What your website needs to sell an online course

Introduction

For knowledge commerce entrepreneurs, a solid website is a must-have. You need a digital home base for your brand and a place to sell your digital products.

But just having a website isn’t enough. Your website needs to be set up to succeed in the knowledge economy.  What indicates success? It all depends on how effectively the site drives sales of your knowledge products.

Most websites have room for improvement and opportunities to optimize performance. But, knowing what to do and deciding where to start can make anyone feel overwhelmed.

We’ve compiled this guide to walk you through five aspects that your knowledge commerce website must include to effectively serve your customers and grow your business.

Performance Oriented Design

The first thing to tackle when optimizing your website is to ensure it has a solid design. It needs to look great, function well, and drive visitors to take further action toward becoming a paying customer.

94% of first impressions about a website are design related. So, it’s important to use a design that makes the visitor want to stay on your website and makes it easy for them to navigate. A prospect can only take action to become a customer if they stay long enough to learn about your offer and feel confident it will meet their needs.

But, what makes a design visually appealing and high performing are not always the same thing. So, let’s dive into what makes a website more likely to retain visitors and convert them into leads and eventually paying customers.

Elements of high-performing website designs

Even if you’re using a website builder tool rather than custom coding a site, there are plenty of things you can do to influence your site performance. Here are some the key things to factor in your website design:

Load time

People have come to expect websites that load quickly, so website speed has a huge impact on performance. Loadstorm reports that each second delay in loading time leads to a 7% loss in conversions.

One study found that the average bounce rate for a website that takes 2 seconds to load is 9%. For a website that takes 5 seconds to load, that jumps to 38%.

Most of the strategies to help your website load faster involve web development. But for those who don’t have coding skills, most website builders have tools that can help you improve load speed and teams of developers that are working to ensure everything is running smoothly for you.

But, even if you are using a website builder service, here are some things that you can do to improve website speed:

• Optimize the image size
• Use .JPGs instead of .PNGs
• Minimize additional code like CSS, Javascript, or HTML
• Make sure you have no broken links

Kajabi does include a code editor for advanced users as part of our Pro plan. So, if you do have those coding skills, you’re able to make those tweaks as you see fit.

Easy to navigate

Website visitors need to be able to take action on your site easily so they easily find the information they need while on their buyer’s journey.

Most website templates, including those from Kajabi, take care of the navigation framework for you. But when you’re customizing a template, make sure that the colors, font choices, and font sizes make the navigation easy to read and use.

High contrast calls to action

When website visitors take action, they’ll likely do so by clicking a button with a call to action. You can set your website up for better performance by making buttons clear and discernable.

There is no one button color that converts more highly than others. Ultimately, the important thing is that the color has contrast from the page around it so it’s clear what users need to click on to move forward. That could mean using dark and light colors or colors on opposite sides of the color wheel.

How Kajabi enables you to implement great website design

Kajabi has a team of designers and developers who are constantly creating new website design templates that perform well and look great. Plus, they can be highly customized, so you can start with a theme and modify it to fit your needs and preferences. Themes free up your time to focus on what populates the website instead of building a design that matches your brand.

Website themes

Kajabi currently has 14 free themes to choose from in the website theme store, and we’re consistently developing more. Choose from a variety of styling options. In the theme store, you’ll find a variety of styles to choose from and helpful descriptions so you can match a theme with your branding and message.

All of Kajabi’s themes are easy to navigate and will make a great first impression on website visitors. Plus, you can quickly customize them with colors, choose from over 70 fonts, and add different content blocks. Kajabi themes provide the right balance of templated design and customization for even the busiest solopreneur.

Even with these options, some entrepreneurs still choose to upload a theme created by a third party, and these integrations are easy with Kajabi.

Landing page templates

Kajabi also includes plenty of landing page templates which are great for sales pages, lead generation campaigns, thank-you pages, or announcing new product launches. Kajabi currently offers 38 landing page themes. Some are specially designed with our most popular fields in mind, including fitness, business and finance, health and wellness, and personal development coaches.

Kajabi also makes it easy to connect your landing pages with your automated marketing campaigns, emails, offers, and digital products, so you can easily optimize sales and increase revenue.

Mobile Friendly Design

The natural next step after having a solid website design is to ensure it is mobile-friendly. Your potential customers will visit your website on a variety of devices, so your website needs to be designed to work well on all platforms, ensuring that your content is accessible no matter what device they use.

‘Mobile-friendly’ refers to a website's overall ability to adapt to mobile devices rather than desktops. This includes readability, typography, formatting, loading time, and more. A subset of this is mobile responsiveness, which refers to the page layout adapting to the size of the screen.

