Last Updated on September 13, 2024
Steve Jobs, the late CEO of Apple, once made the wise observation that, “You can’t just ask customers what they want and then try and give that to them. By the time you get it built, they’ll want something new.” Regardless of what your product is, one thing you have in common with everyone else trying to sell something online is that you’ll need to use graphics to promote it.
A blank webpage with bare text interests no one. On the flip side of that figurative coin, too many graphics create a feeling of chaos which could distract people from the product altogether.
The human eye naturally drifts towards images, which is why it’s important to use graphics as a kind of visual highlight to advertise your product. One thing I had to realize when I set up my first blog was that I had to use high-quality graphics, but they didn’t have to come with a high-quality price tag. Even hand-drawn graphics work, as long as they work to add credibility to your product and thus entice people to help increase your conversion rates.
- Headline – add artistic effects, use font any visitor can see even if it’s not installed on their computer, give artistic control that make your web page look more personal while retaining the same professionalism of a website created by a graphic designer.
- Photograph – A photograph of yourself adds credibility to your site and lets people see you as an actual human being, not just some faceless person on the other side of the computer screen.
- Signature – Even if you just use a font that’s in the style of actual handwriting, “signing” emails and the bottom of messages to guests who visit your web page can give a more personal feeling to your an otherwise stark appearance.
Header Graphics– The Pros and Cons
When used correctly, some types of graphics that could help increase your conversion rates; but using them incorrectly could just as easily cause those same statistics to take a nosedive. For instance, header and decorative graphics that take over too much of the page detract from the headline and copywriting. They also increase the time it takes for a web page to load – my biggest pet peeve!
This doesn’t mean you should give up header graphics altogether. In fact, it means quite the contrary. Be willing to play around with a header versus non-header style. Some of the best advice I found online regarding this practice came from listening to a podcast interview between an affiliate marketing guru named James Martell and Tammy Morales, a stay-at-home mother and businesswoman who used her website to combine her love of scrapbooking with a way to generate a passive income.
How to Optimize Your Landing Page
Google’s website optimizer allows you to test different variations of landing pages. The different variations could have different lengths of text, graphics, or even videos to grab and hold the attention of guests to your landing page. The optimizer rotates between the sites and at the end of the experiment lets you know which one, if designated as your dedicated home page, carries the highest potential for a higher conversion rate than if you’d choose the others.
Another way to optimize your landing page is to use buttons that add credibility to your site. Is your product “As Seen on TV?” Does it carry any kind of celebrity endorsement? What retail markets carry the product? I know I’m a lot more likely to buy something online if I know it’s also being sold at my local department store or pharmacy.
When I set up the landing site for my webpage, I first consider things I want to see – and don’t want to see – and go from there. For instance, I don’t want to be scammed when I make an online purchase, so I make every effort to let visitors to my site know that what they’re getting from me is a reputable, legitimate product or service.
If you aren’t sure where to get your graphics, sometimes investing membership in a website offering stock images that are royalty-free and available for professional use. The best way to get custom graphics is to go through an outsourcing company, like Elance. Freelance artists as well as students from art and video game design schools looking for extra work often cost less than hiring someone from a design firm.
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