The most recent study results show that the cloud computing sector anticipates growth from 2022 to 2023 at a CAGR of 17.43%. It expects to reach around US $1,614.10 billion by 2030. Software as a service (SaaS) is one of the most prominent segments of the public cloud market. SaaS is the current hot topic in the IT world, and SaaS website design is one of the most sought-after topics in 2022 among website development agencies.
This article discusses the best practices and tips to help SaaS website designers develop a user-friendly and attractive site to promote their projects.
Common SaaS Website Good Design Standards
First, let us learn some common design standards for SaaS website development.
- It is good to place your brand logo on the left portion of your website. Mostly, people read from left to right. Everyone follows the same pattern while viewing or reading an online site too. Studies show that people spend 80% of their time viewing the left part of your website’s screen. At the same time, they use merely 20% of their time to view the right side.
- Using a light shade for your website’s background is always better. Most of the time, a light UI enhances your website’s readability and helps in avoiding any confusion. But, this parameter can have some exceptions. If you are developing a SaaS application like Netflix, it is better to adopt a dark background. It is because the users use the app mostly at night.
- Aim to develop a mobile-friendly app. Googlebot’s crawling process first accesses a website’s mobile version for indexing. Technologies like responsive design make the website accessible for mobile users.
- Having a simple and neat interface can do wonders. For instance, Airbnb is more popular than its competitor MakeMyTrip. The former follows a more straightforward design enhancing the user experience.
The Best Practices For SaaS Website Design
A successful website with a good site architecture will meet a client’s expectations. Let us see some important points that will help SaaS web design agencies:
Website structure:
You should instantly design your website to capture your audience's attention. Writing big paragraphs on your webpage can increase the bounce rate. Nowadays, SaaS companies use bullets, explainer videos, and images to convey their ideas without boring the customers.
The famous cloud-based marketing automation platform, Mailchimp, uses a clutter-free site. The website's visuals compliment the content present on the side portion. According to the most recent data, there are approximately 2.4 million active Mailchimp users. It demonstrates how a site can gain the audience's trust by expressing its ideas succinctly.
Above-the-fold value proposition
A highly relevant component of the website is the hero section of the home page. People spend 57% of their time viewing the top section of a website. Most SaaS pages use this section to express the features of their product directly. Using this technique, they intended to convey the subject to the audience in a quick manner.
However, this approach frequently falls short of creating a bond between the audience and the business. As SaaS companies offer subscription-based services, connecting with the audience is essential. They also want the viewers to keep renewing their membership in the future.
There are now some creative solutions from famous SaaS website designers. Evernote effectively uses the hero section. They explain their deals and the advantages of using their service to the customers. They tell the folks that since their notes, tasks, and schedule are all in one location, they won't have to struggle to find them.
The number of Evernote users is around 250 million.
Layout Design
The layout is a relevant component of the SaaS website design.
Prioritize the data you have to show in the beginning portion of the website. Creating wireframes and prototypes can help you analyze the best design before the site goes live.
LambdaTest uses one of the best strategies for its website. The website follows a good site architecture. The content of the website is precise and short. They follow a simple design with clear CTAs.
Easy Navigation
Your website must be simple for users to navigate. No matter what components you utilize, your design will fail to produce a quality result if visitors find it difficult to use your website.
Dropbox uses a simple design to communicate with its audience. Users feel that the site is easily accessible as there are well-defined categories. As per the 2022 statistics, Dropbox has around 700 million users.
Simple Sign-up
It is one of the fundamental website design principles. Nowadays, people don't prefer to engage in complicated processes. If you can get your potential customers to sign up for your service in just one or two forms, that would be fantastic.
Also, the sign-up rates increased by 8.2 percentage points when consumers could sign up with just one click using a service they currently use, such as Google or Slack.
One of the good website design examples offering excellent sign-up alternatives is Jotform. People who already have Microsoft or Google accounts can sign up more quickly. With such a design, it is unsurprising that Jotform celebrated 1 billion user form submissions on January 25, 2022.
What makes a great SaaS homepage?
The first step of a successful website design is a strong homepage. It must be compelling enough to draw in new users on their first visit. Or, it should encourage visitors to come back to your site later.
Let us some homepage components that can compel users to know more about an online site.
- Include some exciting elements that are partially visible above the fold. Alternatively, you might include a scroll-down arrow asking visitors to scroll down. By adopting such simple techniques, users will be ready to scroll down and explore the webpage.
