February 3, 2024

How to Use Digital Storytelling in Web Design

If you can create an experience around a website, then you’ve got it made.

Most people’s eyes are on that first view. This is where you want to do it best. Think of it as the perfect hand holding for a prospect or customer.

Your first impressions are critical to whether you convert that person to a customer. Digital is one of the most powerful tools you have to make that happen.

Here are a few ways to use digital storytelling in web design to your company’s advantage.

1

Feature Your Brand

A brand identity is crucial for storytelling in web design and also how people identify themselves with your organization.

Before we even consider any content, we want to see the branding that is already happening. Use descriptive tags with names that appear on your homepage that tell a story about your brand. Tell the story in words or pictures that readers will actually be able to understand. This is when you can showcase some of your customers or staff. Featuring real-life people associated with your brand helps potential customers feel connected. It’s all part of your brand management strategy and integral in reaping digital storytelling benefits.

2

Add Value to Your Content

One of the best ways to advocate for your brand is to create content that is useful to others.

For instance, the use of infographics, charts, and graphs to supplement text is a great way to gain more social shares and provide additional substance to visitors. Visual content encourages users to spend more time on your website and produces on average 3X more shares than traditional blog content. When people can visit your site and use the information or services you provide to their own advantage, they are more likely to recommend your work to others.

3

Know Your Target Audience

Are you trying to reach a particular market or are you trying to hit the entire world with your storytelling web design and content?

Think about the design of your website. If you are trying to target a specific market, you can be much more intricate in the design of your website. If you wish to go for a broader reach, you will likely need to create a site that is easily understood by a variety of web users. An example of targeting your audience using storytelling and web design is marketing based on geographic location. When targeting a geographic location, it is crucial to include location-specific information in your design storytelling. When targeting a specific city, it is important to add hyperlocal content that users may find helpful, such as neighborhoods, landmarks, and geo-specific descriptors.

4

Grab Their Attention

The way to make sure you get the visitor’s attention is by thinking about the visitor’s experience.

Do they have to click on something in order to read your content? Can they scroll? This is a good idea for small businesses with limited resources. If you don’t want to hire a designer, try to take a look at the layout. Are you using white space or are you using busy backgrounds that stand out? Can you improve the layout of your site to make it easier for people to read? These are the kinds of details that are essential to garner the benefits of digital storytelling. You can also pay attention to the fonts and colors. Are the fonts large and clear? Do the colors look pleasing to the eye? Is the layout complete and easy to navigate?

5

Keep It Simple

The designs of your website are only a small part of what it takes to make it appealing to your visitors.

The copy can be just as important if not more important. Think about the first line of your site and make sure it’s the most important part of your site. Think about where the customer is going to land on your site and keep it from being too complicated. Don’t make them want to click away because of a big list of boxes to fill out. Be direct and brief. For instance, if your website is related to local businesses, don’t make it seem like you’re selling a massive database of information. Think about just a few things your website can tell a potential customer and make sure it’s all in one place. This also relates to using buzz words. If someone lands on your website, they know what you’re selling. You don’t need to tell them more than that. Let them come to that conclusion.

6

Make it Unique

This is a crucial point in your storytelling in website design.

Try to make it unique and different from anything else in your niche. You can add your own personal touch and how you run your company or website can be the best in your niche.

7

Become a Thought Leader

As a content marketer, you can market to a more niche market.

But, you’re not the first person to create this type of content. This is why it is crucial to be a leader in terms of content creation. A thought leader has an authoritative point of view. This is gained by expertise, consistency, and a well-articulated narrative. Users are more inclined to trust content that is written by an expert in that particular field, has a clear focus area, and has credible sources.

8

Ensure Your Content is Optimized for Reading

Page speeds, navigation, and content hierarchy affect user experience.

When content is difficult to read, or takes a while to load, you are potentially losing a customer. Utilize headers to break content into more digestible sections. It is important to show the first and most important information at the start. A well-thought-out content arrangement may prevent users from clicking off of the website, leading to a lower bounce rate. You can optimize your website today by reducing large image files, removing unused scripts, and by switching to a faster content management system. Alternatively, we recommend working with an agency that specializes in web design who can audit your website and discover areas that are hindering a good user experience.

9

Measure Content Metrics

Before you publish new content, you should take a look at your content metrics.

This will show you what you need to improve and what works. Most website copywriting should be straightforward. Don’t complicate things with language. To measure your content’s performance, you need to monitor your CTR and track the number of content visits per page. For example, if you write a blog post, you can measure how many times your visitors landed on the page. Is there a lot of page-1 activity, or are you losing some people right away? You can also use page view conversion tracking on your CMS or through a tool like CrazyEgg. They’ll track these types of metrics for you. You’ll be able to see how many people are viewing the entire page and how many people are landing on the first section. Again, you can’t optimize everything in advance. Just measure what is working for your particular content and don’t go over the top. Keep it to a few standard goals and you should be fine.

Get started

Creating a brand-centric website is easier than you think. Using a few simple tricks, you can easily transform your site to be a place where people can be immersed by your storytelling web design. If you need assistance in designing your website, contact e9digital today.