May 31st is Web Designers Day! At Eminent SEO, we believe that exceptional design is at the heart of every successful digital experience. So, we thought we would take a moment to appreciate the incredible work of web designers and explore why design matters in the digital world.
Why Design Matters
In the digital age, your website is often the first interaction potential clients have with your brand. A well-designed website not only creates a strong first impression but also plays a crucial role in user experience, engagement, and conversion rates.
Here are a few key reasons why design matters:
First Impressions Last: A visually appealing and professional website builds trust and credibility with your audience.
User Experience (UX): Good design enhances usability, making it easier for visitors to navigate and find what they need, ultimately leading to higher satisfaction and retention.
Brand Identity: Consistent and creative design elements reinforce your brand identity, helping you stand out in a crowded marketplace.
SEO Benefits: Effective design goes hand-in-hand with SEO, ensuring that your site is both search-engine friendly and user-friendly.
Celebrating Our Talented Designers
At Eminent SEO, we are proud to work with some of the most talented and creative designers in the industry. Their dedication and passion for design shine through in every project they undertake.
Today, we’d like to spotlight a few of our recent projects:
Dank Budz: A passion project, this brand was developed by the Eminent SEO creative team. Everything from the custom website designs to the CBD product labels was built by our team. Check out the website here.
NamaSlay Crew: Another fun website that our team designed and developed, this brand is about inclusion and empowerment. From our interactive magazine to our custom merch shop, this project has been a great way for our team to push our skills. Check out the website here.
Addiction Freedom Now: Born out of the goal to help end the stigma around addiction and so many other mental health issues, this brand represents our mission and showcases our content work as well. Check out the website here.
This is just a small sampling of some of the internal projects our team is working on. You can explore some of our other favorite design projects and see how our team brings creativity and functionality together on our website design portfolio.
Join Us in Celebration
Design is not just about aesthetics; it’s about creating meaningful experiences. As we celebrate Web Designers Day, we invite you to join us in recognizing the hard work and creativity of designers everywhere. Follow Eminent SEO on Instagram, Facebook,LinkedIn, and X to stay updated with our latest designs, tips, and insights.
Thank you for being part of our journey. Together, let’s continue to create beautiful, functional, and impactful digital experiences.
Warm regards,
Jenny Weatherall, CEO
From Our Blog
Driving Business Success with Quality Website Design and Development
Today, we explore the meaning and significance of employing quality web design and development for businesses in today’s digital world.
Sustainability is a hugely important topic across almost every industry today, so why isn’t it the first thing we think about when we design new products?
Definition: A type of website design where the website is scalable to fit all types of computers, tablets and mobile devices. It’s responsive as it “responds” to all platforms and browsers unique protocols in order to display the best visual experience for the user.
When it comes to design, quality is everything. But, a quality website design is much more than aesthetic. It’s the usability. The expandability. The flexibility. The longevity. The creativity. We believe that a great website requires clean, responsive code, user friendly navigation search engine optimized page content and beautiful designs.
To Learn more about our High Quality Website Design and Development services, click below.
Eminent SEO provides strategic SEO campaigns with measurable results along with expert website design, development, pay per click, content and social media and organic website marketing. 800.871.4130.
If you’re a business owner or manage an operation, you’ve undoubtedly fielded this question: “Are you online?” In fact, the frequency with which that question is delivered can lead to the impression that simply establishing a web presence is the name of the game in the digital age. However, getting your organization or business online and throwing together some associated social media accounts is unfortunately not enough to thrive in the highly competitive digital world we live in. You’ll need to put some serious thought, time, and effort into creating a website that works as hard for you as it does for your potential clients.
When it comes to developing and designing your organization’s website, it’s critical to make sure that the outcome will be user-friendly, compelling, modern, and relevant enough to showcase what you do – and inform current and future clients about how you do it.
As quality web design and development can transform a business’s level of success, it’s important to understand just why it’s so critical and what quality actually means in this context. When you understand the importance of quality web design and development and how it impacts your business’s success, you can take the steps necessary to achieve it. Then, you can escalate your online presence, bring in quality leads, become a thought leader in your industry, and optimize your revenue streams.
What, Exactly, Is Quality Web Design and Development?
