When designing a new website for your business or perhaps redesigning an old one, you may be thinking “what makes a web design good and why does it matter”? There are a few different answers to this.

Why does good web design matter?

To start, web design is important because it plays the largest role in whether a customer stays on your website or not which in-turn impacts whether you get business from that customer or not. Which is why the main thing you need to consider when designing a website is the customer and their user experience on your site. You want their experience to be as appealing and straight-forward as possible.

There are many benefits to having a well-designed website.

• Creates a good first impression for new customers
• Improves leads/sales conversion
• Makes you more credible
• Improves your SEO – how you rank on search engines like Google
• Helps creates a brand image

What makes for good web design?

Clear, easy to read and easy to follow layout

A website should be set-up in a format that thinks about how a new visitor would navigate the site. The structure should be very straight forward and easy to follow. The information on each page should be simple and in a layout where someone who has no prior knowledge of your business/site would be able to understand what you do. The user experience is very important as well. Navigating between each page and finding specific information should be easy to do. Most websites are set up in a similar format because of this. For example, you may notice that most websites have a home page, about us page, contact page, and so on. This consistency helps new visitors know how to navigate your website quickly and comfortably from the start.

Great imagery that is relevant and interesting

To prevent your website visitors from becoming bored and quickly exiting your site, you want your page to not only be straightforward but also captivating. Clever usage of imagery can help make your page more interesting. This is why the initial imagery and layout of your website’s homepage is so important. A big, eye-catching hero image or interesting layout for your homepage can help ensure that visitors want to stay on the page longer to learn more about your business. The imagery used throughout your site should also be relevant to what you do or what you represent. As mentioned in the first point, your website should be clear and easy to understand. Imagery that is not relevant can be off-putting or confusing for website visitors. Therefore, choice of imagery is very important and should be chosen with careful consideration.

Unique call to actions

The call to action (CTA) on your website is a chance to convince your audience to take steps toward becoming a client of customer. This is why CTAs should never be overlooked. Many sites use the same, unoriginal CTAs. You may have seen before the typical “Buy now”, or “Subscribe to our newsletter today”. While it is important to use words that give your website visitor guidance such as “Buy, Shop, Order, Reserve, Save”, it is also important to create a unique CTA. A unique CTA is much more eye-catching than the standard ones that people are used to seeing and is more likely to make your website visitor think about the CTA or act on it. A good example of a unique and eye-catching CTA is one that offers free resources to the website visitor while asking them to sign-up for a newsletter. Providing value to your website visitor before asking for anything from them is a good way to create a strong CTA.

Responsive mobile/tablet web design

This is an extremely important factor to consider when building your website. People are on their phones the majority of their time nowadays and the likelihood that website visitors will be finding your website on their phones first means that your website needs to make a good first impression through the phone screen. This is why when you are first building your website, you need to have a clear idea on how the format will fit a phone screen. Your website should not only look fantastic on a mobile/tablet device, it should also function smoothly and be a great user experience. The layout should be easy to follow and quick to navigate.

Credibility – ex. reviews, portfolios, case studies

Your website’s credibility is not only important for new website visitors but also your Search Engine Optimization (SEO)! Having case studies, blog posts, and portfolio work is a great way to prove credibility in your space and to Google. Having 30-50 blogs on your site about topics that relate to your website’s industry is a great way to increase your chances of people finding your site and in-turn a great way to improve your chances of ranking better in Google search results. The age of your content also impacts how Google ranks your content. Therefore, building up more blog posts and case studies overtime can help build up information for Google to collect and analyze about your site and ideally help your website rank better in the search engine. Having lots of blog content, portfolio work, reviews, or case studies, is a great way to also show your expertise in your area to new web visitors and potential new customers as well.

Clear brand identity

Your brand identity represents not only what your website has to offer but also the values that it holds dear. This is why having a clear brand identity that is consistent, recognizable, and clear is so important. When a visitor lands on each of your website’s pages, they should be able to recognize your brand identity immediately. A brand is a feature or a group of features that differentiate businesses/organizations from each other. Most brands are usually made up of a name, logo or symbol, design, brand voice, slogan, and more.

Conclusion

Web design is extremely important. Many times, it is the first impression of your business. Which is why good web design matters and is made up of so many factors. From an easy to follow layout, to having a clear brand identity, by focusing on improving each of these factors you help ensure that everyone who visits your website will see your organization as one that is trustworthy, professional, and worthy of doing business with.

If you need assistance with your brand, or website design, contact us for a free consultation. We’d love to help elevate the way you run your business through engaging brand identities and innovative digital experiences!

Written by Alice Bowyer | July 1st, 2022