Web Design Tactics that Boost Content Engagement

Intro

Content still reigns supreme when it comes to attracting high-quality traffic to your website. It has to be relevant, educational, and interesting to your target audience.

However, all this isn’t enough to keep your audience engaged and get them to come back for more.

Web design plays an equally instrumental role in boosting content engagement. A study has shown that it takes only 0.05 seconds for visitors to form an opinion about a website, while 38% of people say they stop engaging with a website if its content or layout is unattractive. And this applies to both content marketing material and any type of content on your web pages.

So, it’s evident that neglecting your website’s visual appeal would be a costly mistake since the math is clear: less engagement means fewer conversions and, ultimately, less profit.

That’s why you need to ensure your content is not only well-written but also adequately structured and presented.

In this post, we’ll share some web design tactics that will make your content more attractive and show you some examples of websites doing it right.

1. Don’t Overwhelm Visitors with Interactive Options

Interactive content generates two times more engagement than its static counterpart.

It allows you to create immersive experiences that capture your audience’s attention and encourage them to interact with your brand. Quizzes, polls, surveys, calculators, and other interactive tools offer your customers personalized instant solutions and answers to their questions.

Besides adding value to your prospects, interactive content is fun.

Having said that, it’s important to emphasize that inundating your visitors with too many interactive options can hurt your engagement rates.

Too much interactive content can distract the focus from your main message and call to action.

So, don’t go overboard with too many fields, as they could distract and frustrate people.

The best practice is to show your visitors only what is absolutely necessary to engage them and leave further exploration in their hands.

For example, UnscrambleX shows only one field on their Anagram Solving page, enough to communicate what their site does. The collapsible “Advanced Filters” menu offers additional fields without overwhelming users.

(Source: Unscramblex)

2. Improve Readability of Long-Form Content

The hard truth is that regardless of how valuable and relevant your content is, it’s practically worthless if your audience doesn’t read it.

Imagine how website visitors searching for an answer to their questions feel when you present them with a lengthy 2,000-word piece crammed into a single block of text. Disheartened and intimidated, only a few of them would muster up the courage to take time and go through the entire article.

A simple trick to increase readability is to break down the walls of text that keep your content inaccessible to your audience.

Here are some simple formatting tips to help you make your content more readable, appealing, and optimized for search engines.

Use Headings and Subheadings

Headings and subheadings are essential for organizing your content into sections and giving it a clear structure. They also help the reader scan your content and find the information they are looking for.

Make your headings short and descriptive, capturing the main idea of each section — just like we do in this article.

Split Content into Bullet Points

Bulleted lists are another great way to break up long paragraphs and present information concisely and easily. They can help you highlight key points, steps, benefits, features, examples, or anything else that can be grouped into categories.

Include Visual Elements

Images or videos can add visual interest to your content and complement your text with relevant examples, illustrations, or explanations. They can also help you break up walls of text and create some breathing space for your reader.

Make sure to use only high-quality visuals optimized for web performance.

Format Your Text Properly

The layout and appearance of your text can also affect its readability. Implement adequate margins to create a balanced design, use a larger font size of at least 16 pixels, and set the line spacing at approximately 150% of the font size.

This will make your text comfortable to read on any device.

Backlinko’s Definitive Guide to Video Marketing checks all the boxes — the margins are just right, and the text is chunked using subheadings, bullet points, and visuals.

Despite its impressive word count, this blog post is a fairly easy read, thanks to these tactics.

(Source: Backlinko)

Experiment with Multiple-Column Layouts

Using a multiple-column layout means dividing your content into two or more columns that run side by side on the same page. Such an approach allows you to create a better visual hierarchy and variety in your content.

Marketbeat enhanced the readability of the FAQ section on the US stock market holidays page with the help of a multiple-column layout. Additionally, they used different font colors for answers and questions to make it easier for readers to scan the text and find the information they need.

(Source: Marketbeat)

3. Address Common Trust Issues

People are more likely to engage with websites that instill credibility. A research study on the factors that influence the trustworthiness of health websites has concluded that only 6% of the participant feedback was about the content itself — 94% of remarks were design related. In other words, visitors will evaluate whether they can trust your website largely based on how it looks and feels.

Don’t let your audience worry about delivery, refunds, or customer support. In the back of their minds, they might be thinking about what happens if they order your product and it never arrives, what steps to take if it’s not working, or how to reach you in case they need some help setting it up.

All these are abstract engagement barriers, and you should dismantle them if you want to establish trust with your customers. Include messaging that will reinforce these trust signals and communicate to your audience that you’ve got them covered. This idea will put them at ease and encourage them to engage with your content and website.

Shop Solar Kits implemented simple trust statements such as “Free Shipping,” “Lowest Prices, Guaranteed,” or “Lifetime Customer Support” in the header of their Solar Generator Kits Collections page. These trust statements are repeated further down the page along with some more detail and serve as effective trust badges that convince their customers that it’s perfectly safe to order a product from this company.

