4 Key Elements of a High-Converting Website

When I’m approached by a potential client for website design, we always start with a conversation about their business as well as their current and future goals for the business.

During our conversation the one thing I often find out is that most people don’t realize (unknowingly, of course!) that a comprehensive website design doesn’t just include the website itself but is actually an amalgamation of several key elements which must work together, harmoniously, to deliver the results you are looking for. 

So what are these key elements? At PB Design Studio we believe that a high-converting website must consist of these 4 elements to achieve productive results as you continue to grow and scale your business.

Let’s dive into each of them one by one.

1. Cohesive Visual Branding 

The term visual branding is often misconstrued with a logo. While a logo is an essential component of your visual branding, it is — yes, just another component — and doesn’t represent your visual branding in its entirety. 

Before we embark on anything to do with your website we need to start with a cohesive visual brand — your design aesthetic that aligns with your business values and how you want your target audience to feel when they land on your website for the first time.

For example, do you want them to feel motivated or inspired or do you want them to feel relaxed and comforted? From your color palette to the fonts you choose, along with your logo — it all must come together to emanate the same.

So how do you know/decide if you need a cohesive visual presence? Here are some questions to ask yourself:

• Do you feel a sense of embarrassment to share your website with the world at large? It was probably a DIY attempt back in the day but today it no longer represents your expertise and acumen.

• Do you find yourself “winging it” while creating designs using Canva? Using different colors/fonts each time you create a new design or launch something new can prove to be confusing for your audience.

• Has something in your business changed? For example, your products, services, offerings or your target audience, and your visual presence doesn’t reflect the same.

2. Professional Photography

At PB Design Studio, we believe the photos you use in your website also to be an extension of your visual branding. Using photos with a similar vibe across your website which tie in with your site’s aesthetics are equally important. 

Therefore we recommend working with a professional photographer to capture your headshots and portraits. And if you have the budget, we highly recommend doing longer photoshoots to capture lifestyle images to showcase your/your brand’s unique personality. If you decide to go the longer photoshoot route, we work closely with your photographer to help with inspiration and directions for the photoshoot.

Having said the above, we also work with you to source high-quality stock photos that match your visual style. 

One of our values here at PB Design Studio is to partner with local businesses and support our community at large. If you are local to the San Francisco Bay Area, we recommend working with Alpana Aras.

3. Engaging Copy

Another extension of your overall branding is your website copy. Just like your visual branding your copy too needs to resonate with your target audience. It needs to be in your voice and invoke the same feelings as your design aesthetics. Coming back to the example I shared above, if you want your audience to feel motivated and inspired, your copy too needs to reflect the same.  

And I cannot stress this enough — copy dictates design!

Without engaging copy and the right messaging your website will feel like a hollow shell with no purpose or strategy. And it will heavily affect the overall design, and this is without getting too much into the details of the design process — affect how individual sections in your website’s pages are structured.

At PB Design Studio, after we have worked with you on your visual branding, we then move onto crafting the perfect copy for your website. We collaborate with a professional copywriter to help turn your vision into your’s/your brand’s voice. 

Of course if you are someone who prefers to write copy on your own, we work with you to guide you through the process from a copy + design point of view.

So how do you decide if you need to work with professional copywriter? Here are some signs:

• You are at a loss of words when it comes to describing what you want to say on each page of your website.

• The copy you currently have on your website doesn’t feel engaging or feels off.

• You are not sure about what calls to action you want you website’s visitors to take on specific pages.

4. SEO (Search Engine Optimization)

The final key element is search engine optimization. Now, of course there’s a lot to SEO and it takes time start building traffic especially if you are a new website, but designing a website with SEO in mind is an essential foundation. 

At PB Design Studio we make sure your SEO foundation is in place at launch with well structured headings and subheadings, including relevant keywords in your page titles and images, optimizing your image sizes to make your pages load quickly, and optimizing your pages for mobile (which is a must in this day and age).

We also provide guidance on how to start building traffic to your website by blogging, getting featured on high ranking sites and so on.

As mentioned above, SEO goes a lot deeper and we highly recommend working with an expert if you are looking to amp up your SEO game after launch. But we take care of the basics for you so you can get started on the right foot.

I hope this breakdown was helpful for you to understand the essentials of a high-converting, professionally designed website.

Your website is your digital home, and it must be looked upon as an investment for your business. If you have the budget to invest in all of the above at launch, by all means we recommend going that route — and our Custom Brand + Website Design service would be the perfect fit. Trust me when I say this, in the long run it will actually amount to an investment worthy decision.

However, we also understand that sometimes it might not be feasible to invest in all of the above at the same time, so it can be done over time by partnering with a designer to work on each of the above on a month to month basis. We also offer a month-to-month solution, should you decide to select that route.

If you are curious to learn more about each of the above and how we can help, feel free to leave us a note here.

Do you have any questions for us? Leave them in the comments below.