We have all had this experience with a business’s website. We hear about a company and love the message and the product. We can’t wait to try it so off to the website we go hoping to find out more and maybe even make a purchase. But what do we find when we get there? Terrible and a drab design. You’re probably asking yourself, “Does website design matter?” Of course it does!
Website design matters for a number of reasons and any one of them can tank your SEO and affect your digital marketing efforts. Being online in any capacity is a mostly visual experience and users want what they are looking at to be a pleasing experience. Not only that but they want it to be easy.
Why Website Design Matters
First Impressions Matter
For many potential customers, your website will be the first impression they have of your company. If your website is outdated, unattractive, and hard to navigate then you will likely lose potential sales and return customers. No matter how great your product or business is, if you give a bad first impression it won’t matter.
User Experience Matters
Websites that are difficult to navigate or draw attention to the wrong things are unlikely to make the user want to continue on the site. They may move on to another better website from a competitor. You don’t want to lose business because you have a below-par design.
Imagine that your website is a brick and mortar store. The user experience online is just as important as the customer experience in a store. If a customer walks into a store and gets terrible customer experience and can’t seem to find what they are looking for then they will leave. The same is true for websites.
“A high-quality and user friendly website design builds trust with your current customers as well as potential customers.”
Design Motivates Action
A good design with clear flow and call to action will almost always motivate the users to take action and become customers. Well designed websites gently guide the user to where the owner wants them to go. Like a good retail store that has an organized flow to guide those visiting through the store ending up at the checkout counter, in the end, good website design does the same thing.
A poor design will leave people confused and unable to figure out what they are supposed to do next. A potential customer would need to have an incredible amount of perseverance to still purchase from a website that is not designed well.
Design Builds Trust
Having confidence in the company or small business you are purchasing from is something that people want. A quality and user friendly website design builds trust with your current customer base and your potential customers. Since your website is likely the first impression they will get from your company it needs to be something that is trustworthy, eye-catching, and easy to navigate.
Keeping your website updated with freshly created content and social media links lets the users know that your business is real and cares about engaging with its audience. If your website hasn’t been updated in weeks, months or more, a potential customer might be hesitant to order from your business.
Website Design By Hungerford Media
If your business needs help with designing an eye-catching, user-friendly, and trust-building website, then Hungerford Media can help. Contact us here or call us directly at (616) 259-0078 for more information about web development or any of our digital marketing services.
