Having an online presence is now a must for businesses. Being online means getting to promote your business to a wider audience — giving you more brand visibility, and of course, profit.
And what better way to launch your business online than through a stunning website? But to actually drive site traffic and gain conversions, you need to make sure your website isn’t only eye-catching but also seamless and intuitive.
The question is — what makes a great website?
The colours, the tagline, the images should appeal to your customers so that they’ll get hooked on your website. In particular, the colours you use play a great role in attracting customers. Statistics show that 80% of people think that colour increases brand recognition.
So, a great website isn’t just a mish-mash of bold colours and images – it’s the entirety of it. By consistently using the proper visual elements that represent your brand, you’re communicating to your audience without even saying a word.
5 Benefits of a Well-Crafted Website
Improves customer engagement
It’s now easier more than ever for customers to interact with a brand, not just offline but also online.
Through their website, businesses can better connect with their audience, leading to great customer engagement. And engaged customers buy more and advocate more about your goods and services.
One way to keep your website visitors hooked is by making sure they find the right information they’re looking for. The goal is to make sure they easily find their way around your website.
Do this by creating intuitive website navigation.
Consider these five tips:
- Keep your web pages at a minimum. People prefer to find what they’re looking for instantly. Too many website pages can baffle your audience, which can make them leave your website and look at another. Consider consolidating content that are relevant, such as your About Us and Company History.
- Add a search bar. Make it even easier for your visitors to find what they’re looking for by adding a search bar on your website.
- Link your logo back to the home page. Most visitors click on the logo to return to the home page. Consider applying this practice on your site to make navigation more convenient for your visitors.
- Make sure your menu is clean and organised. If you just have a ton of information on your website (e.g a healthcare website or a wiki), create dropdown menus for each category to easily direct your visitors to the page they’re looking for.
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Provides credibility to your brand
How many times have you left a website because it looks either too bland or too gaudy? Well, you’re not alone because 38% of visitors abandon a website with bad design.
A credible website should have all the right design elements and content in all the right places.
On the other hand, a cheap-looking website gives off the wrong impression right off the bat. Don’t let your customers go running off to a competitor’s website.
Want a trustworthy website? Know the 8 Design Essentials Your Website Needs to Have
Boosts brand awareness and recall
Your website represents your business online. It gives your visitors an idea of what your brand is all about.
Leave a lasting impression by making sure your website design reflects your brand. This means being consistent in using your brand colours, typography, and voice across all platforms.
Got a slogan or a catchphrase? Don’t forget to place it on conspicuous parts of your website.
So, the moment your visitors are ready to purchase a service or product, you’ll be top–of–mind right away.
READ: How to Setup an Ecommerce Website that Sells
Widens your audience reach
Having a website means appearing on search engine results pages (SERPs). If your website provides a great user experience (and utilises SEO practices), visitors are naturally going to keep coming.
And the more traffic you get, the more Google notices your website and puts you on top of the SERPs.
The thing is, great user experience does not only mean a good-looking site. It also means fast website loading times. Google’s algorithm favours fast–loading sites. This is because they want to serve the best online resources for their users. What’s worse is that visitors abandon a website if it takes more than 3 seconds to load.
Keep your website up to speed by using the right web design techniques:
- Optimise images
- Choose the right hosting plan
- Compress the size of your CSS, HTML, and Javascript files
- Remove useless plugins
- Caching
Too much work for you? You can hire a web design agency who knows how to optimise images and keep it up to speed.
Improves customer retention
Did you know that acquiring new customers costs five times more than keeping existing ones?
You see, when customers enjoy their overall website experience, they’re more likely to come back and convert into loyal customers.
Loyal customers boost referrals. Since they’re satisfied with your product or service, they’re more likely to recommend you to their friends and family. After all, word of mouth is the best (and the cheapest) marketing strategy there is.
Web design can make or break your brand
An effective website helps increase customer engagement, provides credibility to your brand, boosts brand recall, widens your audience reach, and improves customer retention. Leverage these benefits by ensuring your website is in good hands.
Invest in a professional web design team that knows the ins and outs of user experience and keeps track of the industry standards.
