Why Web Design Is Important
Good Web Design is a key component to having a successful business. Having an online presence is no longer optional, and your website is often the first place people interact with your brand. What do you want everyone’s first impression of your business to be like?
As a small business owner, you want a website that clearly and effectively demonstrates who you are and what you can do for potential customers while also grabbing their attention. In fact, according to Forbes, you only have about 10 seconds to leave a lasting impression.
The Purpose of Web Design
The main purpose of Web Design is to help convert site visitors into customers. Every person that views your website is a potential customer. A good thing to remember is that your website isn’t just for you. It is how potential customers can learn, interact, and connect with you and your business.
Your goal is to use your website’s design to entice people into staying on the page so that they’ll be interested by the content you have displayed. This can be achieved with an easy to use interface and quality content, like eye catching graphics and designs.
How Web Design Affects Your Business
Small businesses have to make use of good web design principles to stand out in today’s world. The design of your website can essentially make or break your business. If it is too hard to use or unattractive, you can kiss new visitors goodbye. However, easy to use and responsive websites show a level of professionalism that can’t be matched elsewhere.
Besides this, there are many ways that your website’s design can affect your business.
First Impressions
The importance of a good first impression can not be emphasized enough. With more people online than ever before, it is likely that the first place they will interact with your business is online.
Without a good design, it’s difficult to convince people to stay on your website. If your page is unprofessional and poorly designed, then people will think the same of your business. However, if visitors have a positive experience, they are more likely to view you as a company they can trust.
Trust in the Brand
Building brand trust through good web design for your business is one the ways you can stand out in this digital world. If your website appears dated, hard to navigate, or looks misleading, visitors will lose trust in your business. Think about it. When was the last time you went somewhere and had a negative experience with the service? Did you trust them enough to want to go back?
Your website is exactly the same. If you can’t establish that you’re trustworthy to potential customers, why would they do business with you? Your chances to convert them into lasting customers is all but gone at this point.
However, you can easily build trust by demonstrating professionalism through great web design. If your customer’s experience is exceptional from the first point of contact, then you’ve won a lifetime fan!
To build trust, make sure your website paints a clear picture about your company. Include your company values, positive testimonials, and let your customers know more about your products or services.
Stand Out From Competitors
While it is important to let your audience know that they can trust you, it is even more important to separate yourself from your competitors. Simply having a website is not enough to put your business above the rest.
Fast, responsive, and informative websites are key if you want to outpace the competition. In today’s mobile age, having a responsive design is especially important for appealing to visitors of the site. You only have a short amount of time to catch people’s attention. By providing a site that loads faster and gets your clients the info they want sooner, you will easily outpace your competition.
Some keys things you should ask yourself are:
- How fast does my site load?
- Is all the important information easy to find?
- How can I make this as convenient as possible to a new visitor?
- Am I using eye-catching photos, videos, and graphics?
Improve SEO Campaigns
Another way to attract customers is by utilizing Search Engine Optimization, or SEO techniques. SEO is all about getting your site seen first when people make searches online.
Good web design is a key factor in determining how likely you are to be seen on Google, Bing, and other search engines. This is not something that should be overlooked considering the fact that 68% of all website traffic comes from search engines.
Traditionally, Google used to rank websites on the basis of content and the amount of links you had. However, Google now includes “page experience” when ranking websites. This means that the easier your site is to use, the higher you will rank as well.
Having trouble with your website’s SEO? Have no fear, the Goobers are here! Check out our SEO Services for more information.
What Makes Good Web Design
Knowing how a well designed website affects your business is important, but that’s just half of it. You also need to understand what makes a good website good. Here, we dive deeper into learning how to implement good web design principles for your small business.
Responsive Design
It is important to utilize responsive web design on your website. When we say “responsive design” we are referring to websites whose content scales easily between desktops, tablets, and phones. If you’ve ever been to a website that looks different depending on what size screen you are using, then that is an example of responsive web design.
One of the reasons this is so important is because you need your website to be mobile friendly. According to a report from Hitwise, over half of all Google searches happen on someone’s cell phone.
Browsing a site that is not optimized for mobile is never a fun experience. In fact, it’s enough to make someone leave your website for one with a better web design. Don’t lose to competitors because you didn’t design your website to be mobile first!
Having difficulty formatting your site? The Goobers are here to help! Check out our Mobile Design page for more information.
Content
Great content should be the backbone or your web design. This includes attractive photos, eye-catching designs, callouts that pop, and compelling written content. All of these elements should work seamlessly together on the page to provide a user-friendly experience.
The goal is to provide content that answers all of your visitors questions and shows them what to expect from your business. The more creative and unique you are, the more people will enjoy your site. We all love seeing new and exciting things, and your customers are no different.