As with anything else, what’s considered “good” or “great” web design is a matter of opinion. Quality web design, on the other hand, is a concept instead of an opinion. High-quality design is what helps you generate leads and convert viewers into customers.
At its most basic, web design is the thought and action behind the style and architecture of a website, and it includes the look and feel of the site as well as the general functionality. What makes it a quality web design is that it includes certain key elements, but the definition of those elements is evolving as digital tools become more advanced and user needs change.
Currently, a well-designed website generally has the following characteristics:
Ease of Use – A quality website should be intuitive to navigate, allowing users to flow seamlessly from one page to the next. They should be able to clearly find the homepage navigation menus and make purchases or requests quickly.
Accessibility – Quality web design also includes accessibility, meaning that people of all backgrounds, including those with disabilities, should be able to easily navigate the site just as well as anyone else. Well-designed websites will have mobile and desktop versions that fully accommodate the needs of those with sight, hearing, or other disabilities by having capabilities such as speech input or screen reading.
Relevant Content – Web design also involves content, such as articles, photos, and videos, that will be featured on the website. Quality web design strategy should include content that is informative, to the point, relevant to users, and encourages users to stick around long enough to take action.
Impactful Visuals – Eye-grabbing visuals, whether complementary to text or stand-alone, can engage users and influence the amount of time that they spend on a site. It’s important to consider visual placement as well, balancing prominence with care to ensure that the site does not appear cluttered.
Minimal Loading Times – With high-definition content and increasing website capabilities, keeping load times down can be a challenge. However, it is critical to prioritize loading times when designing a website, as this metric is a strong indicator of web design quality and user experience.
Device Adaptability – Websites should be aesthetically pleasing and easy to navigate despite the device that is being used to access the site. Quality web design includes having sites that are responsive to mobile devices as well as other devices, such as iPads or tablets.
Consistency – Having your brand messaging, logos, and design schemes consistent throughout your website is quality web design practice, which can reflect professionalism and attention to detail.
Credibility – Quality web design should include sections for feedback or reviews from existing customers, in addition to previous case studies or examples of success with a client. This increases the trust level of users and increases the odds of conversion.
You can see that quality web design and development is a diverse topic that spans many areas of expertise, ranging from logo designers to back-end developers. Achieving a quality website is an ongoing process that involves staying up to date with the latest technological developments and user patterns.
What Is the Importance of Web Design?
If you’re not already convinced how important quality web design really is, let’s take a look at what makes it truly “worth it” to invest in such digital tools.
Website Design and User Perception: Length of Stay Says a Lot
A compelling and well-designed website encourages users to stay browsing on your site for a long period of time. Better yet, great design and content leave them with the possibility of returning. Keeping users on your site increases the potential for them to learn more about your products or services which boosts the likelihood that they eventually become a customer.
Many website users will also associate the credibility of a brand with the quality of its webpage. Put simply, that means that your web design is a reflection of the quality of your product or service, which could make or break whether users choose to do business with you. Quality web design can also help you improve your search engine rankings, getting more people to discover your site and navigate there, thereby increasing your online business presence. That means that if you want to facilitate business success with web development, it’s important to understand the needs and interests of your site visitors and target your web design accordingly.
The Role of User-Friendly, Well-Structured Websites in Customer Retention and Engagement
Not only do easy-to-use and well-organized websites make the user experience more enjoyable, but they can also increase customer retention and engagement. User-friendly websites allow users to navigate the website for longer periods of time. This can happen when you improve their ability to find what they are looking for quickly, as well as when you create eye-grabbing, captivating, and relevant visuals and content.
Of course, this doesn’t happen by accident. Well-structured websites require a great deal of planning before the development process in order to create a robust skeleton that is easy to build upon in subsequent generations and versions of the site. Initial quality development can help you make sure you always have a site that’s easy to navigate and execute tasks on. That way, you can continue to increase your customer retention and promote new levels of engagement.
How Quality Web Design Shapes Audience Perception and Brand Identity
Audience perception and web design go hand in hand. Users will judge the strength of your brand based on the consistency and design of your website. That judgment, in turn, has an impact on your brand reputation and your business success at large. Speedy loading times, easily navigable pages, and on-point content signals to the user that working with your business will be efficient and effective.
Your brand colors and logo should be displayed prominently and consistently throughout your website and on your social media. Users and existing and potential customers will have a more coherent picture of your brand to keep in mind when deciding which product or service to choose. In short, a clean and clear brand image that is optimally placed on your well-designed website can boost the positive perception of your brand.
