Website Critique: Part 2 (The Conversion Solution)

Would you like to see HOW we put the conversion advice we gave our lovely guinea pigs ‘Concierge Connections’ into practice? Seeing the theory turned into a new website will teach you more about conversions than you realise!

Thanks for joining me again. So, to recap, last week we critiqued the Concierge Connections website for conversion optimization. And this is what we started with:

Concierge Connections Home Page (before)

Last week, I created a video so you could see how I appraise a site for it’s conversion optimisation effectiveness.

I discovered the bones of a great site, but there were a lot of elements that Layla over at Concierge Connections really needed to change. A reason I chose Layla’s site is because a lot of her website problems are also going to be YOUR website problems. Any they’re probably easier to fix than you realise.

If you’d like to see the full details of my critique, check out last week’s blog post:
>>Website Critique Part 1: See How to Double Your Website Conversion in 13 minutes [VIDEO]'<<

Now, I didn’t expect my blog post to be so popular, but seeing as there were so many of you interested in this sort of thing I thought I’d go even further. I asked my trusty web geeks to take my advice and turn my conversion optimization theories into a real website concept, and this is what they came up with. Voila!

Concierge Connections Home Page (after)

So what do you think? Will it convert and capture leads better? How would you do it differently?

Now, just a note that we didn’t bring in a copywriter to overhaul the copy and polish the headings and calls to actions, so don’t judge our quick attempts at wordsmithing here. What we DID do however is focus on creating an inviting website that is professional and easy to navigate.

Here’s some of the things we did to the home page:

  • We redesigned the logo and toned down use of that angry red colour. Sorry Layla I know you didn’t want to change that, but it’s really for the best!
  • We reduced the amount of overall red used in the colour palette. Like I said, it was just too harsh before.
  • We added the phone number. No more searching for a number… get ’em while they’re hot!
  • We added social icons right next to the phone number for increased engagement. Give potential customers a number of ways to interact with you.
  • We created a professional banner to visually represent the service and we made it work for its money with a call to action ‘find out more’ button.
  • We laid out the welcome mat with a header setting out ‘this is what we are’.
  • We added a friendly handshake with a nice intro paragraph saying what they do, who they’re for and we answered the ‘what’s in it for me’ question.
  • We segmented the target audiences with three clickable ‘call to action’ buttons as you can see below:
  • We added a lead capture at the bottom ‘join our mailing list’ with a 1 click sign-up process.
  • We also added social icons to the bottom footer as well so you get a chance at the beginning and the end of the page to grab ’em.

 

Ideally I’d also suggest the lovely Layla makes a video for her home page, where she talks about her expertise and the concierge connection experience in more detail. We didn’t add it to our design just in case Layla wasn’t prepared to get famous!

Seriously though, video is easier than it seems and it always increases the length of time people stay on your site. If you’re curious you can read our blog the best resources for creating small business videos.

OK, onto the internal pages….

Concierge Connections Internal Pages (before)

Like I said last week, the internal pages needed some work. They were a bit messy and visually nothing was standing out. There was also a need for a clear call to action, a signpost telling the visitor where they should go next and/or what they needed to do to.

I talk a lot more about all the conversion problems I saw in last week’s video blog if you’re interested, but now, let’s get straight to the end result of what our web geeks did to make the internals pop.

Concierge Connections Internal Pages (after)

So what do you think of this version huh?

Here’s some of the things we did to the internal page:

  • Brought the main banner through to maintain strong branding and, of course, keep that ‘find out more’ button working it’s conversion ass off!
  • Added more imagery to balance the text.
  • Overhauled the right hand side column, this is our call to action (CTA) column now. Sign-up for a newsletter, download a free eBook, get connected to us socially. All the things you want them to do should be right there on every internal page.
  • As you can see the top call to action is to sign up for the newsletter. That’s what we want most of all. A chance to talk with them again and again, nurturing the lead until they’re ready to buy.
  • We also created a strong visual lead capture box to grab email addresses. We created an incentive to sign-up: a free eBook ‘the top 13 awe-inspiring attractions for busy people’.
  • We made the testimonial visually stand out. Testimonials are an important trust signal, so you can’t afford to get lost in the text.
  • We also brought in those three call to action (CTA) clickable boxes from the homepage. So whichever service they want to take will direct their own path through the website. Learn more about creating a buyer’s journey here.

WOW! What a mammoth couple of blogs. I really hope you’ve learnt heaps from seeing the before, the analysis, and the after of a real small business website.

Want to watch the original video review?

Now, if you didn’t watch the video and read the in-depth analysis last week you can pop over and watch my video critique where I talk through all the easy fixes that I thought could take this site from conversion zero to sales hero.

And if you don’t take away at least ONE conversion maximizing tip from that video, I’ll eat my hat… if I had one!

Need help with your website?

I wish I could help everyone personally but, alas, there’s just not enough hours in the day. But I’ve created a solution for you.

Believe it or not, you could have done this website critique yourself. That’s because all these tips (and more) are part of our Ultimate Website Conversion Checklist.

It’s the sum of my 10 years of working with small business websites. If you want your website to become a sales conversion machine, then download it now for freeeeee. Cos the fewer websites I have to overhaul, and the more online business you’re doing, the happier I’ll be! 🙂

Til next time my fellow online entrepreneurs!

Tell me, what do you think? Leave me a comment below and please share with your friends, colleagues and social mates.

Recent Posts

Grow Sustainable Traffic Through SEO

How Website Design Can Significantly Boost Your SEO: A Comprehensive Guide In the ever-evolving landscape of digital marketing, the synergy between website design and search

How Can we Help? Let's Get Started

Build the foundation of your business's transformation online.