Your website is the window to your professional services firm and the go-to online touchpoint for new and existing clients, so it’s fundamental to get it right. But how can you ensure that your site is a hit? It can be tricky to strike the right balance between standing out and remaining professional – and this is where we come in.
Our list of 5 top web design tips for your professional services firm will help your firm to climb the search engine ranks and obtain the results your business needs.
#1 Prove your worth
You may consider yourself to be one of the best professional services firms in the country – but so does every other business. If you really want to drive conversions, you need to show your audience just how valuable your services are. In the world of B2B, buyers tend to make decisions based on risk; the less risk you pose, the more likely you are to be chosen, so it’s fundamental you can provide the right information to help them rationalise their decision.
But how do you build credibility and present yourself as the safe option? Let your clients do the talking. Using case studies and testimonials will enable you to demonstrate your expertise in a way that your audience can relate to. You will not only be providing them with proof you are great at what you do, but will also be proving you have experience helping businesses just like theirs; relevance is key. And by allowing your clients to do the talking, you will not only be building credibility for your firm but trust, too.
#2 Make it responsive
Half of all web traffic now comes from mobile devices, so if your professional services site isn’t optimised for mobile, you will be missing out on a lot of opportunities. With 90% of consumers now expecting mobile sites to be as good as (if not better) than desktop sites, this really is something that needs to be addressed.
But what’s in it for you? Well, aside from meeting consumer expectations, having a responsive website will help to:
- Decrease your bounce rate
- Increase sales
- Increase trust
- Better engage your audience
#3 Keep things simple
Humans are creatures of habit; we like routine and are generally resistant to change. This is why it comes as no surprise that professional services sites that follow traditional web design standards are better received than those with more innovative layouts. More often than not, consumers view complex designs as being cluttered and confusing. They like things to be kept clean and simple: think Apple or Tesla. It’s all about keeping things predictable to make the experience as enjoyable (and usable) as possible for the end-user.
Equally, when it comes to writing the headlines for key landing pages, you need to keep things basic. The goal is to reassure your audience they are in the right place, so using relevant keywords will be far more effective than including over-complicated language or vague phrases.
But remember: B2B doesn’t have to be boring. Whilst sticking to a more traditional website layout is recommended, there is still plenty of room for creativity in other areas.
#4 Speed is key
How many times have you tried to access a website and clicked off because it was taking too long to load? And where did you end up as a result of it? A slow loading site (and by slow we mean anything above 3 seconds) is almost guaranteed to send your visitors straight into the arms of your competitors, so you must be constantly monitoring it and making improvements where necessary.
To demonstrate just how important your site speed is, a recent study found that whilst pages with an average load time of 2 seconds have a bounce rate of 9%, those with a load time of 5 seconds have a bounce rate of 38% – a sizeable difference that can be easily avoided! And it’s not just your audience that will be left feeling disgruntled by your slow loading site; Google dislikes it, too.
So, time for the million-dollar question: how can you improve your site speed? Several aspects must be addressed, including:
- Web hosting
- Plugins
- File size
- Coding
#5 Remember the visuals
Nailing the visuals of your website is fundamental to ensuring your audience remains engaged and pays attention to the right information. Several key visual components must be considered when designing your website, including:
- Visual hierarchy: think about the size, colour, format, contrast and placement of different elements. This is used to direct your audience’s attention to key messages and leads them towards your CTA.
- Imagery: when it comes to choosing the imagery for your website, it’s best to avoid those which look overly ‘stock’. Remember you want everything to be on-brand and help to build a unique and memorable image for your audience, and most importantly, you need authentic content to help to build trust – spoiler alert: stock images aren’t genuine and your audience will see through them! Another top tip is to include faces. Not only do they help to add an element of humanity, but they are a great way to engage your audience and draw attention to key points, too. They act as visual clues, encouraging the user to look in the same direction as the image.
- Visual cues: we’ve touched on this above with the faces, but another effective way to draw attention to important information is with the use of arrows, which quite literally point the user in the direction you want them to look. Along with this, colour can also be used to draw attention to important points and help to drive conversions. You can learn more about this in our guide to colour psychology here.
So there we have our 5 top tips to help any professional service firm looking to transform their website and climb to the top of the SERP. For more helpful advice, be sure to check out our ultimate guide to user experience here or contact us for a free consultation with one of our marketing experts.
