To many, this may seem like a rather obvious thing to say, but when it comes to your website the key is in visual media and how it is used. Now, we are not talking about plastering images all over to the detriment of the words. However, getting a good balance between the two is going to lead to individuals having a far superior experience when they do indeed venture onto your site.
In actual fact, it has been shown that blogs or websites that include images mixed in with text are able to not only hold the attention of individuals for longer but it actually gets them more clicks. The surprising thing is that they get around 90% more clicks than pages or posts that are purely just text.
But we can take this further.
Visual media has also been shown to have a profound impact when it comes to social media. You will have heard of Pinterest and Instagram and it is no surprise that they are two of the highest traffic websites in existence and they are based entirely on the importance of images.
In actual fact, Instagram has more active users putting more energy into posting things than the likes of Facebook and Twitter. Talking of Facebook, if you include an image in what you are writing on there then you are going to get more interest with you actually having more than double the interaction compared to just a text comment.
If this has got you thinking about your own website and how visual media is displayed, then let’s explain the kind of approach that you should be looking at taking in order to boost your own website.
Using Visual Media Carefully.
We mentioned at the outset that you should not just simply throw as many images as possible over a website because this does work against you. This is something that really should be applied for a business website as things are slightly different with an e-commerce website where the images are there to specifically sell a product.
This is something that should be used quite sparingly as the actual key is in making sure that the image or media that you are going to use actually has a purpose. It is not about picking something and throwing it up there just because you now know that people love visuals. This is counter-productive and who wants that to happen?
An image that is directly linked to what the page or post is about is going to be worth 1,000 words all on its own. An image that has been used in the correct manner can help an individual to better understand the point of what is being said. It can create that ‘Aha!’ moment and help them to go ahead and then make their decision as to what they are going to do next.
Do Not Be Afraid to Go Beyond an Image.
Often, people think that a still image is going to be enough and in the past that was certainly the case. However, with connections and computers being faster and more powerful than ever before, things have changed.
Video usage has been on the increase and we can even talk about linking a YouTube video onto a webpage as one potential method. You may have even noticed that some website designs include a video background and that is certainly one thing that you may wish to use if you are indeed looking at a complete redesign or even a new website being created.
Another option that cannot be overlooked is animation, although that is not going to be something that everybody can use. This is perhaps often best used to explain something and, once again, people have mentioned that they can learn a lot more by looking at animation. However, there is a limit as to how long they are willing to wait and watch so do keep that in mind.
Finally, why not consider incorporating more than one version of media on the one page? There are no set rules that will prevent you from doing this but just remember that it does have to serve a purpose or else it becomes pointless rather quickly.
So, take a look at your website and decide how visual media is working on each page. Does it exist? Is the page boring? What are your competitors doing with their websites? You really need to sit there and be critical of your site before you finally settle on how it is going to look or any changes that need to be made. Of course, you are able to go ahead and get some helpful advice from experts that fully understand the importance of visual media with websites. At the end of the day, your site will benefit from that advice which should always be one of your main aims.
