That Left-Hand Side: 6 Foundational Steps to Increasing Your Website’s Selling Power (2 of 2)

In the last "Left-Hand Side" article , you learned how to define your site’s main goal and where it’s vital to put it into practice. Then you were able to check out a few sites to see how they used their most valuable page real estate. Now it’s time to create some action steps to help increase your site’s efficiency.

We continue with…

Step 4. Don’t be afraid to break from the "site layout" norm. BUT…

…you of course have to understand the rules, and WHY they work for creating profitable sites, before you go tryin’ to break ‘em. ;)

For instance, like I mentioned briefly in Part 1 , visitors are used to seeing the navigational system on the far left, far right, or very top of a page. But which of those locations are best for your site layout? And do we have to stick to those three places? Would you achieve better results with the navigation on another part of your page?

Well certainly, put your navigation in a location other than "The Big Three", and you risk getting your visitors lost if poorly implemented. But where your navigation and other vital components end up should depend primarily on your website’s main goal.

Step 5. Paint by numbers examples to put this into practice.

Enough harpin’ on about it already. Below are a few examples of specific ways to use your left-hand side to accomplish specific goals. (The possibilities are endless — these are just designed to give you a jumpstart.)

If you want your website to…

Increase your credibility and relatability to clients.

Then you could…

In this case, it IS a good idea to post your picture on the left-hand side of your home page. NOT a huge picture (because you’ll need that first fold for other important things), but a small, pleasant head shot will do the trick. Second, you could have a friendly, detailed blurb about how your business values relate to the customer.

For instance, on the home page of our Web design site, I stress that it’s "all about" the customer. I do state three ways that Chump Change Web Design is devoted TO the customer, and to taking care of their needs and helping them achieve their goals above anything else. (Have a look at an example here .)

If you want your website to…

Attract more subscribers to your list.

Then you could…

Have an enticing teaser for your list(s), complete with subscribe form, right in the top left corner of your home page.

I remember distinctly a story from one of my consulting clients. She had a subscribe form on her site, but not on that left-hand side. She also had a teaser … but it was a very dry, poorly written one. I rewrote her ad copy for her, designed the form, and got her to post it at the top left of her page. She immediately saw a 180% to 200% increase in the amount of subscribers she received.

How’s that for effectiveness?

If you want your site to…

Secure a sale on the first visit.

Then you could…

Devote the entire first fold to funneling your visitor’s attention down the page, and into the order process. Whether this be a sales letter, testimonials, links to your most popular products, etc., the key is to design the first fold to direct your reader’s attention where you want it to go.

For instance, look again at our home page . You’ll notice that I’ve given the reader a few suggestions as to where they might choose to navigate to next (based on the most common pages visited by first-timers for my website type).

But I don’t stop there.

I designed the plume on the right of the "paper" to gently direct your eye to the navigation system. One, because it’s in a nonstandard color, so it was done as a safeguard to ensure that people do see it and know what it’s for. Two, it’s kind of a subliminal guide to get your eye to follow that line. You see that the feather on the plume kind of cups or subtly outlines the navigation table.

Another example is the Online Marketing Letter website at http://www.cyberwavemedia.com . You’ll notice that this site doesn’t even HAVE a navigational system.

Why?

The owner wants you to go in only ONE direction — down the page, and to the subscribe form.

In your Web travels, you’ll also find that many sales sites don’t have a dominant left-hand corner. Instead, the entire first fold is considered the most important part of the page, and is used to draw visitors further into the site. And they do this by having powerful headlines and sales copy that draws you in. THIS IS CRITICAL. No matter where you position what on your page, if your ad copy sucks, it’s a lost cause. (For help writing headlines that sell, "Great Headlines Instantly, " by Robert Boduch. This AWESOME book is one of the first that really helped me learn to write results-generating ads and sales copy. In addition to the instruction, it also offers examples of "great headlines" and "power words" that incite your readers’ emotion and get them to take action.)

Step 6. Use the right-hand side of the first fold to enforce your secondary goal.

Remember, your website can have several purposes. Use the left side of the first fold of your main page to enforce your primary goal. Then use the far right side to enforce your second goal. For instance, devote the left-hand to attracting new subscribers, and use the right side for branding.

In Closing…

One of the most critical things that all profitable websites have in common is … is their website design effective? Is it DESIGNED to achieve their goals?

One important way to make sure that yours is, is to consider how you use your upper left corner. It’s the spot your visitors see first when landing on your page, both the ones that stay AND those that leave within just a few seconds.

Are you using YOUR left-hand side correctly?

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 Respected Business & Marketing author H.T. Major has nearly a decade of collective experience fine-tuning the art of creating effective, efficient business websites that SELL, and boosting the conversion of existing sites. Now she offers supremely affordable website, photo, & business design services that are not only about creating "pretty pictures", but about creating RESULTS: visit ChumpChangeWebDesign.com.

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