There are two types of web personalization that matter: one makes your site stand out and the other delivers an excellent experience to a user. Both matter a lot if you want to get ahead with a business site designed to attract and satisfy people who search for your company. With so many generic websites representing businesses, it's not difficult to do something different. The only hard part is figuring out which elements you want to add to personalize your site and which you want to add to make it more personal for potential viewers.
One kind of personalization refers to how your website it set up. It shouldn't look like a site that could belong to anyone in your niche. Instead, it should look different and personal. It should represent you and your business. When someone leaves your site, it should have made an impression on them — something that makes them want to come back.
The other kind of personalization is about customer experience. You can make the site more welcoming by providing content that is specific for each viewer. Things like their name, activity, or other things that make the site different from one visitor to the next. Offering this can help you dominate your industry on the web.
Personalization matters because it keeps people on your website. When you have something interesting to offer, there's a better chance that a visitor will stay longer, come back, and share the site with others. It also matters because it helps you stand apart from your competitors. If two sites are selling athletic shoes, people might be more interested in purchasing from the one that strikes a personal chord with them. It helps create brand awareness and customer loyalty.
How to Make a Personalized Site?
To make a personalized site, choose elements that best represent you and use them in your site design. Consider using pictures of your actual work location, if it's attractive. Images of employees with biographies, fun pictures in blog updates, and other personal pictures can help make the experience more human for a visitor.
You can also personalize your site by using a variety of colors and layouts. Many standard site designs can be tweaked easily to make sure that it looks different from other sites that use the same template. Try out a few different color schemes and layouts before you settle on one.
A blog is another great way to personalize your site. It helps humanize your business and keeps people up to date with what's going on. It also gives you a chance to showcase less serious sides of your employees. Things like employee interviews, reviews of company picnics, and updates about awards people have gotten can be interesting to read and provide content at the same time.
Start by deciding what aspects of your business you want to stand out. Highlight these when you're designing your site and creating marketing materials.
Use custom images when you can. Stock photos have their place but they don't stand out the way that actual photos of things that represent your business do. It can also be difficult to find inexpensive stock photos that aren't overused. You don't want your site to look like everyone else's.
Make your About Us page interesting and accessible. It shouldn't just be a line or two about when you were founded and your mission. Make it something that people want to read. It should help give your company a personality.
Use something like a survey maker or a quiz generator to provide interactive content. It can help make the site more interesting and fun for the people who visit. It makes them engage with your website and gives them something else to do while they're on it.
How Do You Personalize a Site for a Customer?
There are a few ways you can consider personalizing your site for a visitor. One is to use accounts so that when a person is signed in, they can look at their past purchases, saved items, and other account history. You can also use their name on the site if they're signed into their account.
Another way to personalize a site is with social media plugins that load the person's feed. This may have the side benefit of encouraging them to share your site with others. When people see their social media options laid out alongside your content, it might remind them that they want to show other people what they're looking at.zFinally, you should always have a site respond to the device the person is viewing it on. Sites should adapt to mobile and desktop interfaces, as well as the plethora of screen sizes a person might be viewing it on. Responsive design can help improve both the user experience and the search engine optimization of your site.
What are the Benefits of a Personalized Experience?
A personalized experience helps a customer relate to both your company and feel like you care about them. It also lets them keep track of their history on a site. If you offer something like user accounts, it's much more convenient for the customer to return to and use your site rather than going to a competitor and creating a new account. When your site feels like a place where a person is welcome, it's going to offer something more than another template-based site with no personalization.
It takes a little more work to make a personalized site, but the benefits pay off in spades. Improved customer awareness, a better brand reputation, and longer visits can help you reach more people and make more profit. A personalized site also helps you stand out from competitors in your niche and shows that you have something special to offer.
twyher is author at LeraBlog. The author's views are entirely his/her own and may not reflect the views and opinions of LeraBlog staff.