Why Does Design Matter for Your Website?

Your business’s website is essentially your virtual storefront. It represents the company to customers, helping them learn about who you are and what services you provide. Just like you wouldn’t run the business in a building with bare walls, your website’s design should be fresh and fully representative of your brand.

That’s why today we are taking a look at the importance of design on your online platforms. We also have a few tips for how you can catch the eyes of your customers time and again.

What Does “Good” Website Design Mean?

Simply describing a website’s layout as “good” or “bad” isn’t necessarily helpful in recognizing what could actually use improvement. In fact, a better word to use to describe a website is whether or not it’s “effective.” The following list may be a bit more insightful when considering the effectiveness of your site and others:

• Does the site engage and inform users while simultaneously fulfilling its proper functions?

• Does it properly represent the company, its values, and its services?

• Are the colors and visuals striking and pleasing to look at?

• Do the messages make sense? Are they laid out on the page in a way that is natural for the reader?

Take an unbiased look at your website while considering these questions. In the end, customers want to enjoy interacting with your brand. A solid design is a great step in helping them achieve that goal.

Brand Design Perception and Recognition

What loads when users first visit your site has the ability to influence whether they continue looking or decide to work with you. Layout and design have the ability to make potential customers trust your company or turn them away.

For example, when a site is poorly laid out and difficult to navigate, most customers will take their business to a website that is not as frustrating to use. But if the site is filled with clear calls to action and intuitive buttons and pages, customers are more likely to trust the brand and want to come back.

Plus, it’s crucial that online users are able to tell that your website is part of your store and brand. Through the colors, images, and language used, it should be clear to repeat customers that the website is your own. This enhances their trust and loyalty to the brand. Without careful design and consideration from your audience’s point of view, making your brand cohesive could fall to the wayside unintentionally.

Credibility

In your day-to-day life, are you more likely to trust a website that was hastily pieced together from a template or one that was carefully crafted with user experience and coherent branding in mind? When a website is clearly built to help customers and properly represent the company, people are more likely to see that company as legitimate. This in turn makes them more interested in the services offered.

According to a study by Kinesis, 75% of consumers decide if a website is credible based fully on design. Your audience wants to see that you put time and thought into your platform’s layout. Otherwise, they may consider doing business elsewhere.

Usability and Backend Maintenance

A well-designed website is typically one that is easy to use and accessible for all. Users should be able to find the information they need quickly, and any buttons they click on for information should take them exactly where they need to go.

Design aspects behind the scenes are important as well. Images that are too large may make the page load more slowly, losing the interest of users in a hurry. This aspect also ties in with search engine optimization. The less user-friendly your site, the harder it will be for your page to rank in Google. This will ultimately lead to less visibility for your website.

Questions to Consider

As you continue to build on the design of your website, it’s important to consider how it will look and function from your audience’s point of view. Here are a few questions to get you started:

• How can I better meet my audience’s needs through my website?

• How will the design of my website convey the cohesiveness of my brand and encourage brand loyalty?

• Who am I trying to reach with this website?

• Is my messaging effective?

Designing a website can seem like a precarious process from the outset. However, with a partner around to offer expert advice, and personalized services, your design goals for your website are well within reach.