Do Looks Really Matter... For My Website?

How important is your website's design to potential clients?

We've all heard it before: "You only get one chance to make a first impression." This saying is typically used in the context of meeting someone for the first time and trying to find out what they are like. The same holds true when people visit your website for the first time. If you want visitors to become customers, then you need to focus on making sure your site has what they're looking for in a business's website.

The reason why many businesses fail at increasing their conversion rate of visitors to customers, is because they spend too much time trying to increase traffic without focusing on converting that traffic into sales or leads. In this blog post, we will discuss 11 ways that you can improve your website's design that will increase conversion rates and generate more revenue for your business!

We have all thought it before, whether you're struggling with yet another site builder or just staring into the empty abyss of whitespace on your current site. We have all wondered the same thing: Are my customers really going to care if this isn't perfect? Well the answer, like everything else in life, is a complicated yes AND no.

Today's consumers are more digitally savvy than ever before in history. Traditional buying behaviour is transforming. We are watching the percentage of online sales continue to climb year after. This is even more true since COVID pushed so many consumers to online purchasing.

While they might not have a programming degree or advance marketing degree, consumers know what they're looking for when it comes to a  business and its website. If your business doesn't have a well designed website, you are likely losing out on potential customers.

So what are your site's visitors looking for when they come to your site?

#1. Website Functionality

Many consumers want to get a feel for your business right away. This means that your site needs to function properly and load quickly.  They don't have time to wait around while the page loads. If it's taking too long, they'll likely move on from your site in search of something else that meets their business needs better.

Take into account all devices when designing a websites functionality or you will lose out on potential customers who are using smart phones or tablets as opposed to desktop computers when visiting sites online.

In addition, make sure there is easy navigation between pages on your site so visitors can easily find what they're looking for without having trouble navigating through tabs and menus trying figure out where each link leads

Does everything on your site, work the way it should?

• Do all the buttons go to the right places?
• Are all the links in proper working order?
• Do all the contact forms actually go to an email you will check and answer?
• Is your information and pricing all accurate and up to date?
  

All these things contribute to a client's ability to get to know you through your site.

Every click is them asking questions about you, your company, and your product or service and every time something doesn't work on your site, you jeopardize them leaving and never returning.

Its less about how appealing the button or form is and more about  if it will properly serve its purpose for the client.

#2 . Customer Journey Organization

#3. Quality Site Content

While cool graphics, designs, and text fonts are all great additions to a site, they cannot compare to the importance of the pictures/images on your site. Use photos that give a real sense of your business and also appeal to the people you want as customers. Use high-quality images with clear, crisp resolutions, because this is one way consumers judge whether or not they can trust a business based on its website design.

While there are a couple minor exceptions, (i.e. customer product review photos, client testimonial photos, etc.) a mediocre image should be avoided at all costs. A  bad photo will make your business look unprofessional and untrustworthy, so it is important to have a good eye for choosing the right images to represent you.

Another thing business owners should consider when creating their website design is how easy it is for customers to navigate. When people visit a website, they expect everything to be where it’s supposed to be and easy to find; if not, they will quickly leave and go somewhere else. Navigation includes having clear menus with concise labels and using an intuitive layout that makes sense (e.g., make it easy to find your contact information instead of burying it at the bottom of your site).

Make sure that all key information and important resources are highlighted and easy for visitors to navigate to. Avoid making the overall flow of the site being confusing towards site visitors or they will lose patience and simply leave.

Potential customers don't want to have to wonder around your site blindly. They would like to be guided on the customer journey in a way that supports their purchasing process.  Placing clear and concise CTA's throughout your website can help with this.

CTA stands for Call To Action, which is a term used in marketing to describe an instruction given to the viewer of a commercial or advertisement to provoke an immediate response, usually involving the purchase of a product or service. In website design, these are buttons, links, or text that encourages visitors to do something such as subscribe to a newsletter, download a white paper, or make a purchase.

Make sure your CTA's are:

• Easy to see and understand
• Located prominently on each page
• Designed in line with the overall look and feel of your site
• Written in persuasive language that entices customers to take action

At the end of the day how your site looks should reflect you and your business. It should be a place you are proud to show off rather than a URL you cringe at on the back of your business card. While it doesn't have to be anything extravagant or ostentatious, keeping it functional, organized, and quality-focused, with an eye towards conversion points can help you reach your business reach more people and convert them into customers more efficiently.