Think of your website space akin to real estate. Location is everything and even a square inch can have a heavy cost associated with it.
When we use the term ‘website real estate’, we refer to the potential space on each of your web pages and how this space can be used to the best effect. We divide this into three main sections – the header section of the webpage, the main body, and also the footer area.
The Header
This is the first part that anybody sees upon entering your website. It is this banner of content that relays the first impression and is also usually the culprit if the visitor bounces. Think back to your tags and key search words/terms here – does your header area display information and content that relates to it? If this area is completely covered by a single image or even a video, this is arguably not the most welcoming of aspects leading into your website. What should be here is dictated by your specific business i.e. an online clothes shop would do well in having a tabbed or tiled intro breaking down the male, female, and sale sections, etc. Suffice to say that the header area is the hook that needs to grab visitors and make them want to stay. Make sure that this is not something vague or you risk them bouncing as your website does not immediately work to fulfill their search query.
The Main Body
The main event can be compared to the main course of a meal. With the header acting as the starter, visitors should ideally navigate the main body of your web pages and know what to expect in some regards (having already digested the starter). The bulk of your content and information should appear here to satisfy the reason(s) that a visitor came to your website in the first place. Staying with the online clothes shop example, the main body should display pictures in a tiled or carousel format of the clothing for sale. The main body area should represent your entire website if someone was to take a screenshot of it and share it or send it to a friend. The crux of your content lives here and is buttressed by your company branding and responsive website design layout.
The Footer
Last but not least, the footer area is best suited to the nitty-gritty elements that would be lost if placed in the header or main body. As is common practice with many modern websites today, visitors habitually scroll down to the footer and use this area akin to a mini sitemap. Away from the grabbing header area and content-heavy main body, simple text links, and icons can render and display easily in the footer for an aid to navigation. We touched on what makes an effective website footer in a previous blog post and this would suggest that this area works well as a portal for your entire website which can also house business achievements and social media links.
Knowing what to place where when it comes to your website design and why to do this is an important factor in appealing to visitors and converting them into customers. The expert design and development team at Ireland Website Design specializes in creating responsive and modern business websites optimized for both desktop and mobile. Contact us today to arrange a consultation and finally reach your online business aims and goals.
