How to Grab Peoples' Attention on Your Website
Wake up your visitors with an attention-grabbing website!
There's nothing worse than scrolling through a website and being bored by what you see, or not knowing what to do once you're there.
With your business website, you don't want your visitors to be floundering around wondering what to do - or worse - falling asleep at their desks because your website isn't doing anything for them or showing them why they should get in touch or buy from you.
People are lazy, they need clear direction and stimulation, so give it to them!
Announcement bars
This is really simple to do in Squarespace (and in WordPress you just need an easy plugin like Hello Bar). Simply go to Design > Announcement Bar, and then fill in the text you want! You can edit how it looks in the Style Editor.
I find that announcement bars give website visitors an instant focus; it tells them immediately what their purpose should be on your website and brings it to their consciousness more than if they just landed on a normal website.
Even if you have a clear message/purpose on your home page, what is people land on a different page like your 'About' or blog section? Having an announcement bar that shows up on every page until someone clicks to close it is like having a Call to Action that is always present, which is a good thing!
Buttons in your navigation
If you don't want a bar at the top of the site for design reasons, but you still want clear, attention-grabbing Call to Actions that appear on every page, try turning the last one or two navigation options in your header into buttons to really direct peoples' eyes and focus to that function! We did this on the Dolled Up website to draw peoples' attention to phoning in:
Some templates on Squarespace are built specifically with this feature, such as Bedford, Hayden, Bryant, Anya, Margot, Maple, Miller and more.
Read more about Call to Actions and what they are in my other blog post.
A dynamic home page banner
Everyone and their mother has a full-width image home page banner - and for good reason! They are eye-catching and beautiful, but there are definitely ways to make them more interesting than just a stock photo with some text on the top.
I personally love video background banners (we did this on the Midnight Office website); I think they look great and give an instant 'wow' when people land on your website. Whether it's something with subtle movement, or a really dynamic marketing video about your business, it's always more interesting than a flat image. Again, there are specific Squarespace templates that offer this as a feature.
If you don't want a background video, be sure to use an image that is really eye-catching. Usually images with people work best for this, and it's even better if it's something about the process of your own business! Also, rather than just text on top, try adding a button so that people know what their next step should be.
Interesting fonts/text/graphics
I love using graphics and fonts to catch people off guard; sometimes an unexpected illustration or handwritten font adds something fresh and interesting to an otherwise standard page, and brings peoples' focus back to the message and purpose. I've done this throughout my own site:
I'd suggest using these sparingly and only for important effect though! Otherwise it can look busy and overwhelming.
pop-up Message (use with caution)
I usually recommend against using pop-ups on websites, because I personally find them annoying and distracting. Imagine if a website visitor is focused on your website and about to take action, when a big pop-up appears in their face and makes them forget what they're doing? Not cool!
However, if you have an important message that will be useful and APPRECIATED by your visitors, then I think a pop-up can be effective. Particularly for retail businesses, where you're offering a discount code off someone's first purchase, as this will be appreciated by your visitors who were going to purchase from you anyway. We created one on the Meghna Jewels website:
Or for example, an announcement about a certain offer or giveaway you're running at the moment. Just make sure the pop-up is easy to close on desktop AND mobile (really important!) and won't keep popping up for people every time they go on your website. On Squarespace you can create a pop-up by going to Settings > Marketing > Promotional Pop-up and go through the design/text settings there.
Be unexpected & intriguing
Try something that people won't expect, or create an element of mystery like we did on Marina's website. When you land on the page, you simply see a dark background with a quote and an arrow directing people to scroll down.
This creates a sense of interest and makes the visitor sit up in their chair a little as they may not have seen a layout like this before. Sometimes being more subtle is more intriguing!
