Think what you can take away, not what you can add
We all know the phrase less is more. But how many of us truly understand what it means, and more importantly, how do we apply this golden rule when selling online?
With the vast amount of information and choices we face everyday, a human brain acts as a filter and picks up ONLY the relevant information. In order to sell, one needs to follow a natural reading sequence.
THE SHOPPER:
- Notices the package
- Asks “What is it?”
- Wonders “Why should I care?”
- Wants to be persuaded
- Needs proof
By presenting information to match this sequence, a package can sell the product more effectively. Selling online is no exception.
Your website needs to follow a similar reading sequence, one that supplies users with ONLY the information they need, instead of trying to squeeze EVERYTHING onto the homepage and making your users do ALL the work, which will undoubtedly cause them to LEAVE.
All you really have to do is ask yourself this SIMPLE QUESTION:
Does our website look FAT in this dress?
Too many websites are bloated with irrelevant information.
By Marty Neumeier, the author of The Brand Gap
You and I both know it is a bad idea to cram a store shelf with products, but why do we cram our websites with too much information? I guess managing an online shop is still relatively unknown territory for most of us.
Therefore, we often make the mistake of more is better.
QUIZ:
Which of these sites looks easier to use?
There is a general rule of thumb for a web page, have no more than three calls to action. I don’t mean literally three calls to actions, but three levels of calls to action that provide a clear hierarchy.
In order to emphasize a call to action, the idea is NOT to bold and enlarge the text and place on fluorescent background but simply MUTE the elements around it.
QUIZ:
Where is Waldo?
In conclusion, a good design is not a highly decorative web page that doesn’t serve a purpose but a website which provides only the relevant information. Be true to yourself and think what you can take away, not what you can add.
