Web Development in 2024

Published 3/5/2024, 8:16:00 PM • Web Development

Websites have become an important part of the growth of a business.

Most companies have adopted web development when everyone found the benefit behind having it.

However, is it enough to have a normal website?

Could your website bring in more sales for you?

Well, I’m confident that with SleekDigital, the answer is YES.

Read on to find out what you’ve been leaving on the table.

What makes a great website?

A website helps potential customers find out about your business easily.

How can a website bring you the greatest value possible?

If we break it down in simpler terms, a great website is one that many can find out about, with a high conversion rate.

Conversion rates are the rate of users performing the desired call-to-action on the website.

This can be submitting a contact form as an enquiry to a business, booking an appointment, adding items to a cart, or even paying for something.

Our website would be great if many people could find us when they need an app or web development services, plus if they leave an enquiry to find out more.

Therefore, the key is high-traffic, high-conversion websites.

Is it tough to achieve that?

Well, web developers and designers like ourselves have devoted their years to finding out how to increase website traffic and conversion rates.

Personally, many variables affect the amount of traffic or conversion rates.

It boils down to prioritising the most impactful ones.

At SleekDigital, we break it down to the following points:

Website design
Loading speed
Website Features
CTA + motivation
Content/copy
SEO

Let’s break down each point and try to understand how each point helps improve a website.

Each point is crucial in making your website more known to the public.

Website Design

The first thing the users see on your website is how it looks.

The website's design should not be outdated, looking like it was done 20 years ago during the birth of the internet.

It should look modern and trendy so your users know they can trust you.

You should also note that there are many elements to improving how your website looks.

For example, font colours, font sizes, choice of font, the main colour of the page, layout of the page, button size, hover effects, animations, etc.

At SleekDigital, we want to try and optimise every pixel on the website's screen.

This includes both mobile and desktop.

Therefore, it is important to note that every element being placed onto the canvas for our designs has to be accounted for.

Here are some further tips to improve your web design:

Use colours that match your brand identity, optionally with a contrasting colour.
Do not be afraid to go for black/white themes, with a few shades of grey here and there (This is what SleekDigital uses)
Find out if you should use dark mode or light mode as your main colour on your page
Remember to be mobile-responsive
Keep up with the latest design trends (e.g. Material design, flat design, skeuomorphism design)
Do some competitor research to see what others are doing in their websites
Above-the-fold content is the most important for first impressions
The higher the contrast of button colours compared to the main theme, the higher the click rates
Animations are super important to make your website feel alive
Use a clean and organized layout with clear sections and hierarchy.
Incorporate responsive typography that adjusts well to different screen sizes.

Many more points will help your company improve its web design.

Loading speed

Based on Amazon’s data, every 0.1 seconds of loading reduces the company’s sales by 1%. That is billions of dollars lost at Amazon's scale.

That’s why at SleekDigital, we use the latest tech that enables us to develop superfast websites.

We have invested lots of time and money to find out how to make this work.

Most web developers just figure out what kind of websites the client needs and develop it accordingly. However, it’s important to take the extra step to make it just a bit better.

Check out our report from PageSpeed Insights (a website speed analytic tool by Google)

As much as possible, we try to pass all requirements to improve a website’s experience.

Of course, there’s still room for improvement.

Now, how do we do it?

Firstly, the tech that we use is the most state-of-the-art one that we can find.

One that allows us to code fast, deploy fast and even allow the website to perform fast.

The technology that we use is Nextjs hosted on Vercel.

It allows us to build websites quickly, and it is a full-stack development framework that we can use to build web apps and backends of mobile apps quickly.

We are fully invested in this tech and will be for years to come.

However…

You might be asking, “I already have a site on WordPress. How do I improve the speed of it?”

Great question!

WordPress has plugins that we can use to improve the speed of websites. You’ll have to trial and error to determine the best option for your website.

There are also some tactics that you can use to reduce loading speeds.

Here are some helpful tips for you

Use servers that are made for your local market. This is so that data can be transmitted quickly.
Reduce the size of images, but do not sacrifice quality. Try to reduce it to the minimum so that quality is not reduced.
Better tech like Nextjs can help you reduce redundant codes in your website as compared to CMS like WordPress.
Hosting services like Vercel are serverless and serve your websites on the Edge. Meaning it will show the website from the closest server to the user.

Should you need further help to improve the speed of your website, contact us!

Website Features

This is a big one.

