In today’s internet-driven age, having a website is a must for both online as well as offline businesses. But creating a website and getting it up and running won’t do you much good unless it features a stunning design.
While you may focus on developing a website for your business, chances are that like many marketers out there, you might overlook the importance of web design and the impact that it has on your potential customers.
Remember the famous saying ‘don’t judge a book by its cover’?
While it surely is a good philosophy to follow in life, the fact remains that it does not apply to customer behavior, especially when they are shopping online.
It goes without saying that in today’s modern world, customers have a plethora of options to satisfy their needs and wants. Whether they are looking for the latest fashion apparel or reliable healthcare services, a quick search on the internet will return hundreds, if not thousands, of options that they can consider.
You might adopt various other strategies to push your website to the top of the search engine results page. But what good will that increased traffic do if you are still unable to increase the revenue generated in sales?
Unfortunately, this is exactly what happens when the website isn’t attractive enough to motivate visitors to make a purchase.
Take a look at the following statistics from a recent study that highlights the importance of web design and its effects on customer behavior:
5 Eye-Opening Website Statistics for 2019
- A visitor will form an opinion about your website in about 50 milliseconds only! In other words, it takes just 0.05 seconds for a user to decide whether they want to stay on your website and explore more or leave instead.
- 57% of online shoppers admitted that they do not like buying goods or services from a business whose website is not optimized for mobile users. And of course, they won’t recommend the store to others either.
- 47% of customers were observed to leave the site if it took more than 2 seconds to load.
- More than 80% of buyers said that when viewed on a tablet or a smartphone, a company’s website should look the same, if not better, than when it is viewed on a desktop computer.
- 75% of customers agreed that they judge a company’s credibility merely by viewing its website
The Importance of Web Design
Did these statistics surprise you?
From affecting customer experience to building a brand image and a lot more, the design and layout of a website have a huge impact on your business activities.
Take a look at the following to get a better idea of just how important web design really is.
It Sets the First Impression
If your site features a design template that was typical of online businesses back in 2005, it’s bound to raise some serious questions about the credibility of your own business. Unattractive or poorly designed websites will deter the visitors from your site and force them to consider better alternatives instead.
It Affects Your Brand Image
Since a website is designed for customers, the way it looks says a lot about how you view your target audience. If you don’t put in any efforts in creating a website that answers their questions or provides them with they might be looking for, you are creating an impression that you aren’t don’t care about your customer and aren’t willing to help them.
A website must be bright and inviting so that visitors feel more welcome.
It Can Help You Boost Your Ranking
Good web design can help you in your SEO marketing campaigns as well. This is because when you follow a proper format for uploading and publishing different pieces of content online, you ensure consistency throughout the site.
Many design elements and practices have a direct impact on your rank on the search engine results page because it affects the way in which search engine crawlers index your web pages.
It Determines Your Sales
This is a no-brainer. If you have understood the points discussed so far, you must have already realized that web design and online sales go hand in hand.
An interactive and easy-to-use website keeps visitors engaged until the end. Not only does it motivate them to purchase your goods and services, but also smoothens out the entire process from product discovery to product delivery.
How to Improve Web Design
Creating an incredible website is not always a piece of cake, but it’s not impossible either. If you know the basic elements of a high-quality website, rest assured that you can easily create one for your own business.
Here are the key features of a ‘good’ web design that you must take into account.
Color Scheme
Different colors evoke different emotions which in turn affects the site visitor’s decision-making process. Choose lively and attractive colors for your site. Even if you prefer dull colors for a subtle and professional look, make sure not to make it too boring.
Easy Navigation
Online customers want complete information about the products and they want it fast. Easy navigation means that the required info such as product specs, shipping policy, mode of payment, etc is easy to find and comprehend.
Responsive Design
You never know whether a potential buyer will visit your site through a mobile phone or a computer. A responsive design means that the site should be optimized for all devices so that users have a great experience regardless of the device that they access it from.
Visual Elements
A picture is worth a thousand words. Be it product images, infographics or even video-based content; don’t forget to leverage the use of visual elements on your website.
This covers the importance of web design, as well as the proper ways to improve your web layout. Take the necessary measures to make your website more compelling or better yet, consider hiring a professional web development agency to create a powerful website that instantly turns all visitors into customers.
