Sneaky Web Design Tricks That Automatically Boost
Readership & Drive-Up Conversion Rate!
Copyright © 2006 Quick Turn Marketing International,
Ltd.
Do you have powerful, irresistible,
conversion-oriented sales copy that’s waiting to be
uploaded simply because you don’t have someone to
“design” your site?
Well, I’ve got news for you: Picasso doesn’t do
websites and you don’t need a “museum piece.” Your
site needs to be visually appealing…inviting…easy on
the eye. Nothing more, nothing less.
It simply needs to look and feel welcoming so you can
maximize retention and maximize sales.
This means that you, too, can have a site that
sells…and sells well…even if you don’t have an art
degree, a graphics department, or a high-priced web
design firm on retainer. It’s true that design and
copy go hand-in-hand, but — this next bit is
important, so pay attention –
Design should always work with your copy in a
supportive role.
You read me correctly. Despite what graphic designers
tell you (and each other), design is the tablecloth,
not the meal. After all, it’s your words that
convince prospects to buy…not your clever use of
color, graphics, or Flash animation.
In fact, on many sites, design elements aren’t
attention-getters. They’re attention mis-directors.
They draw attention to the design of the site and away
from the message of the site. Design like that isn’t
helping you make a sale. It’s just the opposite.
Its effect is self-defeating…like shooting yourself in
the foot. Or worse! Like shooting your prospect in
the foot and killing his/her interest dead.
Don’t despair. Your design “phobia” doesn’t have to
hold you back, and you don’t have to engage the
services of a psychotherapist to get to the root of
your fears. You have nothing to fear but fear
itself…the fear of not having a website with a
fabulous message drawing in millions of customers.
Just put yourself in my hands for a few moments. I’ll
be your “doctor” with an easy-to-follow, two-part
“prescription” for website design health. There’s not
a bitter pill in the lot…it’s all easy-to-swallow (and
easy to learn) stuff.
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“Sneaky” Pill #1 - The Black and White Pill
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Have you ever watched preschoolers with the BIG BOX of
Crayola crayons…the ones with 64 colors in them.
Little Mikey or Molly will use every single color on
their tiny masterpieces and cover every possible inch
of their “canvas.”
Now that’s fine for Mikey and Molly…they’re in
pre-school. Your website should be a study in
simplicity. Not too crowded…not too busy…not to
colorful…not too-too in any way. For you and your
website, too-too is a no-no, and the big box of
crayons should stay in the drawer.
Start your search for simplicity by looking at the
colors on your site. Nothing is simpler than black
text on a white page… yet this is usually the most
effective way to present a lot of copy.
The reason for this is elementary: The contrast is as
strong and dramatic as it can be because black and
white represent the extreme opposite ends of the
scale. Any use of color is reduces the degree of
contrast between start black and white.
Think about advertisements in fashion magazines or on
billboards. A pink raincoat against a purple
background? Or… how about white type on a lime green
background?
Graphic designers use such colors for their visual
impact because fashion ads are driven by pictures, not
words. The colors achieve the opposite effect that
you’re looking for.
Bright colors detract from the text by making the
words difficult to read. In fashion, this works to
an ad’s advantage by compelling the consumer to look
at the clothing.
On a website, the wrong combination of colors makes
reading the words frustrating and annoying. If you
frustrate and annoy your visitors, what are the
chances of them buying anything from you? (In the
language of professional sales, “frustrating” and
“annoying” are synonyms for “no sale.”)
Don’t annoy the consumers! Your job as a marketer is
to make your copy as easy and hassle-free to read as
humanly possible so that visitors will want to “set a
spell” and read what you have to say.
Now don’t get me wrong. The right use of color can
certainly help make a more visually appealing site.
There are brilliant designers out there who know how
to use tones and textures so masterfully that sites
are works of art AND sales monsters.
Don’t fall into what I call the “Bells ‘n’ Whistles”
swamp. Too much graphic activity will pull you and
your website down .like quicksand! Avoid the
temptation to use unusual colors, combinations and
flashy graphics simply because they’re available.
A little color goes a long way and primary colors are
a better, more clearly defined choice.
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“Sneaky” Pill #2 - The White Pill
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Part of making your message easy on the eyes is to
make it exceptionally easy to read. You want readers
to breeze though your copy effortlessly. The best way
to do that is to break up paragraphs into instantly
scannable segments and provide plenty of white space.
What’s the big benefit of a little white space? Short
segments are easiest to scan and understand on the
fly. And if your prospect is able to “absorb” your
information easily…effortlessly…he/she is more
inclined…is in fact COMPELLED to read further.
(In the language of professional sales, “compelled” is
a synonym for “I’ve got you hooked and in a moment
you’ll be putty in my hands.”)
The more you can break up your test into short
sentences and paragraphs, the easier it is for
prospects to read. If your message looks like an
easy read, chances of your prospect actually reading
your letter improve significantly.
Don’t use bleach to add more white to your site. Just
remember to keep your page widths to a minimum and for
a brighter, clearer, cleaner looking website.
Keep your text to a maximum width of 65 characters.
That way your page should be easily readable from any
monitor. (A rule of thumb is that you should always
keep the ‘little people’ in mind. I mean those with
the little 12” monitors set at 640 x 480.)
Warning! Warning! Warning.
Avoid at all costs, the need for horizontal scanning.
It’s enough of a challenge to get readers to scroll
vertically through your sales message. To ask them to
scroll horizontally too is absolutely ludicrous.
It’s always a good idea to set your main page inside
the width of the typical window. What this does is
display an obvious page border so the reader knows
instantly that he’s not missing out on anything.
With a border, the reader feels omniscient
(all-seeing), “Ah. This is easy. I can see this
entire message easily. I think I’ll read it in its
entirety.”
Without such a border, the reader feels confused,
“Hey! What’s going on here? I don’t get it. This
is annoying. I’m getting out of here.”
Some people say it’s better to light a candle than
curse the darkness. Marketers say it’s better to
facilitate easy, problem-free reading of a simple,
clean website than curse the fact that prospects kept
their money to themselves.
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The Gold in the Nugget
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Simply put, your goal — in design and copy alike –
is to simplify the process.
Clarify your message so that it cannot be
misconstrued. Provide a single direction for your
prospect to proceed. Funnel them through your copy to
the order page. Clarify your design so that your
message is not misconstrued. Provide a single focus
for your prospect — the words!
Now get out there and make yourself rich…and happy,
too!
Dan Lok
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A former college dropout, Dan Lok transformed himself
from a grocery bagger in a local supermarket to a
multi-millionaire. Today, Dan is one of the most
sought-after business mentors on the Web, as well as
a best-selling author. His reputation includes his title
as the World’s #1 Website Conversion Expert.
To find out what Dan is up to now, visit him at:
WebsiteConversionExpert
and totally bed ridden. Just back on my feet now and trying to play catch up. This is the second false start and a real blow. I have been making sites and recording ideas on my laptop in my spare time between naps, I just didn’t have the energy to update here. So I have about 30 ideas in different forms to go live! Most are really lame, but everyone will be a lesson 
My tool set is more complete with a few recent purchases and I think I can make a simple site in a few hours. I’m hoping to get that down to a under an hour; more on that later :) I have created a few scripts to glue togeather all the tools in to a pipeline and have started creating guide sheets for projects types.