In this digital age, it pays to have a strong, noticeable online presence. Many businesses opt to invest in a solid social media presence, but the bare minimum is having an attractive, functional website to attract and entice potential customers. As the world becomes more and more digital, the need for a website increases as well. These days, no business can do without a website.
But there’s more to online success than simply having a website; it also has to be attractive. Strong branding and polished web design have always been major factors in any successful digital marketing efforts. How your site looks and works plays a significant role in converting visitors to your site into paying customers. For many businesses, a common question is if web design is worth it. The short answer is that it is. For a longer answer, here are some of the ways web design can benefit you.
1. Making a strong first impression
For many visitors (and potential customers), your website is typically their first encounter with your business. This is particularly important, as most visitors make a decision about the quality of your business within seconds. It’s vital to have a bright, organized, appealing, and functional website to make a positive first impression and entice those visitors to stay.
Think of your site as an online equivalent of a storefront. A clean, welcoming, and organized store is one that attracts business. The same is true of websites. Your site’s design is key to winning your visitors’ trust and keeping them on your site rather than your competitors’.
2. Aiding your SEO strategy
Visibility is key to attracting business online, and that’s where SEO comes in. Your SEO is strongly affected by your web design. It’s not enough to have an organized and attractive site, you also need to make it visible so traffic comes your way. Quality web design also involves creating useful and meaningful content your visitors can use in their day-to-day lives and which can be easily found online. Good SEO also involves other factors like inserting the right keywords in the right places to make it easier to appear on relevant search results. It also involves optimizing your site’s performance to create a more user-friendly experience (e.g. faster loading times). All these little details are integral to creating that positive user experience that Google looks for in reliable, trustworthy websites.
3. Building trust with your audience
Aside from making a strong first impression, a well-designed website is essential to building trust with your visitors and increasing customer retention. Finding ways to improve customer retention is a must for any successful business, and your site is an excellent tool for achieving that goal. A well-designed site possesses organized and engaging visuals, as well as user-friendly functionality. These elements are key to presenting your business as a reliable and trustworthy one. Returning to the storefront metaphor, a clean workspace and an efficient system are evidence of a reliable business. The same applies to a clean, functional website. If your site can be trusted to work for your visitors, it gives them additional incentive to stay. That higher retention as a result of the trust you build also creates more opportunities to capture those leads and generate more business.
4. Standing out from the competition
One more thing to consider is that the competition is doing this too. Better-designed websites perform better on search engine results, and it is essential to give yourself an advantage over the competition. Quality design is often the deciding factor in attracting more leads to your business over your competitors’. As you and the competition typically offer similar services and prices, you need some advantage over them to help you stand out. A better site is a simple but effective way of creating greater value for your business that can help distinguish you from the competition.
Web design is an absolute must for any business. It’s a particularly essential move for small businesses, where every bit of online marketing helps you reach more customers. Good web design is an investment, and like any investment, a little work in that department can have far-reaching benefits for your business. Give yourself a little push, and you and your business can enjoy all the benefits of that quality web design.
