By Stephanie Design 

How many times have you found yourself searching Target via mobile to see if something you need is in stock? You then make a quick note of the aisle it’s in (especially if it’s not something you grab often), and drive there and are in and out in five minutes.

To me this is User Experience simplified to your everyday life where you might be inundated with tasks, need to get somewhere quick, or are running late for work. Without this you’ll find yourself wondering around aimlessly looking for what you need, maybe alitte confused or impatient, get side-tracked and waste more precious time.

I recently revealed three Showit website templates for Photographers and service-based business. In it I shared how Showit makes making websites easy and while that is absolutely true, I want to share some guidelines I follow for developing and designing each theme!

While the tools at my disposal make it easy to create and for you to customize, that doesn’t mean you eschew convention; while some tertiary text is ok on a vertical, the whole navigation menu upside-down and sideways wouldn’t be a great user experience.

Each template also follows Showit’s Design Market standards which means you can easily make changes to the design without excessive assistance from Showit’s support staff.

Here’s a framework or strategy I use as a measure to ensure every is in tip-top shape for capturing discerning leads who may need to book your service.

Simplicity

Simplicity means no annoying pop-ups or feature bars, and certainly not a dizzying maze of a navigation to get to what they want. Certain features lead to overwhelm and guarantee a prospect isn’t sticking around too long after first blush. 

Simplicity also means establishing a good visual and typographical hierarchy of content that flows and is easily recognizable page to page. Your content is organized in a logical way with clearly defined sections that allow for easy scanning and focus. 

 

Sketching away…

Before I create each Showit website template I’ll start out with sketches and a mockup in Photoshop delineating sections of a layout to see how a design will flow before even setting foot in Showit. It’s not uncommon to create a couple versions for a page until I’m satisfied with the end result. Rinse and repeat! 

For many-serviced based businesses the following should be included: 

• Portfolio 

• Testimonials 

• Contact form

• Phone number

• Email

• Social media accounts

For photographers I like to break down each niche of photography, such as newborns, maternity, and seniors into a eye-catching gallery section on the homepage that will enable visitors to custom tailor their viewing experience based on interest simply with the click of a button. 

For example, if you own an event planning business, consider creating two separate drop down menus in your portfolio, one for “Season” and another for “Occasion.” 

If your navigation is too complex, you may lose people! Segmenting is a great way to match your prospects specific needs. 

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Clear Call to Action on each Page

You want to turn casual browsers into prospective customers so take action and courage them to easily reach out!

In my Showit templates I consider this a regular part of the sales funnel. I lead prospects closer to the prescribed action by adding targeted calls to action at the bottom of most pages. 

For example: “Let’s Create Beautiful Memories” on a website for a Newborn and Family Photographer

Pretty simple!

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A Separate Mobile-Friendly Design

I love that Showit allows control of the desktop and mobile designs because other platforms spit out one with little regard for usability. 

With just over 60% of web traffic coming from mobile devices (source), it’s imperative to have a mobile-optimized version of each website template to streamline that positive first impression.

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The aspect I like most about creating and offering Showit templates is you can take a glance and immediately decide if it suits the needs of your business or not! Learn more about the features and benefits in my Guide to Showit.

While working with a web designer on a custom website feels like you’ll receive one-on-one personalized care, sometimes the lengthy process is a downfall when you really want to share your talents and book clients sooner!

My hope is the above mapped-out strategy that goes into the development of each Showit template sets you at ease so you can rest assured your clients experience will be an enjoyable one!