According to Statista, since the fourth quarter of 2019, mobile traffic accounts for over 45% of all web traffic in the United States. That’s a significant portion of traffic coming from mobile devices, so your site needs to be ready.

Let’s dive into how to optimize your website for success when used on smartphones and tablets.

Elements of Mobile-Friendly Design

User experience (UX) and user interface (UI) design, especially for mobile devices, can be complex. Fortunately, there are three key design elements that anyone with a website can focus on, even without being a tech expert:

Usability

You’ve likely experienced the frustration of trying to navigate a desktop version of a website on a smartphone. This usually means zooming in to read small text, scrolling sideways, and potentially pressing the wrong buttons. Such issues distract from the website’s content and can drive visitors away.

Easy navigation and access to content are crucial. If visitors struggle with usability, they are likely to abandon your site.

Digital marketing expert Neil Patel shares data on common problems mobile users face. In one study, 51% of respondents reported experiencing a website that crashed, froze, or had errors, while 48% found websites with formatting that made content difficult to read.

Speed

Site speed is another critical factor in providing a good mobile experience. According to Patel’s research, 73% of respondents had recently visited a site that was too slow to load on mobile.

But how slow is too slow? The data shows that more than 81% of people will abandon a site if it takes more than 5 seconds to load.

Key speed metrics include First Contentful Paint (FCP) and Time to Interactive (TTI). Google defines FCP as “the time from when the page starts loading to when any part of the page’s content is rendered on the screen.” TTI refers to when a page is fully interactive and ready for the user to start navigating.

Want to test out a site? Check out the Google PageSpeed Insights tool. Some recommendations for improving page speed can be quite technical.

Using a platform like Kajabi, which has a team of engineers to handle the technology aspect, is a great option to ensure your site runs quickly. Kajabi stays on top of the latest tech developments so you can focus on more profitable areas of your business, like creating a new course.

Readability

Typeface and font choice play a significant role in the readability of any written content, especially on mobile devices due to the smaller screen size. Typography is an art, but you don’t need to be a graphic designer to apply best practices for a mobile-friendly web design.

Experts recommend using **sans serif fonts** on mobile websites. These fonts, which lack embellishments at the end of letter strokes, are often easier to read in smaller sizes compared to serif fonts, making them a great choice for body text.

Adobe suggests using no more than three font families in a design, ensuring that they complement each other. They also recommend using a font size of 16 or more for desktop, 11 or more for iOS devices, and 14 for Android devices. Additionally, proper spacing between lines (leading) is crucial for readability. Text that is too close together can strain the eyes, so having the right amount of space between lines enhances the reading experience.

How Does Mobile-Friendly Design Benefit the Website Owner?

Mobile-friendly design clearly benefits visitors, but it also offers significant advantages for website owners.

Better mobile design leads to improved **search engine optimization (SEO)**. This improvement occurs because users will have a better experience compared to navigating a desktop version on a mobile device. Formstack reports that 54% of users won’t recommend a website with poor mobile design. Visitors are more likely to spend more time on your site, explore more pages, and share it if the design is user-friendly. These actions are factored into how search engines rank results.

But does a mobile-friendly site directly improve search engine rankings? **Sort of.** Google indexes content from mobile versions of sites, and this influences rankings. If your mobile site follows best practices, it can positively impact your SEO.

Optimizing Mobile Layout with Kajabi

In Kajabi, **Block Layout Settings** are used to optimize your page for both desktop and mobile devices. With these settings, you can customize individual blocks for mobile optimization. Kajabi offers the following Block Mobile Layout settings:

Alignment: Align block content to the left, center, or right of the block space.
Hide Block: Hide blocks when viewed on mobile devices.
Inside Spacing: Adjust the inside spacing of the block to shift content.
Outside Spacing: Adjust the outside spacing of the block to shift content.
Image on Top: Move the image to the top of the section when viewed on mobile devices.

Kajabi understands the importance of mobile-friendly design and strives to provide a balance between offering a mobile-optimized version of your site and allowing you to customize it as needed.

Compelling Content

Once you have solidified a solid desktop and mobile website design, the next step is to populate your website. After visitors process the design and functionality of your site, they’ll begin to digest the information you provide.

Filling your site with great content serves multiple purposes. It builds excitement and gives customers the information they need to feel confident purchasing from you. It also helps increase the amount of time visitors spend on your site, which is a factor in how your website ranks for SEO.

Different Content Types

People respond to various content mediums differently, so it’s helpful to use different types of content to communicate in ways that resonate with your visitors. Here’s a breakdown of your content options and tips on how to maximize each:

Copy

Effective copy motivates the reader to take action. To improve your copy, you can use tools like Hemingway to gauge the readability level and receive suggestions for clarifying your writing. Keep your target audience in mind when crafting your copy. Are you writing for individuals with advanced degrees or for those unfamiliar with your field’s jargon?

