The Importance of Website Design
Your website is essentially the online manifestation of your brand, showing visitors exactly who you are, what you do, and why you matter.
A good website shows prospective customers that you have something of value to offer, and a bad website does the opposite. First impressions are extremely important online – it takes just two seconds for a website visitor to come to a conclusion, so if things don't look good on the surface, your business may be out of luck.
What Does Your Website Say About Your Business?
Credibility
Your website speaks to your credibility as a company. A sloppily made site, a site without a professional URL, or a site that utilizes out-of-date web design concepts speaks negatively to your credibility in your industry. You may try to argue that your company doesn't specialize in web design, so your website shouldn't count against you, but consumers see it differently. Ultimately, a poorly design website implies that a company isn't a credible choice, hurting your conversion rates and driving away customers.
Customer experience
Is your website slow to load? Does your navigation make sense? Are your images obviously stock photos? Do many of your links redirect to 404 errors or to incorrect pages?
All of these factors create negative customer experiences, creating a frustrating venture through your website. While site visitors can often overlook a few of these things, an overall negative experience impacts whether the user will choose to work with your company. If you want to instill confidence in purchase decisions, your website needs to provide a seamless, user-friendly experience.
Quality products and services
A quality website that communicates information efficiently and effectively instills confidence in the user, sending an important message to visitors regarding the caliber of your products and services. A great website implies, even subconsciously, that your company can keep up with customer demands. A poorly-constructed website that doesn't provide value indicates the opposite: your products or services won't be able to perform as desired. When your website looks great, customers will assume your company is great, too.
Brand identity
Your website speaks highly to your identity as a company. If your site uses dark colors and a font like Times New Roman, you will likely be perceived as proper and conservative, even if the interior of your office and your employee relations say otherwise. When your website doesn't align with your corporate goals, objectives, and ideals, your customers will likely get the wrong idea about who you are and what you stand for.
Instead, ensure that your web design speaks on an in-depth level to your identity as a brand – not to the WordPress template you chose because it looked nice.
Studies show that the average web user forms opinions about a brand in under a second, and that design elements lead almost all users to reject or distrust web results are design related. Participants cited dozens of points, from complex layouts to pop-up ads, but no matter the reason, there's only one truth you need to know: design matters. Fortunately, if your website design isn't up to par, there are steps to take to improve your website’s visual appeal.
Steps to Improve Your Website's Visual Appeal
Highlight your brand
Good websites come in many shapes and sizes, but they all have one thing in common: a personal touch. Your site is a representation of your brand, so it only stands to reason that it should speak to who you are and why you matter. Focus on a professional, high profile logo, a pleasing color scheme, and custom content that speaks to your web users in a relatable manner, helping them to quickly – and accurately – build a positive first impression.
Eliminate stock images and text
For companies just starting out, it's far easier to cram a website full of stock images and filler text than to create something real and organic. However, this strategy is rather transparent to customers and looks inauthentic. Instead, fill your site with personalized images, videos, and text created specifically for you. This makes your page seem legitimate and real, helping visitors to relate to your brand.
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Utilize calls to action
Your website is essentially a way to advertise your services and urge customers to act, and that means strong calls to action. However, CTAs can also build trust, reassuring visitors that what you're offering is both legitimate and worthwhile.
In fact, many studies have been conducted based on color, placement, shape, and size of CTAs, demonstrating the benefits of using psychological principles to call consumers to action. For example, women respond better to purple, green, and blue, while curved shapes draw users in, stimulating increased activity in the brain's visual cortex.
Keep it simple
Many companies, especially those new to web design, see their homepage as an all-purpose resource, cramming it full of thousands of words, all kinds of images, and dozens of illogical links to interior pages. While understandable, this technique can actually be a turnoff. Loading a few pages with an onslaught of information can come off as desperate or overeager, creating doubts about your business' reputation. Instead, keep it simple. Highlight an effective navigation system and keep all content succinct and to the point.
Redesign Your Site With RivalMind
While steps can be taken to improve your website’s visual appeal, some websites require a complete redevelopment and redesign to take capitalize on digital opportunity. Does your site fall into this category?
At RivalMind, we can help you determine the steps needed to refresh your website and capture internet leads. You can get in touch with our team at
331-228-9636 or via our
online contact form!
Meet the Author
Jessica Goodrum
Director of Creative Services
Jessica Goodrum is a digital marketer with over a decade of experience in digital project management. As Director of Creative Services at RivalMind, she is responsible for the success of website design and development projects, as well as social media client growth. Her approach to management – both projects and staff – is “transparency.” She consistently outlines project objectives and the steps to get there, assessing how RivalMind can improve upon every client’s experience.
Specialties: Duda Web Development, Keeping It All On Task
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