Website Development - Product vs. Service
There are a lot of reasons to have a website these days. If you are selling a product it can be a straight forward process; fulfill a transaction where a tangible product is received in exchange for money. Most of the website's development will be focused on the feasibility of purchasing and receiving products securely online. However, what if you are not selling a product but a service? How should you develop your website then? This is a different process that may not be completely clear for most. Below are some tips to consider when developing a website for a service business.
Colors
Colors play a very important role in websites. Specifically, colors evoke emotional responses which go hand-and-hand with building a brand for a business. Colors affect your mood and can trigger excitement or put you in a calming state. It is really important to take your color palette seriously when developing your website. Make sure you understand your targeted customer and what would be important to them when choosing a color. For example, red can be perceived as evoking excitement, passion, desire, speed, power and heat. What if you are selling financial advice or eco-friendly services? Then you might want to stay away from red and choose either blue or green instead. Blue has been associated with tranquility, truth, order and loyalty where green has an obvious nature feel but can also evoke good luck, healthfulness and growth. If you want to learn more about the psychology of color in web design or choosing a color palette in general you can read more by clicking the links included below.
Fonts
Fonts and typography have emerged as a science in its own. Typography can have an important effect on your marketing communications and ability to be trusted. In fact, Google has done plenty of research already on the effects of font and the appropriateness of perception among readers. Dawn Shaikh, Google's lead UX designer, completed a study that found Calibri was the most appropriate typeface when creating a professional looking website. From our experience here at Sage Tree and just general web development advice, never use Comic Sans or any other casual script typeface when wanting to convey professionalism and credibility. To learn more about some of the higher ranked fonts, check out the study by Dawn Shaikh linked below.
Social Proof
Social proof does not necessarily mean adding social media buttons to your website, it means providing testimonial evidence. If you are selling a service, client testimonials can be a powerful way to demonstrate other satisfied customers pleased with your service. It is important to also note is that you should not have testimonials hidden away on some page where people will more likely not click through and find them. Instead, try to sprinkle them throughout your website and consider including video testimonials as well.
InfoGraphics
When you are selling a service you probably have a lot of information you want your potential customers to understand. However, adding pages and pages of text will not transmit that information effectively. Web surfers simply do not read any more - they scan. Dense text blocks burden and frustrate users. To quickly communicate your message, consider using an infographic. When you use an infographic, potential customers can quickly understand abstract or complex information. If you are still not convinced, read the blog article by world renowned blog specialist, Jeff Bullas, below.
Consider the F-shape Pattern
Not many people are aware of this but when a person looks at a website they will initially view everything quickly in an "F" formation. This means that they will skim the page with two horizontal passes followed by a vertical pass down the left side. As a result, an evidence-based user experience research and consulting group, Nielsen Norman Group, have come to the conclusion on the following things when users read your content:
- Users won't read your text thoroughly
- The first two paragraphs must state the most important information
- Start subheads, paragraphs, and bullet points with information-carrying words
Consider the "F-Shaped Pattern" that people subconsciously follow when reading through a website page. A link to the full article by the Nielsen Norman Group is included below.
F-Shaped Pattern For Reading Web Content
Reinforce Reliability
If you are providing a service you want to make sure customers consider you reliable. This means you are going to do what you say and follow through with it. This concept seems obvious, but customers need reinforcement that you will follow through. A very simple and quick way to demonstrate your reliability is to guarantee a returned phone call or a response email within a certain period of time. This gives your customers a clear metric to experience and measure your reliability. Try to find other ways in your website to reinforce the reliability of your services that you offer as a business.
Personalize & Acknowledge
People do business with people they like. If a person does not like you it doesn't matter if you have the best service in the world. Personalizing your about or bio page can do a lot for increasing your likeability. Try and share what you are all about in and outside of work and keep the business jargon to a minimum. This will personify your business and help engage people from an empathetic standpoint. You can also evoke a user's thoughts with an assessment of truth. For example, "What can we do for you? Well that's tough since we haven't even met you yet." This assessment provides a simple truth that a company really can not start talking about themselves until they first understand the client.
Offer Something of Value
A tip where most websites fail is to offer something of value. From a marketer's perspective this can also be referred to as a "Trip Wire Offer" or a "Hand Raiser Offer". You do not need to over think it, something as simple as offering a free white paper that is relevant to your audience will do the trick. Some clients even offer, "one free hour of consulting" when a person signs up for a newsletter. In this approach you accomplish two things, increase your web traffic and receive contact information for a potential client. This is why marketers call it a "Trip Wire Offer", it identifies a potential client who has mentally invested into the company by providing personal information. Try and find ways to offer something of value to every visitor on your website.
Conclusion
There are plenty of ways to improve the effectiveness of your website if you are selling a service as a business. Other topics you may want to consider include a responsive design for mobile devices and integrating social media so clients can share your work and expertise. The point ultimately is to understand your client and then leverage these tips to effectively target and engage that ideal client. You do not have to include everything on this list but be rest assured that these tips have been tested and proven successful for other websites.
