Biker Site Design Elements
How to Build an Engaging Site that Converts
Are there design elements on your motorcycle website hurting your rankings, engagement, or sales? Here is a good overview and design elements that should be checked when building a website. If all these items and tips are done correctly, they will help your bottom line significantly.
Next, you have a lot of control over how your motorcycle site ranks in the short term. You also have even more control over how your biker audience interacts with your site.
- 1: Types of Motorcycle Sites
- 2: What Brings Value?
- 3: Data-Driven Website Design
- 4: Website Design Simplicity
- 5: Website Navigation
- 6: Choosing Colors
- 7: Choosing the Biker Graphics
- 8: Sliders
- 9: Typography for Biker Sites
- 10: Motorcycle Website Content
- 11: Website Content Organization
- 12: Grid-Based Layout
- 13: “F”-Pattern Web Design
- 14: Site Page Load Speed
- 15: Mobile-Friendly Design
- 16: Clean SEO Biker Site
1: Types of Motorcycle Sites
Below are the most common types of motorcycle websites:
- E-commerce
- Services
- Informational
- Brochure
- Entertainment
- Biker event
- Nonprofit
- Membership
- Motorcycle forum
- Motorcycle blogs
- Personal
- Portfolio
Notably, the purpose of your website helps to determine the design aspects. For instance, the layout, functionality, etc., will differ for each type of site. Another important part of your web design is that it must get visitors to interact the way your company needs them to.
Now, this next website design tip might sound like a given, but the type and goal of your website must frequently be thought of during development. Too often, they aren’t.
This can lead to lower traffic, conversion rates, revenue, etc., for your business. Notably, even if your motorcycle website gets 10% fewer sales because of design issues, that is huge! Especially when this amount can be the difference between growing and struggling to keep your company’s doors open.
2: What Brings Value?
All websites need both enough functionality and a solid look. But you don’t want to add every functionality you’ve seen on your website to start. Also, you don’t want the most impressive graphics and flash online.
Why are these problems? Your target audience might not want and need massive site builds and upgrades. Your focus must always be on what your target audience needs to buy from your site. Often, the over-the-top design sounds better than the actual value it brings.
Now, many website design agencies will try to build you the coolest biker site on the internet. Granted, it is great for their bottom line. But if the extras aren’t generating the necessary revenue, you’ve wasted a lot of money.
Invariably, when massive site upgrades occur, two things happen. The first is that changes must be made after your website launches.
The second is that your analytics and reporting data will show you how your site would perform better without an upgrade(s). Subsequently, the upgrades that aren’t used are removed.
In addition, sites with tons of features can be overwhelming and distracting. You should always avoid distracting your audience with your website.Instead, it would be best to focus on giving your audience what they need. Importantly, it should be done quickly and easily.
3: Data-Driven Website Design
Guessing what elements to build or change on your motorcycle website is a horrible strategy. You need to know what is and isn’t working to ensure you are changing what needs improvement and not what is working.
As noted on previous pages, guessing and hoping is the strategy for picking lotto numbers. And with today’s website tools, there is no need to risk your company’s revenue by guessing and hoping.
Subsequently, we recommend using the minimum viable product (MVP) approach. With this approach, you design a solid-looking site with the core functionality. After launching it, your site uses online traffic tools (Google Analytics, SEM Rush, etc.) to collect and analyze data.
Next, these website content audits will clearly show what is and isn’t working for your end users. Then, further designing is based on the data/facts and not guesses. Afterward, you improve and implement your website’s design strategy. Finally, this process starts over again.
There are also several benefits to the MVP web design approach. First, your new or revamped website will be finished faster. And this is because you are not adding unnecessary visual and functional items, which takes time to build.
Plus, money is saved because the functionality and visual upgrades wait until data supports their implementation. Some site design services don’t design sites this way. Here are some of the many reasons why:
- They want a quick payday.
- Guessing might be their poor, outdated methodology of design.
- They don’t value your company’s limited resources.
- Their focus is on something other than how to build the best motorcycle site.
- They do not know the MVP web design strategy.
Now, you need an expert motorcycle site designer for your business to be successful. Subsequently, if they don’t know that the MVP web design approach is the best, it might be time to leave. And the reason is that they are not experts.