The Impact of Good Web Design on Search Engine Rankings
While web design can appear to be all about the customer on its surface, the back end of quality web design is all about ensuring search engines like Google supply your site when people search for relevant terms.
A well-designed website is likely to rank higher in search engine rankings. That’s because search engine rankings are determined using intricate algorithms unique to each major search engine, most of which analyze factors such as time spent on pages, quality backlinks, and load times. Google, in particular, places an intense focus on expertise, authority, and trust, and a great web designer can help you ensure you provide content, backlinks, security measures, and more that demonstrate these three qualities.
Attention to your SEO (search engine optimization) in conjunction with quality web design means you have the potential to reach a wider audience.
Search engine ranking and web design actually go hand-in-hand. Ensuring your site appears high on the search engine results page for a user increases the chances that they will navigate to your site. Quality web design that boosts your ranking can ultimately bring more users to your website, resulting in more interaction with your brand, the potential for securing new customers, and better brand recognition.
Case Studies: Businesses Transformed by Quality Web Design
A well-designed website that clearly reflects your branding, highlights your message, and showcases your products and services can transform your digital influence and subsequent revenue streams.
Here are a few case studies that represent the power of solid web design and the impact it can have on your organization’s success:
Kind Meds
Kind Meds is an Arizona-based medical & recreational marijuana Dispensary that provides high-quality cannabis products. Due to the market they are in, Kind Meds has restrictions on how they can conduct their online marketing strategies. As they had only been advertising through billboards and cannabis advertising websites, they initially had close to no online presence when they decided to look for help with launching an online marketing campaign.
Eminent SEO worked closely with Kind Meds to help them grow their digital brand assets, such as a strongly designed website, to attract promising customers to their site and keep them engaged while browsing. By launching an optimally designed website, Kind Meds increased its digital presence dramatically in the first year alone, seeing over 20,000 visits a month through organic marketing sources.
Today Kind Meds enjoys tens of thousands of visitors a month, engaging users with their educational content and helpful assets such as a cannabis cooking calculator and strain finder.
ECHO Recovery
The ECHO Foundation is a nonprofit organization focused on substance abuse education that is committed to serving the community and helping those throughout the recovery journey. The organization was looking for a branding and marketing strategy that would reflect the organization’s essence of resilience and hope.
Eminent SEO built an easily navigable user interface that is also highly accessible due to the diversity of clients using the nonprofit’s services. In order to ensure that the digital environment was optimal, a minimal look with intuitive layouts and soothing colors was employed. After optimizing its web design, ECHO Recovery was able to share its message with as many individuals as possible, giving them strength and resilience in the face of substance abuse struggles.
From branding and logo concept design to website development, this project is a perfect example of the power of quality website design. Using a WordPress theme as the base, we created a custom magazine style site with a fun educational and entertaining blog as well as a shopping cart full of our custom merch.
This is just a small sampling of the thousands of websites we have designed, developed, managed and marketed over the last two decades.
How Eminent SEO Can Elevate Your Online Presence with Quality Web Design and Development
Optimizing web design and improving functionality can seem like a daunting task. However, it can be an opportunity for your organization to redefine your branding and marketing strategies, including specifying the types of users that you would like to reach and the kind of information that you would like them to engage with. Fortunately, you don’t need to go it alone.
Eminent SEO Website Services can help your organization reinvent or strengthen your existing digital presence by designing a quality website.
When you work with Eminent SEO, we can help you achieve the following:
Establish Credibility – Our website design team can help you build a seamless website that emanates professionalism, thereby attracting customers to your brand by establishing trust and credibility.
Ensure Device Adaptability – Mobile websites are arguably even more important than desktop websites for a business. Our design team can design a mobile responsive website that adapts certain elements of the page automatically to the device in use in order to ensure optimal browsing from any device.
Increase Conversions – By strategically designing your website, Eminent SEO can help you turn users browsing your pages into customers. We can help you create strong Call To Action opportunities and help ensure that the digital purchasing experience is seamless.
Strengthen Your Brand – Eminent SEO web designers can help you with consistent and optimal placement of your logos and slogans on your web page to create a cohesive and consistent impression for web users. From website fonts to background colors, we can help your website reflect your brand and resonate with your messaging.
