You might not realise this but design is a major factor in the success of your business, from your website design to your logo, to the choice of colours you use, each individual design element, is noticed by your customers and taken into account when it comes to how they view your business.
It doesn’t matter if your business is offering the most important, useful, consumer-friendly product on the planet, a poorly designed website could stop your business in its tracks.
Does this look trustworthy? Should I give them my money? Does this site work properly?
These are all questions consumers ask themselves when they first visit a website and if the answer to any of these is ‘No’ it could seriously kill your conversions.
Consumers judge a website in as little as 50 milliseconds, in fact, many make a judgement quicker than they can process the information on the page, it’s completely visual based, which is why your design is so significant! No matter how much your business has to offer on the inside, you need to make sure this is represented externally, helping your business build a great reputation and making sure customers aren’t sent straight into the arms of your competition.
Your Message & Visuals Don’t Align
Conflict between your visuals and your message can cause doubt, leading users to ask questions about the reliability and trustworthiness of your business. Customers expect the images within your website and marketing materials to be in sync if you’re selling a luxury handbag, they want to be able to see that luxury handbag.
The words and imagery that is presented by your business say a lot about what you can offer, creating customer expectations, if you fail to deliver a message that coincides with your imagery, you’re going to face obstacles on your way to success.
Confusing Navigation
This should be a given by now, but the navigation on your website needs to be clear and easy to use! Users need to navigate a clear path from point A to point B, if they can’t get to where they want to be without facing issues, then they’re very likely to leave your website and head elsewhere.
Navigation is the foundation for your sales funnel, it guides users towards the end goal: Conversions. A powerful funnel should start at the homepage, take you to the product page and then lead customers to the checkout, easily and simply.
Too Much Content “Above The Fold”
Above The Fold refers to the part of the website that users see on their screen before they initially scroll down the page and is an important factor when it comes to both design, layout and usability. Many believe that every single piece of information needs to be included above the fold, however, this isn’t the case.
These days it’s a good idea to introduce your information with a catchy hook, solid call to action and beautiful imagery, encouraging users to scroll down more to find out the information they need, rather than featuring too much all at once.
Outdated Design
With so many brands offering dynamic, cutting-edge websites, first impressions matter more than ever! If you’re using a design that’s too outdated, clunky, slow and unresponsive then you’re not doing your business any favours. An outdated website isn’t going to make your brand look professional and it’s unlikely that your visitors will trust you as much as they should.
You don’t have to be a professional designer to fix this, there are plenty of companies out there who can help with your design needs. However it’s a good idea to gain an understanding of modern websites and modern design, this can give you an idea of what you want to achieve from a design firm when rebuilding your site.
There’s a lot that goes into a website, from compelling CTAs to incredible visuals. Don’t lose out on success because you’ve neglected to incorporate your website design into your business plan, consider the above when it comes to your website and marketing materials and amazing results are likely to follow.
