How important is a Website's Design?

Sep 3, 2024 | 20 min read

Introduction: Why Design Matters

When people visit your website, they decide really quickly if they like it or not. In fact, 75% of people decide if they trust your website just by how it looks according to this web design study published to the Journal of Medicine and Life. If your website looks nice, people are more likely to buy things from you or ask for your services. At Modern Websites, we know how to make websites look great, so let’s talk about why this is important.

More Sales and Leads with Good Web Design

When a website looks good, people are more likely to stay on it and explore. This means they are more likely to buy something or contact you. If your website is easy to use and looks professional, people will trust you more, and this trust can turn into more sales and leads for your business.

A Pretty Website makes People feel Safe leading to more Sales

If a website has been made to look aesthetically pleasing and looks as if every aspect of it was designed with purpose, then users are more likely to feel safe because it feels as though more effort was put into the website. Many scam websites, sketchy websites, and untrustworthy sites are usually done with low effort, little attention to detail, and lack of care which shows in their design. This makes the user feel they can't trust those sites, which is a good thing! However, some businesses may just have an out of date site that was done a decade ago, or they hired an inexperienced web developer. Regardless of the case, small businesses can suffer loss of sales due to their design.

An Easy to Use Website helps people find what they need faster leading to more Sales

A website doesn't need to just be pretty, it has to be functional and help the user get what they need. If it's an informational website, it should lay out the information in clear organized sections, a mix of large and small fonts depending on whether it's a header or a paragraph, have good contrast, and not be too cluttered. For example, look at the following two websites to decide which one has greater readability.

Even though the first one doesn't overlap letters, nor does it do anything outright bad, people can just feel something is off and that it's hard to read. That alone could deter users from asking the business for services because they can't even read the website properly! The text needs more gaps between the paragraphs lines, and needs more gap between the title lines. In Web Design, we refer to this as "line height", which is how much space is between each line in a block of text. It's little details like this that can transform a website from looking mediocre to great. That small difference can be the make or break point for a customer a business is trying to work with.

Website with Mobile support leads to more Sales

One of the most important things all business owners want is to rank high on Google. Many people nowadays have a smart phone, and almost 70% of traffic to a website is through mobile. This means a website needs to be designed to be able to load properly on mobile and desktop. Consider the following website:

This is an example of a website that was not designed well to load on a smartphone. The font is too large, the links at the top are squished and overflowing off the page, and it looks like their image is getting cut off. According to Good Firms, the second largest reason 73.1% of users leave a site is due to lack of mobile support. In web design, we refer to this as "responsiveness", a website should be able to respond to different layouts and load the appropriate design.

So when businesses are considering building a website, they need to make sure the designer or web developer keeps this in mind. At Modern Websites, we follow a principle called mobile-first design, where we build websites for mobile devices first. This is ultimately important because a business won't be able to sell to users if the users end up leaving because the website doesn't support mobile!

Outshining Competitors with a Modern Website

In today’s world, many businesses have websites, but not all of them look good. If your website is better than your competitors’, you have a big advantage. People will choose your business because they like your website more. We at Modern Websites focus on making your site not just pretty but better than the rest. Business is extremely tough and competitive. These little advantages can give businesses a huge advantage because it helps them stand out right away from their competition.

First Impressions Count

Humans are naturally drawn to visuals. Think about how you pick a book by its cover or choose a place to eat by its looks. It’s the same with websites! If your website looks amazing right from the start, people will notice and remember you over your competitors.

When people visit your website, they decide quickly if they like it or not. Studies show that it only takes a few seconds for someone to form an opinion about your site based on its appearance. A beautiful, well-designed website creates a positive first impression, making visitors more likely to stay and explore.

In a world full of websites, having a standout design helps you outshine your competitors. A unique, custom-designed website makes your business memorable and sets you apart from others who might be using generic or outdated designs.

For example, compare the following two designs:

Both of these websites involve the iPad as a focal point of the website, but the second one is much more visually pleasing and designed. Thus majority of users will end up going with the 2nd one based off the first impression alone.

Conclusion: Invest in Your Website, Invest in Your Success

Your website is like the face of your business online. If it looks good, people will trust you, choose you over others, and buy from you. The drawback is that some websites can cost north of $1000-$3000 for just a simple 5 page website! While the value is worth every dollar, not everyone is able to put down such a big investment, especially since many designers nowadays just use website builders that all look the same.

With Modern Websites, you get a custom-designed site that not only looks amazing but also brings in more money. Don’t let a bad website hold you back—let’s make your business shine like it deserves!

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