(Source: Shop Solar Kits)

The same approach applies to the credibility of long-form content. People are aware that there are many con artists and scammy bloggers who try to capitalize on promoting snake oil. That’s why your website visitors need proof that your content is written by experts. This is particularly important in certain sectors like health and finance.

Transparent Labs dispel any doubt about the credibility of their Best Pre-Workout Supplements article by highlighting their blog post author’s credentials and including numerous scientific references. This way, readers can rest assured that the information and tips from the article are accurate and safe to use.

(Source: Transparent Labs)

4. Embrace Video

Video accounted for 82% of global internet traffic in 2022, and with good reason.

This format can grab attention, evoke emotion, and deliver your message more effectively than text or images alone. That’s because videos offer a dynamic visual experience that stimulates multiple senses. The blend of moving images, colors, visual effects, and audio makes video more captivating than static images or text.

Moreover, video can simplify complex concepts and demonstrate your products or services in action, highlighting their appearance, design, and functionality. Visuals strongly impact viewers, making it easier for them to comprehend how the product works and what benefits it offers.

Getsafe’s Medical Alert Systems product page features an explainer video above the fold so that it’s the first thing visitors notice. The brand used this medium to demonstrate what the product consists of, how it works, and how easy it is to install it. The descriptive background narration makes the video more accessible and easy to follow.

(Source: Getsafe )

5. Eliminate Clutter

Less is more is a tactic that works best for your content layout.

Don’t fall into the trap of cluttering your web design in an attempt to communicate more information to your audience, as that can backfire on you.

You don’t want your visitors to get lost or frustrated on your website. That can make them leave quickly, lower your user engagement, and trigger a domino effect that will end in a high bounce and low conversion rate.

To avoid this worst-case scenario, it’s best to opt for the less-is-more approach and choose a simple, clear, distraction-free layout for your pages.

In other words, white space is your friend since it will make your content look neat and comfortable to read.

Although frequently neglected, this web-design tactic can do wonders for user experience and, in turn, boost your engagement. By surrounding the copy, visuals, and other page elements with negative space, you can organize your layout better and make essential information and CTAs pop.

Apple’s homepage is a textbook example of how to strategically use white space. The brand wants all eyes on the latest MacBook Air, and it takes center stage. The copy is minimalistic and communicates that the popular device got a design overhaul and that it’s now bigger but still very thin — selling points that matter to their target audience. Nothing else takes away from the main message or distracts visitors.

(Source: Apple)

6. Craft Compelling Calls to Action

Call-to-action buttons can make or break your engagement.

Clarity is also an essential factor in this case, as you don’t want your audience to scratch their heads as to what you want them to do next. A CTA can make or break your content engagement, as it can motivate the user to take the next step in their journey with your brand.

A well-crafted CTA prompts the user to take a specific action, such as subscribing to your newsletter, buying a product, or downloading a resource.

Here are some tips for creating an enticing CTA:

• Use clear and concise language that tells the user precisely what they will get and why they should act now. For example, instead of “Learn more,” use “Get your free ebook today.”
• Combine contrast and color to make your CTA stand out from the rest of the page. Choose a color that matches your brand identity but also draws attention and creates a sense of urgency. For example, red can convey excitement, passion, or danger, while green can convey growth, freshness, or trust. The trick is to A/B test CTAs and see which color works best for you.
• Leverage whitespace and alignment to create a visual hierarchy and guide the user’s eye to your CTA. To achieve this, align it with the main content or the center of the screen, and minimize the clutter.
• Make your CTA easy to spot and click on by selecting the right size and shape. Your CTA should be big enough to be noticed but don’t overdo it, as this can overwhelm the page. While it’s always a good idea to experiment, remember that people are mostly familiar with rectangular CTAs. So if you opt for something else, your call to action won’t be that obvious.

However, creating a visually-appealing and compelling CTA is not enough.

You also need to strategically place it throughout your website, not only on product pages but also on blog posts and other content pages. Why? Because not every user is ready to buy or convert right away. Some users may need more information, education, or inspiration before they make a decision. By placing CTAs on your content pages, you can capture their interest, build trust, and nurture them along the sales funnel.

Buffer’s blog posts feature several well-aligned CTAs leading to the same goal — getting visitors to sign up for a free trial and check out how the platform works. There are highly-visible CTA buttons both in the middle of the text and below it so that readers don’t forget to click. A lot of white space ensures that the button is conspicuous and directs readers’ attention toward the next step, which is a free trial.

(Source: Buffer)

In Conclusion

By applying some of the web design tactics we discussed, such as improving the readability of your content, creating a visual hierarchy, adding interactive elements but in moderation, and incorporating video, you can boost your content engagement and achieve your goals. Remember, web design is an ongoing process that requires testing and tweaking to find out what works best for your audience. So don’t be afraid to experiment and learn from your results.