Boost Your SEO Rankings – Our web design team can help design a quality website that boosts your rankings with search engines. By creating a well-structured site, decreasing loading times, placing critical keywords, and employing other critical techniques, we can expand your user base and increase your site visibility.
Adapt To Growth – Quality web development and architecture means that the existing website is easily adaptable or scalable. The professionals at Eminent SEO introduce quality development techniques so that your website has the potential to grow with your business.
Take Your Web Design and Development to New Heights Today
The web design professionals at Eminent SEO can help your organization build a website that reflects your brand and professionalism and provides an enjoyable and interactive user experience. By working with Eminent SEO, you can boost the number of users coming to your web pages, keep them engaged with your site, and increase your conversion rates.
At Eminent SEO, we have the diversity and the depth of skill on our digital marketing team to build a functional and engaging website that meets the needs and goals of your business and establishes a competitive online presence. Don’t let your brand languish in the middle of the pack for another day. Contact us today to get started.
CEO, Business Consultant, Researcher and Marketing Strategist
Jenny Weatherall is the co-owner and CEO of Eminent SEO, a design and marketing agency founded in 2009. She has worked in the industry since 2005, when she fell in love with digital marketing… and her now husband and partner, Chris. Together they have 6 children and 3 granddaughters.
Jenny has a passion for learning and sharing what she learns. She has researched, written and published hundreds of articles on a wide variety of topics, including: SEO, design, marketing, ethics, business management, sustainability, inclusion, behavioral health, wellness and work-life balance.
Effective and engaging websites will have striking visuals, remain easy to navigate for users, and are built with intention and careful planning. This is all to ensure that visitors to your website can easily get an idea of what services your business offers, discern what values are important to your business, learn how they can contact you, and make a conversion.
Whether you’re starting from scratch or refreshing your existing website, consider these essential elements of quality web design. We’ve provided additional insights below to boost your traffic and increase your performance.
Be Clear and Concise
Digging through unwanted or unnecessary information in search of the information they need is not an appealing prospect for most people searching the internet. They want to be able to find what they need as quickly as possible, whether they are looking for HVAC services, pet grooming, or anything else. No matter what type of business you have, the message and purpose of your business should be easily identified when a potential customer visits your website. You can achieve this by sharing simple, intentional information.
Outline Your Purpose
Your business is important to you, and it is likely that you have put a great deal of time, effort, and attention into making it successful. The design of your website can help contribute to that success when your business values and purpose are clearly outlined. This can be handled in a few different ways, but mission statements and about pages are two of the most effective.
Including a tagline or mission statement that clearly outlines the purpose of your business can help visitors understand what they will get if they work with you. Making this a prominent component of landing pages on your website will ensure that potential clients will see it, regardless of what page they visit.
Adding a well-developed About page on your website can also more clearly outline your purpose. This section can tell the story of how your business started, highlight those in leadership positions, and give visitors a glimpse into why your business was started. Using simple, straightforward writing is also an important aspect of sharing information on your website.
Include Copy That Is Easy to Scan
One of the best ways to make your website clear and concise is by making the information easy to digest. When potential clients visit your website, they are more likely to click away if they cannot get the information they are looking for quickly. Make sure that the copy on your website has clear, concise language and is easy to scan. Writing short paragraphs, using bulleted lists, and including headings and subheadings are all methods to create easily scannable copy.
Kind Meds is a great example of a clear, concise website. They are a cannabis dispensary in Arizona that sells recreational and medicinal cannabis products. Their website homepage includes small paragraphs, simple language, and a clear statement of their purpose. Best of all, their brand’s purpose is clearly stated in small blurbs easily scannable by the human eye.
Make Your Site Easy to Navigate
Simple navigation is a major aspect of a successful website design. You want to ensure that visitors stay on your website once they arrive instead of feeling like they have to hunt for information, getting frustrated, and clicking away. If users are unable to navigate to the landing pages they need from your homepage, they will move on and find a different business to work with. Including a simple navigation structure and opportunities for interaction can help make your website easier to navigate.
Clean Page Layout
Creating a website that is clean and not visually cluttered can help make it easier for users to find the navigation options they need. This may include having a simple color palette, incorporating straight lines throughout each page, and having different sections of the website clearly defined. Clearly labeling each area of your website with headings and subheadings can also make navigation easier because potential clients can find what they are looking for quickly.
