5 Tips to Make Your Website Stand Out

There's a lot of competition out there for people's attention these days. It's not enough to just have a website. Anyone can throw a website online for you and tell you it's going to magically draw people to your door (believe me, I've seen it). But unless you or your web designer actually understand what attracts people and makes them want to check out what you have to say, show, or sell, having a webpage on its own won't do you much good.

It takes work and effort to know your audience, and build a website dedicated to appealing to that audience. The images you choose and how you use them are just as important as the words you use, if not more so. People are inherently visual, so what they see has a more lasting impression than what they read. It's a can't-miss opportunity to make a real impact. Here are 5 tips for improving your website's visuals, and making it stand out from the crowd.


1. Use High Quality Images
Much like baking, the quality of your ingredients affects the quality of your final product. It's important to use high quality, high resolution images from the beginning. A higher resolution image has more detail, and gives you more options if you want to resize it or zoom in on a particular area and use only a portion of the full image. If your images are too low quality or too small to begin with, they look bad and grainy when you scale them up to a larger size, which leaves a poor impression.

Let's look at an example:

Both of these images show my company logo, but the difference in quality is easily apparent. The logo on the left is a low resolution image that I resized to be larger (it's originally 150 x 150 pixels, blown up to 400 x 400). You can see how the lines are blurry at the edges, and the details are grainy and much harder to make out, especially the circuits. Colors can also be affected. The image on the right, on the other hand, is crisp and clear. You can easily see the detail of the microchip and circuits, and the edges are sharp and in focus. It looks much higher quality and professional.

Whenever possible, use high resolution images. If you're using a photographer, make sure they provide you with full size digital images so you can modify them yourself as needed. If you're using a graphics designer or designing your own graphics, be sure to make the graphics files as high resolution to start with as possible, and be sure to have a copy in a vector format so resized images will still look correct (it's okay if you don't know what this means, your graphics artist should).


2. Select Relevant Images
Your website's imagery tells a story about you, your products, or your services. It's important for the images to make sense. A customer should never have to ask themselves why an image is there, or what it means. Make sure the image is relevant to what else is on the page, and that it either fits with your color scheme, or contrasts with it intentionally, without clashing unattractively. It doesn't matter how good a picture looks if it doesn't fit in.

Take this picture, for example:

Certainly, this is a nice picture. The red panda is cute, the photo is well focused and centered, and it has good contrast. It's interesting.

However, if your website is devoted to selling beach supplies, as opposed to something like a conservation or preservation society, this picture doesn't make much sense or fit in with your overall theme. At best, it has no impact. At worst, it actively confuses your customers. Consider your images carefully when creating your website to maximize their effectiveness.




3. Creativity and Originality
There's an old saying in academic circles: "You can't write anything new about Egypt." The idea is that every conceivable topic has been covered so many times and in so many ways, there are no new insights to be made. Designing and building your website can feel just as daunting... how do you attract people's attention and make an impact if everything has already been done? Many companies follow the same generic pattern, so websites have a tendency to feel "same-y." You have to find a way to make your website look and feel distinct from your competition, and your images are a great place to do this.

Advertising a zoo, or nature prints? Try a different type of picture!

Artists in particular need to work extra hard here. The more you can do to look different, be distinctive, or catch the eye, the more likely it is that people will remember what they saw. Don't be afraid to push yourself. And test your images out with people as much as possible - don't assume you know best. Your audience will likely see things you didn't anticipate, or intend. Listen to their feedback and adjust as needed. Pretty much nothing on your site should be set in stone.

How's this for eye catching?

4. Show People Using Your Products
This one's easy. It's well documented that using pictures of people on your website is more effective than just pictures of scenery, pictures of products on their own, etc. By including people on your website, you make your products or services more relatable. It's simple, but effective. Selling cameras? Don't just show the cameras, show people using them, too. The difference is enormous.

5. Emotional Appeal
Finally, don't be afraid to tug at the heartstrings a little. It's a simple truth that people are emotional, and respond well to images that are evocative. You need to make your customers understand why your product should matter to them, especially if it's not something exciting or interesting on its own, but rather something that people need, or maybe don't want to think about (like insurance). Don't just show the product, show your customers how it's going to benefit them. You're not selling them insurance, you're selling peace of mind.

Here, let me show you:

See? No security alarms, no company logo in the window, no need to show thieves preparing to break in. Just a girl and her dog. This kind of image works just as well for a furniture store, a pet store, or even an artisanal slipper designer. The key is finding something that calls to mind the benefits or feelings you want the customer to think of when they see your product. You have to use a careful hand though, as it's possible to come across as pushy or manipulative. Don't overdo it!


Conclusion
So there you go! With these 5 tips, you can help your website stand out from the crowd, and really get people's attention. Don't have a website yet? Or need help making your existing site more appealing? Whistler IT Solutions can help. Contact us today!