Make sure you clearly answer your reader’s questions. Set your client’s expectations so they know exactly what to expect from your business. Give examples of why you are the best! There are so many things you can do with the content on your website to stand out.
Are you struggling to find the best creative content for your company? Then you need a Goober. Check out our Custom Content page for more info
Layout
The layout of your website is another key component to good web design. In order to grab attention, your content should be easily understandable and visually appealing.
Everything should be arranged in a way that your viewers are comfortable with. We read websites like we read books, from left to right, top to bottom. It makes sense if you arrange the important elements on the page in that pattern.
The pieces of the page should flow together smoothly so readers can easily find everything they need. This includes banners, text, images, videos, infographics, and more.
Make sure you break up your content to make it flow. According to a quote from Adobe, “38% of people will stop engaging with a website if the content/layout is unattractive.”
Things like long walls of text, or haphazardly placed elements will turn people away. By sprinkling in other elements on the page, you increase page retention. One element that is commonly added is the call to action.
Adding call to actions on your website can increase the conversion rate of viewers to customers. If done well, the call to action will blend seamlessly into the content to help improve the layout of the page.
To better understand what good layout entails, look at the example below to see what good layout should look like for your site:
Layout Case Study
Take a look at the P&M- Lawn and Landscaping website homepage for a great example of what a good layout could look like.
This site has an easy to read navigation bar and an attractive banner to grab attention. This is often the first thing a new visitor will see, so the goal is to make this as eye-catching as possible. This usually includes things like the company logo, navigational links, images or videos, and call to actions.
All the elements on the page are spaced appropriately to guide the viewer’s attention. Buttons and links on this page are easily identifiable. Buttons change color when the mouse hovers over it to let you know you can click it.
Even the text helps contribute to the layout of the site. Good content is great at grabbing attention, filling in space, and providing useful information. However, you never want to bore your readers with an endless wall of text. It is best to break the content into blocks to help it flow easier.
As an example, if you keep scrolling down the page, there is more text in the form of testimonials. By adding elements between the company info and the testimonials, we successfully broke up the text to keep it fresh.
One of the elements used to break up the page happens to be links to some important pages on the website. This is another way to implement good web design and help customers find what they’re looking for. It is beneficial to use high-quality images that interest your readers. This is because pictures are attention grabbers and are more likely to get clicks than text-based links.
Towards the bottom of the page is a section of featured projects. These images are arranged in a grid, and each one links to a specific location. Grids, sliders, and banners are powerful tools for showcasing your work. When it comes to images, choosing the most impactful is important.
Navigation
An essential component of good web design is navigation. Simply put, site navigation is a series of links that visitors can click to take them exactly where they want to go on your website. Some great examples of this are a navigation bar, drop down menus, or grids and banners.
Your navigation needs to be sleek and straightforward so that it’s easily workable for users. They shouldn’t have to worry about whether they’re on the right page for whatever they are looking for.
If your website is too confusing for people to navigate, that can be a big issue. Confusion leads to frustration and can cause visitors to leave the page.
Having a well labeled navigation bar is beneficial for your business. This is because the simple and intuitive design can help with user experience, and positive user experience will have people coming back again and again. Websites with good navigation cause users to stay on the page longer, read content, browse products/services, and buy more.
Since good navigation is essential, check out this example below to see what good navigation should look like for your site:
Navigation Bar Case Study
To better understand what is meant by good navigation, it is important to see an example. Below is a screenshot of the J&J Power Washing Services website.
To lessen confusion and streamline navigation, this site utilizes a navigation bar. It is conveniently placed at the top of the page, so it is the first thing you see.
The navigation bar should not be crowded. Condense your pages into the most important groups and add dropdowns to help visitors navigate easier.
By hovering over a section with a mouse, or tapping it on a phone, the menu will expand to reveal more options. For example, if someone wants to see what services you offer, make it easy for them by grouping your pages under a “SERVICES” drop down.
Navigation needs to be ordered from most important/informative for your customers to least informative. Remember, English speakers read from left to right, so place important links on the left. For example, you might think that the contact section is important, but that is not what is most important to your site visitors.
By including these tips you can turn your website from bland to grand! A great website is important for attracting and keeping visitors on your page. Whether you do it yourself, or hire experts to get you there, good web design is important for making your small business grow.
Get a Goober
Are you ready to move forward with your website design? Contact Techno Goober today to get started. Start getting more customers with your custom website when you choose Techno Goober. Learn more about web design and how to provide feedback to your designer with our Beginner’s Guide to Web Design.
Here are some more tips for improving your Web Design: