YCHECKLIST Most usability problems go unnoticed by the average web user, at least on conscious level. Despite that, your site is very likely losing a lot of conversions simply because you are not implementing basic conversion optimization tips. The following action points may not fix every problem on your site, and some may not work at all, but by testing the usability tips below you can potentially help you make huge gains in your conversion rates. WHAT'S Set important elements off by making their size and color distinctive and placing them in a noticeable area of the page. IMPORTANT IS PROMINENT Group related items under a heading or specific area of the page and display them in similar visual style. VISUALLY RELATE LOGICAL ELEMENTS CLEARLY Users should be able to tell DEFINED exactly what each section of the page is about. PAGE AREAS Make clickable CLICKABLE elements recognizable to keep visitors fully engaged in the conversion process. ELEMENTS ARE OBVIOUS Too much busyness or "background" on the page can MINIMIZE NOISE create “noise" that distracts the visitor from properly interacting with your site. Cut out text that has no real OMIT NEEDLESS value to the visitor and acts as a barrier to the real content meat. WORDS Make sure your global navigation is in the same place and works the same way on CONSISTENT NAVIGATION PLACEMENT every page. Provide a simple site search option: a box, a button and the word "search." INCORPORATE ON-SITE SEARCH HIGHLIGHT Make it clear to the visitor what page and/ or section of the site they are viewing. CURRENT LOCATION Use design elements such as color, size, and font to set your calls to action apart. CONTRAST CALLS TO АCTION ESTABLISH TRUST AND Display symbols for awards, memberships, personal information protection, and a robust about us page that help communicate your business's legitimacy. CREDIBILITY Create a tagline that is visually connected to your site ID (logo). VISUALLY CONNECTED TAGLINE The home page should help users navigate the most common tasks and important elements only. Don't try to highlight everything you do on the home DON'T OVER-PROMOTE page. Make sure important information such as phone numbers, shipping rates and prices, and other bits of information are readily available. DON'T HIDE NEEDED INFO FLEXIBLE Site visitors should never have to think about how to properly FORM format data they are entering INPUTS into forms. Stick to requiring only information that is necessary REQUEST ONLY for the task at hand. NECESSARY INFO Figure out the three main things visitors will want to accomplish on your site and make sure these are obvious and easy to do. EASY TO USE Don't hide important information in small print or on hard-to-find pages. TELL VISITORS WHAT THEY WANT TO ΚNOW REDUCE STEPS Once the visitor starts down a path to complete a goal, minimize the number of steps TO GOAL COMPLETION in the process. Give your what they want to know, not just what you want them to know. visitors answers to ANSWER RELEVANT QUESTIONS EASY ERROR When a form submission error happens, always maintain the previously entered data so the visitor can quickly fix the error and move on. RECOVERY Because of business and ALWAYS BE customer complexity, testing all of the elements in this checklist TESTING is the only way to uncover the real best practices specific to your website. For more action points, get The Best Damn Web Marketing Checklist, Period! from Amazon today. You can also download its FREE companion pdf at www.PolePositionMarketing.com/Cheatsheet BEST DAMN IMARKETING O CHECKLIST y deGeyter stoney POLE POSITION M AR KETI NG VELOCITIZE YOUR WEB PRESENCE © 1998-2015 Pole Position Marketing ED