One way I measure the success of websites is length of stay. The longer a visitor “sticks” on your site, the greater the chance they are making an emotional connection with your brand. Using principles from the outstanding book, Made to Stick — Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die, I identify below three key qualities of a sticky website.
1. Simplicity
Before exploring the look of your new site, I recommend reviewing your strategic and marketing plans, analyzing your current site, and prioritizing what prospective clients should glean from your new site. This gives you a target to compare design solutions against. Next, create a Site Map which is a clear outline of proposed content. Then a simple navigation system can be designed allowing the visitor to easily find what they need. In the site I designed for KTU+A, we determined that viewing projects by market sector was a priority. So we designed the main navigation system to always show all market sectors. With the Content Mangement System we designed, our client is able to keep their own site full of current content. The goal for this site was to keep the graphic design simple so it serves as a frame supporting their projects as the art.
2. Unexpected Personalization
To capture and hold a visitor’s attention, your site needs to surprise and delight while delivering meaningful content. With the KTU+A site, a goal was to weave their positioning of “balancing human activites with elements of nature” into the site in an enexpected way. So the visitor gets an option to choose the site’s background image and sound (elements of nature) to balance using a computer (human activity). We created the Project List to allow visitors to sort projects in a way most meaningful to them. Visitors can sort by title, location, market sector or service with the ability to get more information on all projects and detailed information and imagery on featured projects.
3. Stories
Your brand is a story made true through personal experience. It’s critical that your site tell the story of your firm, your projects and your team in a compelling way. Invest in professional project photography and show it off at least 600 pixels wide. Here’s a great example of how impactful photography tells stories. Video is another great tool. Don’t expect your video to go “viral” on YouTube but do expect to connect with visitors on an emotional level. When introducing your team, use great photography or video and wording that communicates a sense of what it would be like to work with this person.
Your website is the new “front door” to your office. It’s the first place clients go to learn about you or validate what they’ve already heard. Use these tips to make a positive first impression “stick” in your client’s mind.