Web Matters: Why Website Design is More Important Than Ever
You did it, you clicked the link. Once a web page begins to load, a myriad of factors begin to play a crucial role in whether or not you will turn into a customer. From loading speed to design layout to color palette, the wrong combination can sink a business’s chance of a sale in less than 15 seconds. In fact, according to Google over 50% of visitors will leave a site if it takes over 3 seconds to load—that’s not much time to make a great impression.
I’ve been in the business long enough to have had clients come around to the fact that having a website is a crucial part of the modern market, the digital storefront. At various points, I’ve worked with clients who felt that having a social media presence was enough in terms of marketing. Eventually, they hit a plateau and realize in order to take their business to the next level, a website is a must.
VISIBILITY
Why? One word: Google. Not everyone has the platform you’re posting on, nor do they check it every day. What are they checking? According to research by Burke, 8 out of 10 people use a search engine to find a local product or service. And we all know Google is king.
Once someone has searched for you or your field online, what pops up? Hopefully you’ve claimed your Google My Business listing, and if you haven’t, a website is still the best asset to showcase your accomplishments, services and basic facts. Without a website, businesses are far less visible to new clients outside their social networks.
CREDIBILITY
Websites inspire more trust and credibility with consumers, especially as social media and media in general are often viewed as untrustworthy and fake. It is your chance to position yourself as an expert in your field with evergreen content such as blog posts and relevant information, offerings, and testimonials.
Having that content laid out in an eye pleasing, aesthetic, and user friendly way is not only key to converting a visitor into a sale, it is essential in keeping them on the page!
BOUNCE RATE
The longer it takes your website to load, the faster you will lose potential clients. In addition, Google also takes into account “Site Speed” when deciding how/where to rank your website in search results, with a slow site ranking lower than quicker competitors.
Instant gratification is the name of the game and it is a race, no one wants to wait. If your page doesn’t load quick enough, if the information is not easily viewable and in a pleasing layout, people will leave. Poor web performance and/or layout design increase page abandonment, sometimes permanently.
GOOD DESIGN = GOOD BUSINESS
You only have one chance to make a good impression, and people will associate a positive or negative impression directly with your business. No matter the quality of your work or services, it won’t make a difference if they can’t make it through your website. If it’s unappealing, outdated, cluttered or clunky, you can bet they’re jumping over to the flashy, sleek website of your competitor.
Our brains process visual information 60,000 times faster than text, which makes good design a major factor in lower bounce rates. Page layout must be easy for visitors to use and navigate on any device. Responsive design ensures a good experience no matter the device used, keeping leads engaged and interested.
CONSISTENCY
Layout goes hand in hand with branding. Even if you are just a person, not a company, then YOU are your own brand, and how you present yourself to the world online goes into how others perceive both you and your business. A professional site builds trust, positions you as a credible source, and gives insight as to how you run your business. Lack of effort in web design shows you’re not thinking of your audience and their experience, and an outdated and unappealing interface makes a business come off as cold and aloof.
As the digital face of your business, it’s important to make a good first impression with an inviting, bright and modern site where visitors feel welcome. Consistent themes, fonts, styles and branding help bolster brand recognition, familiarity, and loyalty. People have to know, like, and trust you before they do business with you—a properly designed website does all of this and more.
KEY PRINCIPLES
The right design can make users feel comfortable, with the possibility to be emotional, exciting, or nostalgic. Good design comes from basic principles that help our brains process visual information quickly and efficiently, working with natural tendencies rather than against it. Balance, contrast, hierarchy, movement, emphasis, variety, pattern, proportion, rhythm, unity, repetition, and white space all interact to create an overall visual experience that either attracts or repels the consumer.
Websites with the proper ratio of core design elements perform 200% better than those without according to a fact-finder report. Even in cases of identical content, the more aesthetically pleasing, intuitive and user friendly site is perceived as having better content and being more credible.
Successful web design is not just visuals, it’s structural (load times, etc), packed with SEO for better Google rankings, with clear calls to action. The proper design will encourage visitors to proceed to the next step, with higher conversion rates. Purposeful visuals, good copy, and easy to find information pave the way for improved sales. SEO combined with a visually attractive website are two of the biggest assets you have to leverage the growth of your business.
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