- Visuals communicate better with the audience. Hence, use a video or audio to showcase the benefits of your products or services. The audience can understand visuals better. Hence, use some explanatory videos or infographics to showcase the advantages of your products or services on the homepage.
- Adding features like live chat to your site lets clients contact you immediately. Real-time communication and addressing your customer’s doubts may be advantageous because it builds trust.
- Don’t underestimate the power of perfect call-to-action buttons. A compelling web copy that explains the benefits and relevance of your service or product can increase click-through rates.
- The footer is a crucial component that can quickly grab customers’ attention. Put important links to your sitemap, contact details, social media icons, and other vital pages here.
What are the guidelines for designing a SaaS landing page?
First, let us see the difference between a landing and a home page:
| Parameters | Homepage | Landing page |
|---|---|---|
| Navigation | You can navigate through the site easily. | Conversion-driven and does not support navigation |
| Traffic | It comes from various sources. | It comes from ads |
| Goal | Browsing the site | Compel visitors to take action |
Let us learn the factors that help design an excellent SaaS landing page.
Defining a unique selling proposition (USP):
Try to communicate the unique benefit of your product or service that will make you stand out from the competitors. Include an attractive headline and a thorough description before the CTA button.
Use a video or animation:
You can quickly convey a product’s or service’s advantages using a video or animation. People may not have the time to read and comprehend all the features.
Benefits are essential:
Always try to explain your product’s or service’s advantages from the audience’s perspective.
And, here is a secret tip: people enjoy studying the benefits before the features. So place your benefits before explaining the product features. You will love to show off your product’s characteristics to your audience. But the benefits work better!
Provide social proof:
One of the best ways to win customers’ trust is by providing original social proof. Review from popular sites like clutch can increase the rate of conversion.
Including FAQs:
Customers are more willing to test your product or service if you try to ease their concerns and uncertainties through questions and responses.
Remove distractions:
Avoiding more links that could direct visitors to another page is preferable. We want visitors to the landing page to click the action button.
Test your landing pages:
Testing the landing pages periodically is good to avoid any loading issues.
What are the most critical factors for a SaaS website design and development?
Before creating a website, a website designer adheres to the following factors:
- Developing a solid and practical SaaS idea for your website.
- Considering whether the site suits the intended audience's requirements.
- Prepare a perfect marketing plan that can attract customers before building the SaaS website.
- Assessing whether the website meets the needs of the target market.
5 excellent examples of strategic SaaS website design that can inspire you in 2023
We have curated a list of the best SaaS websites below:
Highlights:
- Clean design.
- Used no flashy graphics that may distract customers.
- Have infographics that communicate well with the audience.
- Social proof indicating clients and good customer stories.
- Footer menu that helps in navigating through the website.
Authority score: 71/100
Estimated monthly organic visitors: 206,209
Referring domains: 32,676
Highlights:
- Simple design.
- Placed attractive offers for customers above the fold.
- Short and enticing website copy.
- Attractive infographics.
- Explained the benefits clearly.
- Customer testimonials.
- Well-structured footer.
Authority score: 76/100
Estimated monthly organic visitors: 149,627
Referring domains: 29,505
Highlights:
- Exemplary hero design.
- Partially seen elements above the fold compel users to scroll down.
- GIFs for demonstrating their works instantly.
- Offers to attract customers.
- Powerful CTAs.
- Social proof with customer stories.
Authority score: 80/100
Estimated monthly organic visitors: 1,630,059
Referring domains: 355,734
Highlights:
- Attractive home page design.
- Good website copy.
- Highlights its philanthropic services.
- Visuals with complementing bright colors.
- Optimum use of animation.
Authority score: 64/100
Estimated monthly organic visitors: 414,821
Referring domains: 10,689
Highlights:
- Conveys its services with clarity.
- Neat and clean design.
- A sub-navigation menu to know more about the site.
- Positioned offers and CTA buttons in proper places.
- Social icons in the footer.
Authority score: 89
Estimated monthly organic visitors: 2,456,493
Referring domains: 30,458
Conclusion
You've probably noticed that the best SaaS websites listed above receive more organic traffic. It demonstrates how a robust design can attract suitable customers and accomplish objectives. It is crucial to tailor a website to the characteristics of each business.
As you have reached the end of the article, you may now have an exact idea regarding choosing a user-friendly template for your SaaS website design. Next, you may be interested in developing a profitable SaaS product. Engineers at RaftLabs will be able to design a custom SaaS product that meets your business requirements. We build and deliver responsive web applications within definite timelines.
Originally published at https://www.raftlabs.co.
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