Design elements are the components that make the difference between someone clicking the link to your website and saying, “This is amazing!” and “What the heck?” Think of it as a virtual first impression. If we believe that people can fall in love at first sight then why can’t they fall in love with your site?
As mentioned in Part 2 of this series, there are two aspects to the look and feel of the store: store navigation and store design. We’ve already discussed navigation, let’s dive into the design! Design elements include:
– Captivating Images
– Catchy Content
– Great Product Copy
– Colors, Fonts, Logos, etc.
If you went with our Turnkey Store, let me congratulate you. I work in close collaboration with our design team, and they are amazing at what they do. Most of our clients go with a Turnkey Store because our team can have a professionally designed, modern, state of the art store ready to go within two to three weeks. However, if you are like me and have a passion for design, feel empowered to learn something new, or have time to invest in designing your own Store then these next 4 tips will ensure your DIY Company Store looks great.
Tip #1 – WYSIWYG…Say What?
It’s okay to admit that you may not know what that stands for. Until a few months ago, I had no idea what WYSIWYG meant either. WYSIWYG stands for what you see is what you get. It’s the easiest and most straight-forward way to add content. It gives you two options:
- Create Your Own
- Choose From Library
The Library is great if you want to use a premade layout or need some inspiration. If you want to do something a little more custom, choose to create your own. I would suggest playing around with the WYSIWYG editor. You can add text, pictures, etc. all in this one place. Then drag and drop.
Tip #2 – Beautiful, Mobile Responsive, DIY Design
Our software takes the pages you build and makes them mobile responsive. From a design standpoint, this means that whatever you drag and drop into your Page from the WYSIWYG will stack in columns (in the order you added them into the WYSIWYG) when viewed on a mobile device, avoiding the need to zoom or pinch. It’s the perfect size, every time. I have provided an example of this below.
Having a mobile responsive website is a requirement in this day in age. Need proof? Look around you. The vast majority of us spend a significant portion of each day on these devices, and I can guarantee that unless your client asks for an SSO Store, there will be plenty of shoppers accessing your Company Store on their mobile device.
If you are looking for a way to have images and text show up on the same plane when viewed on a mobile device try creating your own image. There are hundreds of free graphic design tools available online. Simply create your page layout in these programs, download, save the image (jpg or png), and then upload the file into Bright Sites WYSIWYG editor. Super easy.
Tip #3 – Keep The Design Consistent
This one is pretty simple to follow. Choose a design style, color scheme, font and stick to it. I was once told by a very smart marketer that your company’s branding should be recognizable even without the logo. In other words, take the logo off of your Company Store. Can you still figure out what brand it is? You should be able to.
Tip #4 – Less is More
Lastly, stick to the rule of less is more. In today’s digitally connected world, we shift through clutter constantly. Keeping your website looking modern means keeping it clean and minimal. If you have a website that hasn’t been revamped since the 90s, most likely your site is getting attention but not in a good way. Clear away the clutter and show off what matters front and center. Your shoppers will thank you.