Businesses understand how important a good first impression is in persuading prospective customers and clients. Whether you are seen in a positive or negative light can make the difference between a snub and a life-long business relationship. It should surprise no one that most businesses spend copious amounts of money on marketing, PR, and other similar categories to improve perception.
Increasingly, however, a business’ appearance online matters just as much as anything else. Whether you are building a website for your business or already have one established, you’ll want to keep reading to find out how its design may be impacting much more than mere user experience.
User Experience = Conversion Outcomes
When people think of “web design”, they often jump straight to aesthetic features. While these features are highly important, web design addresses more than just simple looks. The functionality of a website ultimately determines whether or not landing pages deliver results and whether search engine traffic converts.
From mobile responsive design to ample navigation options, facilitating the ease of use for visitors can impact bounce rates, conversions and return business substantially. Before you settle on a hot new design, make sure that it isn’t just aesthetically pleasing – and that it actually delivers functionality for your customers.
Websites Make Statements
The look and feel of a website are important in pleasing visitors and giving them the ability to easily find what they need, but the design also sends messages about your business as a whole.
Everything from the culture of your business to its proclivity for customer service can be conveyed in the design aspects you choose. Subconscious statements via web design can be considered akin to marketing: you want to send the right message without conveying negative emotions.
In order to avoid this, a careful and deliberate pre-design assessment of your business’ attributes, strengths and weaknesses are necessary. Webloggerz has put together a great list of factors to consider before implementing a design that could send the wrong message.
Transparency Matters
Above all else, transparency is essential in persuading potential customers and clients to click and commit. Unanswered questions can lead to failed outcomes for your business, so be sure to provide as much relevant information for your products and services upfront.
This also applies to the design of the website itself. Are you making room for NAP (name, address, phone) data in your web design on every page? Can people easily find your shipping policy and customer service information? A good web design makes sure to take these factors into account – and they do profoundly impact how people perceive your brand (and whether or not they’ll buy).
With more brands than ever relying on online sales and attention, how a website appears to the general public matters immensely. The perception that your visitors develop can determine whether you grow into a power-house within your nicheor fall into obscurity. Ultimately, even simple elements such as navigation menus and contact information can cumulatively affect people’s perceptions of your brand – and, therefore, how much you sell!