Ensure that your website copy clearly:

• Shares your unique value proposition as a knowledge entrepreneur
• Highlights your product’s unique value
• Acknowledges the challenges your target audience faces
• Addresses their needs
• Connects with their deeper motivations to purchase your product

Photos

Strong visual communication is crucial. Photos can set the tone for your brand and convey messages faster than words. Research from VWO shows that consumers find websites with photos more trustworthy, especially when they feature human faces. Even if you aren’t selling physical products, hiring a professional photographer to capture high-quality images that represent your brand will make your site look polished and help build trust with visitors.

Testimonials and Reviews

Testimonials from past customers can strongly influence website visitors by showcasing the impact of your product. Reviews are also powerful—Qualtrics reports that 93% of customers read reviews before making a purchase and trust them almost as much as personal recommendations.

SearchEngineJournal found that reviews are especially important for higher-priced products, increasing conversion rates by 380%, compared to a 190% increase for lower-priced products. To build trust, link to customers' websites or social platforms when sharing their testimonials, and if you have reviews on platforms like Google My Business, Yelp, or Facebook, embed them on your site for added credibility.

Videos

Consumers love video content. Studies show that the consumption of online video grows every year, with how-to videos, sales and promotions, and top-five lists being the top three types of branded videos.

Video also aids the buyer's journey—Wyzowl reports that 84% of people purchased a product or service after watching a brand’s video. If you sell video courses, videos can help potential customers understand what to expect. Video content also increases time spent on your site and can be repurposed for marketing on other channels. Kajabi includes unlimited video hosting through Wistia, making it easy to include videos on your site.

Blog

Blogs are an excellent way to share your knowledge and passion. The keys to successful blogging are consistency and specificity. Experts recommend posting at least once per week. Specific topics allow you to deliver more value in shorter pieces of content and help you target the right keywords for search engine optimization.

How long should blog posts be? Quality is more important than quantity, but interestingly, Backlinko found that pages on the first page of Google search results contain an average of 1,447 words.

How Kajabi Empowers You to Use Compelling Content

Kajabi offers various areas where you can populate your content, including:

• About Me Page: Kajabi themes include an "About Me" page to inform visitors about you and your company.
• Landing Pages: Kajabi provides pre-designed landing pages categorized by type, helping you attract, impress, and convert customers.
• Blog: Kajabi has a built-in blogging capability, allowing you to educate visitors on relevant topics and improve your site's search visibility.
• Checkout Page: Kajabi lets you customize your checkout pages to keep selling to customers, even at the point of sale.

Lead Capture Capability

Not Everyone Converts Right Away—That’s Why Lead Capture Matters

Not all visitors to your site will convert into paying customers right away, but that traffic is still valuable. These visitors could choose to sign up for your course or membership community at a later date, which is why your website must be set up to capture leads. Once someone has been driven to your site, chances are they are interested in learning more about you. Let’s explore how you can use your website to capture leads effectively.

Elements of Capturing Leads

To get a visitor to express interest in your business, you’ll need to ask them to provide their contact information so they can receive future communications from you. Here’s what you need to know about the specific aspects of lead capture:

Forms

Forms are widely used for logging in, online checkouts, and more. You can use them to capture leads and send their information to your CRM. Most website builders include a form creation tool, so you likely won’t need to code one yourself. Just ensure that the form experience is smooth and functional for visitors.

Form Fields

Choosing which information to collect on a form is the first step in customization. At a minimum, ask for essential information like a name and email address. You may also want to collect data that helps you segment your audience better. However, avoid asking for highly personal information such as phone numbers or home addresses, as more than half of users are unwilling to provide these details on lead capture forms.

Be mindful of how much information you’re asking for. Studies show that the longer the form, the fewer visitors will complete it.

Lead Magnet

People are more likely to provide their contact information when offered something of value in return. This is called a lead magnet. Examples of lead magnets include:

• Introductory call
• eBook, guide, or report
• Case study
• Infographic
• Webinar
• Mini course
• Checklist or worksheet
• Quiz

Compelling Calls to Action

Engage your visitors with a strong call to action (CTA) on the form’s submission button. Instead of generic CTAs like “Submit” or “Subscribe,” use language that highlights the benefit of filling out the form. For example, “Get your free business worksheet!” or “Start cooking with 5 free recipes!” This approach makes the experience more rewarding for the visitor.

Exit Intent Pop-Up

An exit intent pop-up is another common lead capture method. It triggers when a visitor is about to leave the site and asks them to fill out a form, often offering a discount or special offer as an incentive.

