The importance of good web design
These days your customers and potential customers expect to be able to find information on your business and your product information on a website and maybe even online ordering too depending on the product or service involved. That means if you don’t already have a website, you really should be thinking of getting one and if you have one already you should be asking whether it’s doing its job effectively.
Good web design does more than just give you a home on the web. A website should convey your message, your professionalism, the information visitors need and it should help to turn your visitors into clients. Good web design tends to have several characteristics:
Good web design grabs attention
Good design mirrors your offline image in an attention grabbing way. It’s important to havea great home page as usually that’s the first thing visitors see. Think of it as a storefront, there should be no doubt about who it represents. It should be clean and have your logo and other branding prominently displayed. It should be different to all the other storefronts.
Appropriate use of colour and graphics is vital in catching attention, this is often best left to the professional or you risk ending up with a website that looks like a child made it. Photos should be of good quality especially for product images where image quality can be a sales driver. Use your logo design at the top of the site both to grab attention and to aid branding.
Good web design is user friendly
A website should be attractive and engaging to customers, not one that frightens them away. The colours, fonts, layout and navigation should all be ‘sensible’ and complement each other. Text should be easy to read so avoid the classic design error of poor contrast against the background. Your pages and images should load quickly so as not to lose visitor interest.
Navigation should be logical and as simple as possible, it should be easy for visitors to get from one product to another.
Good web design helps to build your brand
A good website not only reflects your existing branding but promotes it. Even if a visitor leaves your site without making an enquiry or purchasing, your website design will leave an impression of your company with him that ensures he will recognise your brand easily later and familiarity promotes business!
Good web design converts visitors into customers
A good website does not just present products and facts but presents them in such a way as to promote a visitor action whether that’s an enquiry for more information or a purchase. Professional looking presentation goes a long way in the customer’s decision making process.
Prompt visitors to take the desired action by using a clear bold call to action, even a simple ‘Call Now for Free Quote’ can make a big difference in visitor response. You can read more about about prompting action at our blog post on conversion optimisation.
Good web design demands good content
Your website should not be let down by its content. Sometimes spending a little on professional copy writing can be a great idea, why go to the effort of having a good looking website if the information within it is second rate? Give your visitors the information they need, clearly but concisely where possible. Website readers tend to skim so the concise approach with bullet points and/or short paragraphs is usually best.
