Increasing Your Mortgage Web Site’s Visibility

One of the things that web site designers have to deal with on a daily basis is the issue of usability. In short, usability refers to how easy it is for visitors to get around a web site. Although usability is important for any web site, it becomes especially so for mortgage web sites.

If you are doing things right, your mortgage web site should contain a pretty healthy amount of information. After all, there are only two main reasons that a consumer is going to visit your site…the first is to find out current mortgage rates, and the second is going to be to find information. We’d all like to believe that they’re there so that they can get a mortgage loan on the spot, but as often as not, this isn’t true…certainly not on a consumers first visit.

Unfortunately, even if your site is a virtual encyclopedia of useful mortgage information, if your visitors can’t find that information, it doesn’t do them or you any good. Accessibility is all about making sure that your web site is easy for a consumer to use. You have to assume that your visitors are there because they want to find something specific…if it’s not immediately obvious to them how and where to find whatever they’re looking for, they can very quickly leave. Some general tips to follow:

Be Consistent – Especially with your navigation. Most people are used to seeing the links for your site on the left side of the page, or at the top. You don’t have to follow this rule exactly, but whatever navigation layout you decide on, stick with it throughout all of the pages of your site. Not doing so can be confusing, and it makes information harder for consumers to find.

Focus on Content – The information you have to offer on any web page is always the most important part of that page. Your design should highlight the information by displaying it clearly, in an easy to read font and on an easy to read background. Stick with black print on a white background if you can. Make sure that the area where your content will be displayed is the “focal point” of the page, and that there aren’t any distracting images, movies or audio that take away from it.

Use a Simple Layout – This is similar to the idea in creating a professional look…Often times, it’s best to just stick with what works…navigation on the left, content in the middle and a header image on top. Because internet users are already familiar with web sites that are designed this way, they’re going to be a lot more comfortable using yours. Of course, there’s plenty of room for creativity, just make sure that it doesn’t get in the way of what really matters.

Usability is a much broader topic than I can really go in to in one post, but this should give you a good start. The bottom line is simple though…a web site that is easy to use is a web site that is going to keep visitors coming back. If your web site isn’t usable, consider that it’s very easy for a potential customer to leave and find another resource.