Design websites to engage visitors

On-page aesthetics are a major factor in attracting and keeping visitors on the page long enough to be interested and eventually opt-in, subscribe, buy, or convert according to the page’s call-to-action. Increasing your website’s on-page session duration is, therefore, a good place to start.

Here are some things you can do:

Start converting above-the-fold

When you only have 15 seconds max to reel in a visitor, your above-the-fold content should be compelling to your target audience.

Many B2B and B2C websites do this by stating their unique selling point and a CTA button at the hero banner (or the banner at the top of the page). Although it leads visitors who are already familiar with the offer to the transaction page right away, the USP can also intrigue newcomers into scrolling down to learn more (and if the page’s content is compelling enough, there’s a great chance they’ll click on the CTA afterwards).

Put your value proposition where visitors pay the most attention

Studies show that internet users have an F-shaped reading pattern. In one case study, researchers used eye-tracking technology to generate a heat map that shows where visitors pay the most attention when viewing a website. They found that users scan websites from top to bottom, and horizontally from left to right. As they move further down the page, the horizontal area that they scan gets shorter.

There is often a point where visitors no longer view content horizontally and will simply scroll down quickly along the left side of the page.

Based on this behaviour, these layout and design tips may encourage longer sessions and increased engagement from website visitors:

• Make the introductory lines bigger through boldface or by using bigger font sizes. The content, of course, should also be compelling (e.g., an irresistible statistic, quote, or newsworthy headline).
• Insert keywords near the beginning of every paragraph so that they are placed along the left side of the page. Bear in mind that the left side of web pages command 80 per cent of web viewing time.
• Put breaks between paragraphs if the article is long. These break the monotony of your on-page content. Use optimised images and include a CTA in these page breaks so that visitors can click and convert anytime they’re ready.
• Speaking of images, use crisp, high-quality pictures — it’s great if you can take the photos yourself.
• Present your USP again at the bottom of the page and add a CTA. Although visitors spend 74 per cent of their viewing time in the first two screenfuls, many still scroll to the bottom of the page. The USP, CTA and link might reel their wandering attention back to the product or service.

Improve your website’s User Experience (UX)

UX merits a separate article, but for the sake of this discussion, we’ll briefly enumerate the on-page factors that will encourage engagement on your website:

• Page loading time – The faster web pages load, the better.
• Responsiveness – Configure your website design to be both desktop and mobile-friendly.
• Colour psychology– Use colours that are welcoming or will evoke the emotion you want to inspire in your visitors. Avoid glaring shades that “hurt the eyes” when viewed through a mobile or desktop screen.
• Navigation – Keep the navigation links visible and easy to understand.
• Internal linking – Provide related links with clear, descriptive anchor texts. Embed them in the article or place them on page breaks or at the bottom of the page. Internal linking encourages engagement and reduces bounce rate. It also helps Google understand the context of the page, which helps for ranking.

There’s plenty more that we can share with you on how to get more engagement from website visitors. It’s one of the benefits we offer at Vaccoda. As a full-service digital marketing company, our strategies are backed and supported by on-page marketing experts.

Get more engagement and conversions out of your website with the guidance of Vaccoda. arrange a no obligtion phone chat or meeting with us today.