Does your business have a website that isn’t exactly hitting its targets where traffic is concerned? Nowadays, websites have become a necessity for any company regardless of the industry or size of the business. It gives customers a way to discover the company, learn the location, what the business does, and contact information. It’s given businesses a way to reach a much broader audience than ever before, but the website needs to be designed properly for that to be the case.

If you want to increase traffic on a website, you must make it more engaging, and here are four tips that will help you do just that.

There Is Beauty in Simplicity

A common pothole that businesses can fall into is over-complicating the design and layout of the website. In your efforts to stand out and offer an engaging experience, sometimes you can go too far. There is real beauty in a simple layout, one that allows for easy navigation and a pleasing first impression. 

A good exercise can be to browse favorite websites online and get a sense of their design. What do you like about the layout? What works and what doesn't? Then ask yourself how you can implement some of what you've discovered into your company's website.

Also worth noting, there is no need to fill all the white space on the screen. Inexperienced designers and those building their first website often think white space is a negative thing, but it's not. Give a little space on the screen and don't over-clutter the pages. The eye will be more drawn to the text, images and content on the page that way. This creates a more engaging and memorable experience.

Feature Interactive and Informative Tools

Another tip is to give visitors something useful, a takeaway in the form of interactive tools. Calculator tools are an especially great way to attract new users. Some great examples include sites that offer ways to calculate payments, your stock profit, the market value of something and other financial-based questions. They can make fast work of what can typically be a rather confusing question or equation. This tool alone could prompt them to visit your site and then hopefully stick around and browse the rest of the content.

Additional interactive tools can include things like quizzes, tests, and polls. Visitors can’t help but want to click on these and right there you boost engagement. 

Consider Adding a Customer Chat Feature

Customer chat features, typically a chatbot, are also becoming more widely used. This is a way for customers to ask questions and get quick answers, thereby boosting engagement on the site. It can be so important that it makes or breaks a sale as customers don’t have to wait around to speak to a live customer service representative. 

A great aspect of websites is that they are available 24/7, but you have to recognize that customers will be on the site outside of business hours and they may need help.

It Needs to Be Optimized for Mobile Use

And with the large majority of people owning smartphones nowadays, your website also needs to be optimized for mobile use. This means the site will appear and act the same way on a computer as it does on a smartphone. Those same tools and navigational features need to be useable on any smartphone or tablet.

Watch Trends Start to Turn Around

Using these basic steps and tips can help you turn around the numbers on your website and boost traffic. Making your website more engaging will not only attract new visitors but prompt them to want to return.