Why Good Web Design is Important, and Why You Need It

In order to maximize your business outreach and potential in this new day and age, website design is one of the most important things you can do. It is a must-have to attract customers and clients and can be used to positively impact both your audience and your business.

But it’s not just about having a website. It’s also about making one that is visually engaging and appealing. Studies show that 38% of people will stop engaging with a website if the content or layout is unattractive. Studies also show that judgments on a company’s credibility are 75% based on the company’s website design. Websites are an important part of a business’ image, something which 94% of the time, is decided by the visual outlook of a website. In fact, users only really spend 5.59 seconds on average looking at a website’s written content.

If you’re still not convinced, here are three additional reasons showing the importance and relevance of good web design.

1. It helps any potential Search Engine Optimization Strategy

Websites already exercise some degree of influence on how your content would be published and that can affect how search engines like Google or Bing can index your website and its content. If left neglected, your company will barely have any visibility on a search engine.

In order to be presentable on a search engine, the type of content you have can be quite important. In order to ensure adherence to these practices, partnering up with a good web design agency is essential.

2. It gives out a feeling of improved customer service

When you make an effort to produce an easy-to-access website, it gives the customer an impression that you care about them. If you don’t make an effort or don’t care, your audience will believe that you also won’t care about them.

Think of your web design as the face of your company. It is evidently what you are showing to others when they do research and find your business. Because your website acts as your face, wouldn’t it be best for your face to be friendly and inviting to potential clients? A friendly and happy face is the same as an updated and modern website. Audiences will be more likely to trust this type of website as opposed to an outdated, old, hastily completed website. Audience trust is definitely one of the most fundamental tenets of customer service.

3. Competitors are already making a good website

If you think that your competition will not be taking advantage of good web design, then we're sorry to disappoint. In a world where brand image can make or break your business, competitors will do whatever they can to set themselves apart. If you choose to keep your old (and outdated) website, the newly designed website of your competitors will evidently attract customers away from your business. And let's face it, you don't want that...who does?

You'll not only lose any customers you currently have, but your competitors may even take away potential leads. With that being said, it is vital that your business can set itself apart with a good brand and website.

Now that we talked about why good website design is important, let’s talk about the elements that go into a good website. Here are 6 web design elements that you'd want on your website.

1. Proper Solid Navigation

The UX journey is far too important and is often overlooked when it comes to website design. When customers use your site, they'd often opt for a simple layout that is user-friendly along with easily accessible pages. If you want to increase the time spent on your website, you must implement an easy navigation system to travel between website pages. This is especially important because most website visitors have short attention spans and a simple and self-explanatory navigation bar (along with easy navigation between pages) can make all the difference with your website.

2. Responsive Design

Many of your customers will be looking at your brand from a multitude of devices. Often, the difference between the quality of a certain website on a computer or on a mobile phone can be quite significant. Responsive design fixes all those problems. It ensures that your audience will have a good experience no matter whether they see your website on a phone, tablet, laptop, or desktop computer. This is evidently essential in keeping people engaged and interested in your brand.

3. Style Guide

Consistency is important for any brand. Read that again. Web design is very important as it can easily facilitate consistency within your brand. It can subsequently help with your brand image and to do so, a style guide is necessary. Your style guide is essentially what you base your website on, design-wise. It allows for the creation of a cohesive design that leads to consistency while simultaneously enabling easier contribution by third-party sources. In a style guide, you decide color, format, typography, and many more. This set of standards is universal for every page so it prevents additional editors from making drastic changes that put potential consistency at odds between creators.

4. Be Purposeful with your Visuals

Visual elements are essential given that it is easier for customers to interact with a video as compared to a block of text. While visuals are important, many businesses go overboard with them. They clutter their websites with photos and videos which confuses the viewer and makes them less likely to check out their content as it’s harder to read. Therefore, in order to achieve proper attention from the reader, there must be a good balance of text and visuals. Don’t add visuals or text beyond what is necessary. Put a few images and videos along with a small text summary that can communicate your point in a quick and easy way.

5. Call-to-Action (CTA) Buttons

Once leads have been established, it is imperative to guide them properly towards converting. A CTA button is needed to do this. A well designed CTA button will get your audience to proceed to the next step. These buttons don’t have to blend well with your site’s style guide as the objective is to catch the eyes of the reader. With CTA buttons, better conversion results can be generated.

6. Page Speed

A nice website design is cool but if the page doesn’t load fast enough, then the audience will never get to see it as they will likely back out and pick a competitor’s page that loads quicker. Proper page speed ensures a quick page load which would, in turn, ensure proper access to information. Using Google PageSpeed Insights, you can assess your page speed and make any improvements if necessary. You can also assess your page speed with the services of a digital marketing company, which can help you focus on your business while you do the dirty work.

If you follow these basic (but essential) rules, an optimized and conversion friendly website isn't far behind. And in this day and age, the quality of a website can make or break your company.

Want to properly design a website? Unsure how to do so effectively? Set yourself up for success with a team that knows how to properly build a website that converts. As a digital marketing agency we will provide you with all the help you need in developing a proper website, whether improving elements, assessing page speed, or creating a project from scratch. Contact us to see how we can make your business succeed online!