As you know, having expensive parts of your site that do not bring value is stressful. And this stress can be avoided by applying the MVP approach to the design of your motorcycle website.
4: Website Design Simplicity
Next, you might have heard the principle, “People are impatient on the internet.” Another principle you might have heard is, “People need to quickly and easily…” These items lead to simplicity, which is another important website design component.
Again, your site’s design needs to accomplish the purpose of your site. And the focus must be on what is best for your target audience of riders. Too often, things are designed in an unnecessarily complex way. These items can hurt your site’s conversions because of the following:
- Bad layout
- Poor navigation
- Too much functionality is just that, too much.
- Poor buyer’s journey
- Distracting flash
- Overwhelming graphics
- Poor color choices
- An annoying popups
- Poor mobile experience
5: Website Navigation
Your motorcycle website’s design should use a straightforward navigation structure. And what matters is that your biker audience can “quickly and easily” find what they want. Below are some site navigation items to note.
First, the best navigation varies by industry. This might be a good starting point if your top five competitors only have the best navigation.
Your audience has probably checked out some of your top five competitors’ sites. Consequently, using their navigation location to start at least eliminates visitors from having to figure out a new navigation structure. Again, after you’ve collected data, you will know what you must change.
Next, endless options in drop-down boxes are just too much. Even worse, when your visitor hovers over a button, the screen fills with columns of options. The above navigation styles are often used for SEO value, but they are unnecessary and don’t work.
Importantly, too many choices overwhelm your audience. Additionally, better ways to present your site’s categories and options exist.
Then a third reason for poor navigation is that your designer might not be a website and search marketing expert. Also, the buyer’s journey must be considered when designing your navigation. Notably, a good web design, including navigation, leads your customers toward accomplishing your site’s goal.
6: Choosing Colors
First, when choosing colors, focus on what is best for your visitor. Also, use the colors that work best in your specific market niche. And the fewer colors, the better.
Notably, in the motorcycle world, certain combinations of colors must be avoided. And if you don’t know why, ask us.
7: Choosing the Biker Graphics
Ensuring your graphics work the best for your end users is critical. The colors on your successful competitors’ websites often clue you in on your niche’s standard. Simplicity is also vital for your graphics. Too many details or amazing graphics that are distracting are too much.
Significantly, in the motorcycle world, certain graphics must be avoided. And if you don’t know why, ask us.
One important web design element is the graphic used in your website’s logo. It is the foundation for branding your motorcycle company. Furthermore, the logo gives your visitors their first impression of your site and will set your company apart from others.
Also, while creating a quality biker logo, it can be an excellent time to create ad banners and sliders. This is because it helps keep the themes similar. It also helps to keep the same ideas going in the color, image, and typography.
8: Sliders
Here are some more recommendations for designing your website slider. Of course, before creating your sliders, you must research to see if they will benefit your site. After your changes have been live, you need to analyze the data. This way, you will know via data/facts what to keep, modify, or remove.
Typically, sliders are located toward the top of your site. They are carousels or slideshows of images or videos. Yes, sliders can help showcase your product(s), service(s), portfolio, sales, or anything else. However, the sliders must be organized to quickly convey important information to your riders.
9: Typography for Biker Sites
Make sure your font(s) can be read with minimal effort. Now, you’ve spent a lot of time and money on your biker site. So don’t let poor font selection, like calligraphy, make visitors leave. Choose a font that fits your motorcycle niche.
Another website design tip is only to use Google fonts. This is because other fonts can slow your site’s speed. A slow website makes visitors leave and hurts your motorcycle site’s technical SEO. Plus, there is no need to use other fonts when there are over 1,400 Google fonts.
10: Motorcycle Website Content
Importantly, your website’s content should always be written for the end-user first, with search engines in mind second. Vice versa doesn’t work. Today, visitors can end up on your site in many ways. No matter how they arrive, each visitor is valuable. Retention is necessary, but poor reading content will make them leave quickly.
Next, after you’ve changed your content, it is time for more research. The research evaluates your website’s design performance data, formulates a new strategy, and implements changes to your content.
