How To Create More Profitable Websites

A lot of web designers are mainly concerned with creating beautiful websites for their clients. They want the websites they create to be picture-perfect, impressive, and works of art. They don't put much thought into a website after they hand it over to the client. If this is your mindset, you're leaving money on the table. Also, my experience training web designers for over 8 years tells me results (not design) make the biggest difference between the web designers who earn a lot and those who don't. In other words, you should be making websites that make your clients more money. By thinking like a business owner you'll be able to charge a much higher hourly rate. This mindset starts by viewing your websites as more than just a pretty face. Business owners care more about the statistics of their website. How many visitors did they get this month? Is that more than last month? How many people purchased something? How many people left without buying? Why? To a business owner, traffic is very valuable. They work hard to get people to visit their site so they want them to stay a while and buy something. If you understand this and can help your clients make more sales, you'll be seen as a complete expert. You'll have more referrals than you know what to do with and you'll be able to increase your rates. The first step in getting a website visitor to remain on a website is creating a website that passes the 5-second test. The 5-Second Test Most visitors will come to a website, give it a quick glance and, if nothing captures their attention, they'll hit the "back" button and disappear forever. Sadly, they don't read every word and most of them ignore 95% of the stuff you worked so hard to create. You can try this test now with your portfolio website or a client's website… Go to the site you want to test. Spend just 5 seconds looking at it. Then, come back to this page. Then, answer this question: Did the website grab my attention? Was there anything that made me want to find out more? If you find it difficult to answer this question about your own website, ask a handful of people to do the same thing you just did to your site. You might be surprised to learn that your visitors aren't looking at what you expect. Here are two steps to make sure the websites you create pass the 5-second test: 1. Fix the headline. The headline should be the first thing a visitor sees and it should practically force them to read more. Don't make the mistake of assuming your visitors will read all the text on the page. Studies show 80% of visitors read the headline, only 20% read the rest. Can you see why the headline is so important? So what makes a good headline? Good headlines are specific. Make sure the headline you write could only be at the top of the website you're creating. If it could work on a competitor's site, it's not specific enough. Dig deep to find out how your client is different from everyone else and use those details. Good headlines use powerful words that grab attention and inspire action. Some examples are Shocking, Limited Offer, Effective, Rewarding, Irresistible, Discover, Critical, Fascinating, Masterpiece, Tempting… (Tip: Look through your client's customer testimonials to see what words they use.) 2. Ask the visitor to do something. Most websites ask the visitor to do something, but they don't give anything in return. If you want visitors to take action, you need to reward them. Let's say your client wants to get the name and email address of everyone who visits his site so he can follow up with them. He should offer something – like a free report, a trial, a consultation or maybe a sample product – in exchange for their name and email address. This is known as an irresistible offer. It just means the visitors are going to get something for giving something. It's based on a promise from both parties: If you give me your name and number, I'll give you this widget worth $27. To get more people taking you up on the offer, it should be something they can't walk away from. Without a great – and obvious – offer, visitors will come to your site, glance around and leave. With an irresistible offer, you can turn visitors into loyal fans who return and buy. Each paragraph of the rest of the copy should support this goal (visitors exchanging their info for the offer). Remember to be specific and explain what the visitors will get out of the deal. Remove any distractions that get in the way of the message. Get rid of extra info, any links that take them away from the main message or away from the site, and images that aren't relevant. At this point, you might be wondering why your client would want the visitor's information… The answer is so they can follow up (by email or newsletter) with these visitors, gain trust, build a relationship, get repeat visitors, and increase their chances of getting a sale. Web Designers Beware I often see websites where web designers let their ideas and design get in the way of the message. Beautiful sites are great, but design alone won't make money. People buy because of the message. Work with your clients to create compelling copy and irresistible offers and you'll be unstoppable.