How Capturing Leads Benefits Your Business

Implementing lead capture strategies can help you make the most of your marketing efforts. Once you capture a lead, you can add them to your email list, remarket to them, or even use direct mail to nurture the relationship. Capturing leads now sets the stage for future sales and helps stabilize your business by building a pipeline of engaged leads that convert over time.

How Kajabi Makes It Easy to Capture Leads

Kajabi offers several features that help you convert website traffic into leads:

• Kajabi Forms: Kajabi includes a powerful, easy-to-use form builder that integrates with your CRM, email marketing, and sales pipelines. This all-in-one solution makes lead management seamless.
• Double Opt-In: Kajabi’s double opt-in process improves email deliverability and ensures high-quality leads. When a visitor submits a form using double opt-in, Kajabi sends a confirmation email, prompting the user to confirm their intent to subscribe.
• Kajabi Automations: Automations allow you to create offers, email sequences, events, and more with opt-in forms. This robust feature saves time and lets your site run on autopilot.
• Exit Intent Pop-Up: Kajabi’s exit intent pop-up triggers when a user shows behavior indicating they may leave the site. This feature works on desktop devices, with a timed reveal option available for mobile devices.

Setting up your website for lead capture can pay dividends in the future. It enhances your website's performance and helps build a loyal audience.

Smooth Checkout Experience

The Importance of a Smooth Payment Process

The last crucial element of a successful knowledge commerce website is the ability to accept payments. Once you’ve nurtured a visitor to the point of purchase, it’s essential to provide a seamless checkout experience so they can easily complete the transaction and become a customer.

What Customers Expect During Checkout

75% of consumers shop online at least once per month, and with online shopping being a routine part of daily life, customers have developed high standards for checkout experiences. To drive sales effectively, your website’s checkout process needs to meet or exceed these expectations.

Here’s what consumers look for:

Clear Costs

A whopping 95.5% of consumers consider clearly stated pricing and shipping information as a key factor in their purchase decisions. Customers need to know the total cost upfront, including taxes and fees, to feel comfortable completing the transaction. Unexpected additional costs can cause "sticker shock," leading to cart abandonment.

For digital products like online courses or membership sites, you benefit from not needing to account for shipping costs, and in some U.S. states, digital products are tax-exempt. This makes it easier to advertise the final price upfront, giving customers the transparency they expect.

Security

Trust in how companies handle sensitive payment information is low—only 25% of consumers believe most companies manage personal data responsibly, and 69% think companies are vulnerable to hacks. To ease these concerns, your site must demonstrate clear signs of security.

Ensure your website uses SSL technology to protect data, and use trusted payment processors like Stripe and PayPal, both of which have advanced security measures in place.

Frictionless Checkout

The more complicated the checkout process, the more likely customers are to abandon their cart. Simplifying the steps to complete a purchase is crucial. One major pain point for consumers is the requirement to create an account to check out.

With Kajabi, while users must create an account to access membership sites or courses, they don’t need an account to purchase certain knowledge products like PDFs, minimizing friction.

Preferred Payment Methods

Customers have their preferred payment methods, so it’s important to offer a variety of options. Some shoppers prefer PayPal for added security, while others may want to use specific credit cards to earn rewards. Offering flexibility in payment options increases the likelihood of conversion.

How Kajabi Provides a Smooth Checkout Experience

Kajabi’s integrated payment gateways allow your customers to pay using credit cards, debit cards, or PayPal, giving them the flexibility and convenience they expect.

The Kajabi checkout page template is user-friendly, adhering to best practices for web forms. It offers a frictionless experience, as it does not require users to log in or create an account before purchasing an offer on your site.

You can also customize the checkout page to reflect your site’s branding with a banner image, testimonials, videos, button color, and layout. This consistency reassures customers they’re in the right place and helps build trust.

Additionally, Kajabi makes it easy to offer payment plans without needing to integrate services like Afterpay or Klarna. This is particularly useful for higher-ticket items, helping you overcome price objections and increase sales.

By providing a smooth and secure checkout process, you’ll not only meet customer expectations but also improve your conversion rates, setting your business up for long-term success.

Conclusion

We hope you’ve found this guide informative and that you’ve identified some actionable steps to make your website more effective.

Are you ready to start a new site or migrate your existing one? Kajabi is an excellent choice to host your website because it offers everything you need in one place.

Beyond the features we’ve already mentioned, Kajabi allows you to host online courses, membership sites, and digital products. You’ll gain access to powerful analytics that track not only your website’s performance but also the success of your courses and cash flow.

Additionally, Kajabi provides built-in email marketing tools and pre-programmed sales funnels, making it easier to nurture leads and drive sales. You can streamline your processes by leveraging automations across your website, products, and email marketing—saving you time while optimizing your business.

Kajabi empowers entrepreneurs, experts, creators, and influencers who are serious about achieving online success.