Your content writer and on-page motorcycle SEO expert must be data-driven. After all, how would you even know if a change is or isn’t truly working? Also, you want to pay attention to your site’s data. Notably, your website’s data tells you how to make more money!
11: Website Content Organization
Correctly using the design elements on your biker website’s content is essential. Here are some important pointers to consider when organizing your site:
- H1 tag – This is usually used for the title of your page and is typically located at the top of the page. The H1 tag is traditionally the largest font on your site and is usually bold. It should also give your reader an idea of the page’s content.
- Other H Tags – The other H tags are often used for your subheadings. These letters and numbers in other H tags will stand out from your primary text. The other H tags can be larger, bold, in italics, use different colors, etc. These other H tags help break up the page, making it easier for visitors to read. In addition, subheadings are also part of the on-page website SEO.
- First few sentences – Your page’s first few sentences should give a solid overview of its content.
- Paragraphs – It is easier for visitors to read your motorcycle website if each paragraph has only a few sentences.
- Bullet Points – Using bullet points works better than using long sentences to list items. Notably, bullet points help visually break up your page. Next, only seeing endless paragraphs on your site can be overwhelming to your biker audience. And happy visitors buy more. What better reason do you need?
- Infographics – These are images that include words and visual elements. And these can help visually break up pages on your site. Plus, some visual items like graphs are best presented with an infographic.
- Underlining words, phrases, or headings helps your website’s visual hierarchy. Furthermore, using blank spaces, bars, or lines to break apart sections, images, and the like is helpful.
The reason to do this is to help guide your visitors’ journeys.
12: Grid-Based Layout
Grid-based layouts divide your content into rectangular sections. These sections often have lines or design elements like bars to create boxed areas. For instance, the far left or far right column of your biker site will usually be separated from the body of the page. Space/”padding” between areas can also break up your motorcycle site’s look.
13: “F”-Pattern Web Design
The “F” pattern design is often the best for websites designed for people in the Western world. Note that the “F” pattern web design means your viewers read from left to right and top to bottom. This is because our eye-scanning most often follows this pattern.
14: Site Page Load Speed
If your site does not load fast, visitors will leave. Often, they will leave before the entire site loads.
You’ve spent a lot of time, effort, and money to get visitors to your site. Therefore, you can’t lose them for an avoidable reason. Visitors leaving your website quickly kill your conversion rate. Importantly, page load speed is also a significant ranking factor for Google.
Your expert motorcycle site designer should always focus on your site’s page speed. But if your biker site has a slow page load speed, it signals an issue. One issue is that your designer and website developer must ramp up on technical-SEO. Sure, the site might look amazing, but that doesn’t matter if people are leaving or the site doesn’t rank.
15: Mobile-Friendly Design
Today, over 50% of your site’s traffic comes from mobile users. Consequently, having a site that presents correctly on mobile is huge. Here are just some of your website’s design elements that must be appropriately presented:
- The overall design/look
- Navigation
- Images
- Text
- Videos
- Forms (like a contact form)
- Product options
- Buy buttons
- Shopping cart
- Checkout page
The bottom line is to make it easy for mobile users to buy. Once more, you can learn what to change by looking at your data.
16: Clean SEO Biker Site
When qualifying your motorcycle SEO agency, ask them how many ranking factors there are. And if they say there are 200, they aren’t up to date with search engine optimization.
Subsequently, your rankings will suffer if they do the work on your site. You can see how being current on search optimization strategy is a big problem. After all, you must have excellent SEO to maximize your revenue.
One reason for the lack of knowledge is that search engines are evolving quickly. Therefore, the behind-the-times SEO design techniques that yielded good search results have changed. Another reason your biker website’s rankings drop is because of your competitors. If they invest in quality SEO, they are moving up the rankings.
Of course, if your designer is not up to date with SEO, you are wasting time, effort, and money. Not knowing the current SEO factors will hurt your rankings.
Many of these SEO factors are addressed while designing your site. Your website experts must pay close attention to SEO factors throughout the build. Again, having a cool-looking site that no one visits is of no value; it is of a negative value since you’ve lost money.
Finally, our consultants can design a new motorcycle website for your company or upgrade and fix your existing site. We have the skills and background to deliver results!