To be honest, have you ever really liked a website with horrible visuals?
The idiom “Don’t judge the book by its cover” is an important perspective in meeting people. However, this phrase is irrelevant when attracting users to your website because looks matter for a website to be effective. A study by Stanford University showed that 75% of users judge a company’s credibility based on visual design alone. That’s why you see most successful businesses investing in good website design that appeals to their users.
This goes without saying that web design is not limited to looking pretty. Other than aesthetics, your web design must overall improve user experience. This includes working buttons, website accessibility, and easy site navigation. These factors contribute to building your online marketing presence and nurturing your bottom-of-the-funnel leads to get conversions.
As said, the effectiveness of your web design depends on how users experience browsing your website. That’s why web design and development is one of the most critical factors because user experience directly influences the overall impression of your brand. Here, we discuss why web design is essential and why you should invest in a good web design for your business.
Leaves an Excellent First Impression
First impressions last. In meeting people, a study shows that it takes about 5 – 15 seconds for a person to have an impression of whom they meet. However, in websites, it only takes an average of 50 milliseconds for users to decide whether they want to continue browsing your page, according to Google. And in those first few seconds, you want to make a positive impact on your audience.
If your website looks unappealing or outdated, users will immediately have a negative impression of your business and most likely bounce off. And each time an unsatisfied user leaves your website, you’ll miss out on leads and revenue.
You might ask why?
Evidence shows that when users are not attracted to your page, they directly doubt your legitimacy. With this, users question your products or services or even look at a competitor’s website for a better answer. Overall, poor web design doesn’t only hurt your credibility, but it can also drive away potential customers. People prefer to view content on beautifully-designed websites. If your content is unattractive, you’re likely losing many visitors.
Helps You With Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Strategy
Ranking on top of search engines can be difficult if several factors are not considered. Basically, to be on top of searches, you need to have “EAT .” Expertise, Authority, and Trustworthiness. All of these necessary elements can be directly influenced by your web design. If visitors are attracted by your web design, they are more likely to stay and read your content. And if your content is informational, reliable, and fun to read, you instantly gain favor from search engines.
Also, web design is not all about fonts, color, and layout. A good web design must be functional and easy to navigate. And this can be optimized through web design elements and good on-page SEO practices.
Various web design elements and on-page SEO practices influence how you publish content on your website. This, in turn, affects how search engine spiders crawl, index, and rank your website. Take note that updated web crawlers are just like people. They scan your on-page code, and if it isn’t “readable,” they rank your website lower than you expect.
Overall, your code needs to be SEO-friendly, and your content informational, readable, and attractive.
Improve Brand Image
As said earlier, first impressions last. Your website reflects your brand and everything that it stands for. Web design elements, like color, fonts, images, etc., form your brand identity. For a better illustration, picture this scenario. What do you see in a can in the color red and white? It doesn’t take long to recognize that it is a coca-cola can, right? From its bottles to its homepage, Coca-cola has used a distinctive red color on a white background. So, from what you can tell, the Coca-Cola company owns the color red and white in the soda industry. And they are consistent with their use of the colors because the two distinctive colors represent the brand and the people associated with the company.
What do you get from all this? When you have a good web design for your brand, you get a good impression from visitors. And if you practice consistency with your web design elements, your website will be familiar with users in time. This builds brand recognition because people will know what colors your brand associates with. Eventually, you’ll earn more leads and conversions down the line with consistency.
Helps Build Trust With Your Audience
Like first impressions, website visitors don’t trust poorly designed websites. If your website has contrasting web designs or has poor content design, users are more likely to view your site as shady and won’t trust your site.
Having attractive, clean, and engaging visuals that enhance user experience are ways your web design can build trust within your audience and potential customers. Think of it this way, when your website conveys trust, a person browsing your product will most likely proceed in checking out because your site looks professional. This, in turn, creates trust that encourages your audience to remain on your site. And when users stay on your site longer, you create more opportunities for your business, leading to more leads and conversions.
Rise Above From Competitors
A good reason you should invest in a good web design is that your competitors are already doing it!
Generally, the businesses that you are competing with have the same services and similar pricing. And to stand out from the rest, you must grab the opportunity to become better than your competition by showcasing your unique features in web design.
An old, outdated, low-quality website will do you no good. So, to prevent your business from losing leads, it’s a no-brainer to invest in a well-designed website that will perform better than your competitors.
Key Takeaway
So why do you care about having a good, well-designed website design?
The answer is simple: customers care about good design because it impacts their experience. Your web design should not be taken lightly because it alone can help you form a good impression on users and potential customers. It can also help you nurture your leads that result in more conversions.
Also, a good web design provides a good user experience and helps you rank in search engine queries. Overall, invest and think well in designing your website to prevent drawbacks from having poor web design.
