4 Reasons Why Website Design is More than Looking Pretty

When you think of a website design, what do you think of?  If you’re like most people, you think of the colors, the buttons, the pictures, and the animations.  Basically, you think about how “cool” the website is.

Even though the coolness of a website is very important (do people really want to engage with uncool websites?), there’s much more to website design than creating a pretty layout.  In fact, there’s much more to it than I can even cover in this blog post.

If you’re a business owner, why do you purchase someone else’s services?  You do that because that service either 1) makes you more money or 2) saves you money now.  Your website has much to do with how much money your company makes, especially in the digital age where consumers use tablet PCs, smartphones, laptop PCs, and desktop PCs to conduct 90% of the purchases they need to make.  Here are some more ways in which your web design helps you increase your sales:

1. Responsive Website Design – The mobile device market is exploding in usage.  Just look at how many people had smartphones just a few years ago – virtually no one.  Now, who doesn’t?  “Responsive design” is a term referring to websites designed to look visually appealing and to be fully functional on all device types – tablets, iPads, smartphones, PCs, laptops, and desktops.  If your design isn’t optimized for all of these devices, you’re missing out on sales.
2. SEO Friendly Website Design – Websites can be designed more (and less) effectively for search engine optimization.  For example, text on flash pages can’t be understood by Google.  Flash also causes slower load times, which Google takes into account when ranking websites.  For the keywords you’re targeting, you should have at least 1 page dedicated to each primary keyword.  The list of SEO-friendly ways to design your website goes on and on, but these examples demonstrate why it’s important to design also with SEO in mind.
3. Calls-to-Action – Many websites come up short in showing their visitors what action they need to take.  Even though it seems obvious, people are more likely to take your desired action if you tell them what to do.  If your site lacks a clear call-to-action, then people are much less likely to become paying customers.  Pretty websites are engaging, but if they don’t compel visitors to take an action, then they’re just as effective as ugly websites.
4. Trust Signals – By using the icons of respected authorities like the BBB, icons of well-known clients you’ve served, icons of awards your company has won, icons of certifications or accreditation’s you have, etc. you build a large amount of trust with visitors.  Because trust makes buyers more apt to submit their credit card or pick up the phone and call, trust icons are extremely important for anyone looking to increase their website conversions.

There’s Much More to Effective Website Design, But That’s a Start…

Design is much more complex than this, but hopefully these tips give you the basic idea that a pretty web design is only pretty.  A well-thought-out design, however, increases your sales in an era where everyone shops online for what they need.

Kirstin Douglas

Technical Project Manager. My day-to-day includes performing technical SEO tasks, managing multiple projects and supporting the website optimization process. I also communicate directly with customers to help them understand their options and implement their customized solutions.

More Posts - Website

Follow Me: