Construction Website Design Ideas: Top Dos and Don'ts
The way people shop for services has changed. Where people’s word and recommendations were enough for people to choose a contractor or construction firm, now people want to conduct their own research before making a firm choice. Nowadays, people turn to the online world to ratify their choices and learn more about companies before selecting them.
Having a website is the best way to keep your business in line for selection when someone wants to continue their research online. They’ll visit, they’ll learn more, and hopefully, they’ll then get in touch. It sounds simple, the issue is that simply having a website isn’t really enough. It has to be a good website, one that people can actually interact with, that has the right information, and is able to help them make their decision.
In fact, having a bad website is often worse than having no website at all. That’s why we’ve put together this selection of construction website design ideas that explore what you should be doing with your website, and importantly what you should be avoiding.
Construction Website Design Ideas: Setting Your Site up for Success
Create a Smooth User Experience
User experience means exactly as it sounds, it’s all about creating an experience that is pleasant, straightforward, and enjoyable for the user. In the digital world, this is referred to as UX. A good website that presents a good UX will be easily navigable, have exactly what the user is searching for readily available, and will load quickly.
The trick is to keep things simple. Allow your users to easily access what they want in only a few clicks. The easiest way to achieve this is through a simple menu at the top of the page. Typically, this should include your service pages (pages about what you do), about us, contact us, and any specific pages you think will be popular.
You also want to ensure that your buttons are highly visible and genuinely take the user to the page that they would expect to get to. Generally speaking, the phrase less is more is applicable to web design. Don’t overload the user with options, especially if you want them to be able to easily contact you. Much of this will be handled by your WordPress theme.
Build With SEO in Mind
SEO, or search engine optimization, is the process of making your website appear higher on search engine result pages. It’s all about getting to the top of Google. There are practices and tips that you absolutely should be following in order to rank highly. It’s worth remembering that SEO isn’t like a light switch, it takes time to build.
The best advice would be to always build with the user in mind. Think about what they want when visiting your website and clearly display it to them. You’ll also want to think about the keywords you want to appear for, build these into your pages naturally and Google will understand that page’s purpose.
Include a Clear CTA (Call-To-Action)
CTAs, or call-to-actions, are a request of the user. They ask the user to complete a certain task usually once they’ve finished on a particular page. They often include asking people to visit a certain page, contact via a form, email, or phone, sign up to a mailing list, or download something.
The trick is to think about what you want the user to actually do once they’re on your site. You might want them to fill out a form so you can accurately quote for them. If that’s the case, make sure to actually ask them to do so! Don’t expect the user to complete an action simply because it’s available to them. Adding CTA can lead to a huge increase in leads.
Use Modern Designs and Visuals
Building your site so that it incorporates the best in imagery is a great way to stand apart from the crowd. With the incredible cameras attached to smartphones, everyone thinks that they’re professional photographers. It’s true that they’re good images but they’ll pale in comparison to some taken by a professional.
Furthermore, working with a graphic designer is a great way to genuinely build a brand. You want to create something that people will recognize, especially if you’re going to be sign-writing vehicles or billboards.
Build an Email List
Building a database of email addresses is a great way to develop an audience. These people have said that they want to hear from you by giving you their email addresses. That means you can send them new case studies, promotional newsletters, offers, and more. Collecting these emails manually isn’t an enjoyable task, instead, you can use your website to automate the collection.
Implement a signup form on your website, where a user can input their email address and it is automatically added to your email list. There are lots of software providers for this process, and MailChimp is one of the better-known ones.
Examples of What NOT to Do When Designing a Construction Website
Lackluster Visuals
Pages Stuffed With Content
You might remember we said to include keywords on your pages. That’s true, but don’t get overexcited and begin to stuff keywords here, there, and everywhere. For a start, it reads awfully and doesn’t provide the user with a good experience. Secondly, Google doesn’t like it. In fact, you’re far less likely to rank if you stuff your pages with valuable content.
Outdated Websites
Websites aren’t one of those items that you can do once and then forget about. They need to be refreshed, kept updated, and maintained. Imagine that you’re visiting a website and you see that the last update was added in 2017. You’d be forgiven for thinking that the business isn’t running anymore.
Dull Layouts
Key Takeaways
When you’re designing your construction website bear these do’s and don’ts in mind. The dos will help you to design a website that focuses on the user, the don’ts will help you to avoid the common pitfalls associated with classic web design.
- Consider bookmarking the page to refer to during the website design process.
- Remember to keep revisiting your site once it is launched to keep it up to date.
Feel like you could use some expert advice on where to start with your website? Request a consultation with the Contractor Gorilla team.
Aaron R. - CEO
Entrepreneur with 20 years experience launching and managing successful web design and marketing companies. As seen in New York Times, Inc.com, Smashing Magazine, Home Advisor and other various mainstream media.
Passionate about #seo #marketing #webdesign #socialmedia #blogging #family #texasbbq