Features on your website are very important to get users to convert to paying customers.

Let’s get the basics down first.

The simplest form of website features that you should have would be a contact form and blog features.

However, it’s super important to note that having unique website features can help increase your visitors' conversion rates.

To illustrate it simply, let me provide examples of unique features of different industries.

Most of these are powered by AI to make it more interesting for visitors.

It’s harder to find unique features in some industries compared to others.

Industry Unique Features Software development AI-enabled software idea generator Interior Design and Renovation AI-enabled 3D renderer generator Service Industries Appointment Booking systems Car Industry Car Listings Companies with Customised Solutions Cost Calculator to get an instant estimated quote Consulting/ROI Products ROI Calculators

These were just some examples of how certain features in your website can further add value to your company.

Without these, you have a regular website like any of your competitors.

Therefore, it’s crucial that you can think of features that might benefit potential customers.

CTA + Motivation

In every great website, it’s also crucial to have a CTA.

CTA is Call-To-Action, a task you would want your visitors to complete.

This can be as simple as calling a phone number, sending an email, or filling out a contact form.

It can also add a product to a cart and fulfil the entire order.

Take this as a goal setting for your website.

CTA is what shows that traffic converts into potentially paying customers.

Knowing what a CTA is is the first step to having more conversions on your website.

The next step would be to motivate users to conduct the CTA.

Motivation comes with design and copy.

The better the content on your website leading up to the button or form, the better the conversion rate is going to be.

Here are some tips to improve the CTA on your website:

Use Action Words: Use strong action verbs that prompt immediate action. For example, "Get Started," "Sign Up," or "Download Now."
Mobile Optimisation: Ensure your CTA is mobile-friendly. It should be easily accessible on smartphones and tablets.
Positioning Matters: Place the CTA strategically on the page. It's often effective to have it above the fold or at the end of a persuasive section.
A/B Testing: Continuously test different versions of your CTA to see which one performs best. This can help you refine your approach over time.
Highlight Benefits: Explain the benefits of clicking the CTA. Let users know what's in it for them. For instance, "Save 20% Today" or "Unlock Exclusive Content."
Create a Sense of Urgency: Incorporate time-sensitive language to create a sense of urgency. Phrases like "Limited Time Offer" or "Act Now" can motivate users to take action.
Visual Contrast: Make your CTA visually stand out from the rest of the content. Use contrasting colours and eye-catching designs to draw attention.

Content and Website Copywriting

Website copywriting is the content that is on your website.

It is the main thing that your visitors look at when they come to your website.

You should also decide the tone of voice that you are portraying in your content.

The content matters more than ever in 2024.

It should be engaging to your audience and convey your brand message effectively.

Make that that your content is audience-centric. Understand their pain points, needs and desires, and tailor your copy to address them. Speak directly to your audience in a way that makes them feel understood.

Also, remember to be clear and concise in your content. In the fast-paced world of 2024, users want information quickly and clearly.

Keep sentences short and to the point.

Use headings and bullet points to break up paragraphs.

This makes it easier for users to skim through quickly.

Stories have a profound impact on your users.

Use storytelling techniques to further create compelling narratives around your brand.

This can help you build an emotional connection with your audience and keep them engaged in your brand.

Try and convey the benefits of your company or business over the features that you offer.

For example, at SleekDigital, we set out to help businesses create digital advantages by implementing software within the processes.

That is the benefit that we provide.

In reality, the service that we provide in SleekDigital is software development services.

However, doesn’t it sound more convincing when we talk about the benefits?

SEO

SEO, or Search Engine Optimisation, is the practice of building your website so that it favours the search engine web crawlers.

There are three main parts of SEO that you will need to take note of:

On-site SEO
Off-site SEO
Technical SEO

If you have all three parts of SEO in place, you will have a website that ranks high in Google.

The higher the rankings in Google, the more organic traffic you will get, without any extra costs.

The most important part of SEO is including keywords where it’s needed, specifically in H1, H2 tags, titles, descriptions and content all over the website.

Another key point is to create valuable content for the visitors of the website.

This content should be in the form of media or blogs that users can also share with their friends.

This can help you get more leads from SEO.

With valuable content on the site, Google can recognise it and rank it higher as it is more useful for viewers.

Where should we go from here?

Knowing all these is the first step to making more sales from your website.

You should consider revamping your website every few years when it’s due to get the most out of it.

Let’s talk more if this is something that you would like to discuss further.