So I’ve been writing quite a few blogs on the topic of website content recently and I’ve noticed that they tend to centre on words. Not the blogs themselves, the content! This blog is going to stand up for the other areas of the website – images, buttons, videos, even empty space – because they all have their rightful place on your site.
The right imagery
There are many things you need to look at when considering your website imagery. The first is to decide what imagery best represents your brand and what you’re about. Some companies use a lot of photos, if you’re in retail then your products being used by shiny happy people will seem quite appealing. Or maybe you’d prefer your products to stand alone and sit against a background that doesn’t compete with them? There are some great websites that don’t use photos at all but prefer drawings or animations to get their brand across, think Skype or there’s innocent drinks who do a mix of both very nicely.
Then decide how much imagery you want on your site – just enough to be appealing but not so much that it negatively impacts your SEO optimisation.
Push the button
Something so simple as a button can make a huge difference to what people do on your website. These are the sign posts leading people on a journey and people want to be led instead of having to hunt around for the right place to go. The wording on a button, the colour and the shape all have an impact as to whether it’s pressed or not so make sure you test what works for you and keep looking for ways to better improve them.
Video didn’t kill anyone
These guys are a bit undervalued on a website (unless you’re Youtube), because people have the wrong impression that they can only be used if expensively produced in a studio. The most popular videos out there were done on a mobile phone or handycam and they didn’t spend hours being storyboarded, they were funny moments caught by the lens. What makes a video popular is whether it’s original and real – people don’t want scripts they want to see things happening in the real world by real people (or cats often).
Don’t fill in the blanks
My favourite thing on a website is often the clean lines of nothingness. Vast empty space that allows a page to breathe and give impact to what is on it. Far too many websites are cluttered and noisy with a lack of clear direction because you’re looking at a million buttons, flashing banners and adverts. Be confident in what is just enough – usually this is done by putting everything on the page and then starting to cut out half of it, what’s left is perfect now leave it alone and let it sell itself.
