The Relationship Between Website Design and Conversion Rates

You can have the best apartment marketing ideas in the world, but they won’t help you build any leads if they appear on an outdated desktop-only website.
The idea that mobile is king when it comes to web design isn’t a new concept. Mobile internet usage has been steadily increasing since the late 2000’s. As of January 2018, 56% of global web traffic came from smartphones or tablets.
What does this to do with web design? According to a study from Forrester, mobile-optimized websites have 200-400% higher conversion rates than those that aren’t designed for mobile viewing. Website design can have a significant impact on your business, so let’s explore some key design elements that will help you up your mobile website game.
Design Responsively
If you aren’t already using responsive web design, now’s the time to start. A responsive website uses flexible, fluid layouts to seamlessly resize, rearrange and optimize itself based on the environment and screen size.
Responsive design ensures your website looks good and is readable no matter what device it’s being viewed on. This matters because 38% of people will stop engaging with a website if the content/layout doesn’t display well on their screen.
 
With responsive websites, you can pour your resources into maintaining only one website as opposed to multiple versions for desktop, smartphone and tablet. Not only does responsive design make viewers happy, it also helps you cut costs. If we look beyond the aesthetics, we find that responsive websites have better SEO rankings because Google prioritizes search results to favor mobile-friendly websites.
Typical methods of rearranging a desktop site design for better viewing on mobile include:

  • Converting a multi-column layout to a single column layout
  • Changing linear menus to drop-down menus
  • Limiting the number of images being displayed (Studies have shown that having fewer images on your mobile site can actually increase conversions.)
  • Using collapsible elements like accordions to minimize the amount of information initially presented. Nobody likes a wall of text!

Adopting a cohesive “design language”
Have you ever noticed that a lot of websites seem to have a similar look? The web has an established visual language, and that’s even more apparent on mobile devices due to the crossover with mobile app design. People have expectations for how things should look and feel on the web, and you can leverage this expected “design language” to simplify navigation for your site’s users.
 
“Design language” sounds like a fancy term, but it just refers to a consistent, cohesive set of rules that your website design should follow. Think of it as a brand guideline for things like buttons, forms, menus, etc.Google’s Material Design is a great example of consistent design language. Let’s consider the issue in the framework of promoting marketing ideas for apartments. A person looking at your property’s registration form should immediately know what it is, how to fill it out, and that the button underneath it is what they need to click on to send it to someone in the leasing office.
Consider how people physically use their mobile devices
The physical limitations of mobile browsing should factor into the design of your website. Keeping text at a legible size is important if you want people to be able to read your content on small screens.
Another, less common thing to consider is the way a mobile user holds their device while browsing on the go. When considering the mobile design of your site, it’s important to remember that only approximately a third of a smartphone’s screen falls into the user’s natural “thumb zone”. Place navigation bars at the bottom of the screen, within this zone, and make sure that CTAs are “above the fold” (the space immediately visible on your phone’s screen when it loads), to minimize scrolling.
There’s a lot to think about when it comes to designing a good mobile website experience. These are just a few of many methods of tailoring your site’s layout and design. At Threshold/Carve, we have a wealth of experience when it comes to creating amazing mobile user experiences that enhance apartment complex marketing ideas. Get in touch to find out more!

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