As we move towards a more virtually-connected society, there is no better time for business owners to invest more on good website design packages. Successful digital marketing campaigns have always been founded on strong branding and excellent web design. The only thing different is that nowadays businesses are being forced out of their comfort zone to explore new and unique ways to reach out to their target market. Because of this, we are seeing just how much effect a good website design can have.
Ways Good Web Design Affects a Business
Let’s take a look at all the complicated ways a well-designed website can affect your business and why it’s worth an investment. In this article, we will also explore the elements that are necessary in a good web design. If you think it’s about time for you to upgrade your website, read on and find out what you need to do.
First Impressions Last
The time that it takes for a website visitor to evaluate the appearance of your site and form an opinion about it is extremely fast—and it would be wise to make it count. Good website design packages can make any user that visits your site feel a certain way. If your website looks modern, comes in bright colors, and is well-organized, it makes users feel welcome and encourages them to stick around and explore what your website has to offer. If the site is dark and depressing, with outdated graphics and difficult navigation, why would users want to stick around it?
In a way, you can liken your website to that of a storefront building. If you walk into a clean, organized and well-lit store with friendly staff ready to help you any time, you feel welcomed and comfortable. You’re ready to check out what other products the store has to offer, and you’ll probably end up making a purchase. On the other hand, if you walk into a dimly lit, dirty, weird-smelling store, with unhappy employees sulking in one corner, you’d feel anxious and want to leave right away. A website design can make users feel the same way and produce the same outcome.
Everyone always tells you that first impressions last, and it’s true for websites as well. People visit your site to get to know more about your business and the services you provide. If you get off to a bad start with a poorly designed page that’s not user-friendly, then it can be challenging to convince visitors to stay. Think about how much money you invest in PPC campaigns, or how much work you put in long-term SEO campaigns, just so you can get visitors to your page. Don’t waste the time and money you spent to attract visitors only to have them leave because of an ill-designed site. According to research, 38% of people stop engaging with a website if it is unattractive or poorly designed. Think about how many potential customers you are turning away because of poor visuals.
Building Trust in the Brand
Besides making a good first impression, good website design packages help build trust in your brand and your company. With a strong, clean, and engaging website, users will have a good experience as they explore your site and thus build trust with your target market and/or potential customers.
If your website looks outdated, has a confusing navigation, or does not provide accurate information, trust will be lost and the chances of you gaining more customers takes a huge hit. A clean and simple website design can make a huge impact in representing your brand. Guiding users through your site using clear headings and call-to-action wordings and buttons can make them feel being taken care of and eventually build on trust.
Improve SEO Campaigns
Recently, Google announced to update its search ranking signals that will significantly affect which websites will show up in the top ten first page search result. Google announced that they will be considering the “Core Web Vitals” of a webpage as a ranking factor.
The Core Web Vitals that Google looks into when ranking pages are:
- Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) –this refers to the time it takes for a website’s content to load
- First Input Delay (FID) –this refers to the time it takes for a webpage to be interactive
- Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) –this refers to the number of sudden layout shift of the page’s visual content
Although this all sounds complicated, business owners can definitely improve on these with a well-thought-out website design. These Core Web Vitals focus on users, which leads us to the conclusion that Google wants us to focus on improving user experience first.
A great way to start with improving user experience is getting updated and good website design packages that focus on the needs of the user first. Does the page load its content fast enough? Do the images appear right away? Are the user’s needs being met? These are just what Google looks for in their top-ranking pages, so you should do your best and focus on improving loading times.
Be Unique, Be Different
Having a responsive web page—meaning a site that drastically changes its appearance depending on the size and type of device or screen it is viewed on—is an essential part of any website design nowadays. It’s simply a non-negotiable. If you want to compete with your competitors and stand out at the same time, your website needs to be engaging, dynamic, and well-designed. Having a strong branding and consistent use of colors, font, and layouts can make your site stand out from others. It also speaks a lot about the level of professionalism you have in your company.
Check and compare the websites of your closest competitors—what makes yours different? If you feel you are on the same level as your direct competition, look at other big names in the industry you’re in. You may not be able to compete with them directly, but you can have a website that’s on the same level as theirs. When you try to mimic stylish designs of leaders in the industry, you separate yourself from your direct competitors and even attract new business for yourself.
