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First impressions matter: The importance of good web design

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(© Stanisic Vladimir – stock.adobe.com)

How many times have you considered or actually bought something only because you were impressed by its packaging? Admit it or not, most of us are drawn to beautiful things and a well-designed exterior highly affects our purchase decisions only because it may be the first message the brand sends us. It shows how the makers of a certain product put such great effort to all the details of what they offer to attract the buyer’s attention and make a good impression from the get go.

In the digital age, this translates to a company’s website. Your website is the first step to every consumer’s experience of your brand and it is important to start strong and make sure that they are drawn to explore your site. Before going through the information and features of the website, it has to capture their attention visually first.

Aside from setting a good first impression, below are other reasons why a good web design is valuable to any brand. This can be helpful in setting up a good website design for doctors, fashion designers, food entrepreneurs, and many others.

  1. It dictates the website’s usability. Your website’s design can heavily impact how visitors and potential customers can easily find what they are looking for. According to this research,  86% of website visitors want to see product or service information, 65 percent look for contact information, and 52 percent seek an About the Company page. With this, you have to ensure that your web design has features that allow visitors to easily find information to avoid frustrating them and driving them away to competitors.
  2. It helps your SEO strategy. There are many web design elements to maximize so you can ensure that you have high quality and quantity traffic on your site. Design features can influence how you publish your content that in turn can help you include the right keywords and SEO-friendly metrics.
  3. It sets the expectation of your expertise and customer service. You may be the best in your field so you’d think that a good website design should not be the priority but you could not be more wrong. Having a good website design shows your audience how much effort you put into every aspect of the brand experience. It helps give them an idea of what to expect from your product or service and how helpful you can be in giving them what they need or want. In a way, your website serves as a customer service representative that’s always accessible and approachable to potential clients.
  4. It differentiates your brand from competitors.  With so many brands out there, building a good website is actually one opportunity to stand out. An old and outdated website may make you seem like the least option to be considered so it’s best to always keep up with competitors by refreshing your website design and features. Chances are, you and your competitors are offering the same things and more or less have the same price range – a good website design is one thing you can leverage on.
  5. It helps with conversion. With a good and effective website design, you can orchestrate the entire user experience and direct them to where you want them to look within the site. You can use the website design elements to highlight special offers, featured products, and other clickable elements that you want to focus on.
  6. It builds brand trust and showcases professionalism. A clean and professional web design builds credibility and trust for your brand. It reflects your brand’s personality and helps you in reassuring consumers that they are in the right place.

Contributors

Contributors

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