Many business owners nowadays are well aware of the importance of having a website. After all, building an online presence can be your one-way ticket to success. But is creating a business enough? What about its design?
Small businesses may find it daunting to invest in a well-designed website, given the limited technical skills and cost challenges they face. Companies with existing yet outdated websites even doubt the value of improving the design.
However, studies show that good website design is vital as it directly impacts customer experience and lead generation, which are crucial to your success.
Importance of Web Design
Website design is vital because people naturally care about aesthetics. Unconsciously or not, people react to good visuals, keeping them drawn to good design. And when it comes to business website design, you need to consider that users will judge your company based on what they see. As a result, users will either stop using your site if it’s poorly designed or continue browsing it if it looks appealing.
Here are a few facts that will make you realize the value of good design.
75% of Website Users Judge A Company Based on Design
Put yourself in your user’s shoes. Would you find an outdated and poorly-designed website attractive to look at? What comes to your mind about the company that created the website when this happens to you? You may end up doubting the company’s legitimacy and question its reliability. Also, the website will not encourage you to give their products or services a try.
As you can see, you will not just focus on optimizing your core web vitals to improve your website’s performance on the search engine. Even the aesthetics of your website plays a crucial role.
First Impressions Last
When it comes to web designs, remember that first impression last. You need to build a website that will leave a good impression so users will keep coming back. First impressions are particularly important on websites that offer healthcare services. However, all industries will benefit from it too.
Users Only Need 50 Milliseconds to Be Impressed
In addition to building good first impressions, note that users only need a few seconds to build them. According to Google, websites only have 50 milliseconds to impress users. And in that short span, users do not have time to click on anything or read your content, making it extremely important to create a design that would keep them hooked.
Users Will Stop Engaging With Your Website if You Have Unattractive Design
Poor website design won’t just hurt your company’s credibility. It can also chase away potential customers. People would rather view content on excellently designed websites than on unattractive ones. If your website isn’t appealing to look at, you will most likely lose about 1/3 of your site visitors.
What Exactly Is Good Website Design?
You probably think that it’s impossible to attract all of your target audiences because people have different ideas or expectations for website designs. While it’s true that we all have different preferences in how we perceive and appreciate beauty, many studies can prove that there is a consistency with how people perceive design.
Generally, psychology and science both believe that we are naturally drawn to beautiful things, and most of us react positively to good design.
Website designs use standard factors like shape, size, and color. A great design utilizes all these elements to develop an appealing visual language.
You can compare the design with the English language. Verbal language communicates using sentences, words, and punctuation with logical rules like grammar and spelling. Indeed, some people have more skills at using the English language than others, and like how you’ve learned during grade school, there’s a significant difference between “bad English” and “good English.”
Relatively, there are “bad design” and “good design” for websites. While we all have different levels of communicating visually, web designers are well-trained to speak in that manner. Therefore, it’s crucial to invest in a well-planned and professional-looking website design that can communicate efficiently with your target customers.
Your website is one of the most powerful tools you can ever use to help your business become successful. Without it, you will find it hard to reach audiences from different parts of the world and make a massive online presence. But to get there, you need a good website design.
Remember that an excellent website design isn’t just about what it looks like in your eyes. Think about your customers and see if your website has an attractive visual layout. Don’t forget users will first judge your business by how your website looks before they even spend a moment browsing your content.