Simple Navigation Menu
One of the best assets you can have when creating a website that is easy to navigate is a simple, functional navigation menu. When all the information available on your website is in one place, it is more accessible to those who visit the site.
Some tips for creating a simple navigation menu include:
Only include 5-10 options
Use simple titles for each page
Make sure the menu is consistent throughout every page
Keep menu options on a clear background so they are easy to find
Emphasize the page a user is on by underlining or bolding the menu page
The navigation menu of your website can be incorporated into the overall design by coordinating the colors and shape of the menu with the rest of your brand. When visitors are able to find the information they need in a central spot on your webpage, they will spend more time on your website and get to know your business better.
Interactive Areas
When users are navigating your website, you can keep them engaged and give them quick access to information with interactive sections of your website. For example, if you sell a product, you may consider making the photos of each product interactive.
The product photo may be the primary image, but when a customer hovers over the photo, it will flip and provide more information about materials, sizing, and cost. For businesses that offer a service, there may be color blocks that name each service offered. When a visitor hovers over the block, it will reveal more information about the details of that service so that the information is more easily accessible.
Maryland Recovery is an addiction recovery center located in Bel Air, MD, that provides multiple treatment options for patients recovering from drug and alcohol addiction. Their website is an example of one that is easy for users to navigate. The layout of each page is simple, cohesive, and uses straight lines to differentiate between information.
They also only include six options in their navigation menu, which is in the same location on each page. Their homepage also contains an interactive block where visitors can read reviews from previous patients about their experience. Overall, their website is well-designed and created for simple navigation.
Create a Mobile Friendly Site
It is more and more common for people to use their phones when they are searching for services or information online because they may be traveling, have minimal time available, or do not have access to a computer. Whatever the reason, more than half of all internet users will find your business through a mobile device. This means that it is essential to create a website that is mobile-friendly.
Responsive Web Design
If you are not familiar with how websites are created, then it can be difficult to know where to start when it comes to making your website usable on mobile devices. Screens on mobile devices, like smartphones and tablets, are much smaller than a standard computer screen, so your website will need to be structured in a way that ensures it can be easily read and navigated on any device. The type of design that you will need to employ is called responsive design.
Responsive design uses a stacking method to guarantee that the different sections of a website can be read and navigated well when they are seen on a mobile device. Making sure that the design works for your website may take some trial and error.
Responsive design elements could move the location of things on your website, like text or images, so you will need to view the site on various mobile devices regularly throughout the design process to ensure the final product is cohesive and effective. At Eminent SEO, we provide website design services and ensure that your website is effective and engaging across every device, regardless of the content and purpose of your website.
Be Intentional About Visual Design
The content, purpose, and navigation tools are all essential parts of creating an engaging website, but the way your website looks can also play a key role in drawing in potential clients. For example, when someone is searching for medical services, and they find a website that looks outdated, is overly cluttered, or has bright, distracting colors, they may not trust that business to provide the care they need. By contrast, a sleek, modern website with soothing blues, greens, and whites may evoke more authority and trust. A website that uses intentional images, a cohesive color palette, and is visually striking is more likely to draw in potential clients.
The Psychology of Colors
Colors are an important part of any design, whether you are making a website or decorating a home. They can create a certain atmosphere, make a brand seem trustworthy and well put together, or be overwhelming and clash. Understanding the psychology behind various color choices can give you a clearer idea of how you want your website design to look.
Creating a Color Palette
Website users will likely notice the colors on your website before they read the information that you have available. The color palette that you build your branding around, including your website design, can have a major impact on users’ first impressions.
There are several types of color palettes that you can choose from.
Monochromatic Color Palettes
Monochromatic color palettes use three shades of the same color. This color palette is very simple and can be easily utilized in different projects like printed marketing materials and social media.
Triadic Color Palettes
Triadic color palettes include three colors, most often chosen by placing an equilateral triangle on a color wheel. This is most effective when one of the three colors is the primary, and the others are used as accents. One familiar example of this color palette is the Burger King logo, which uses yellow, blue, and red. However, it’s interesting to note that they recently rebranded and went back to their original look and feel after 20 years of using the yellow, blue, and red version.
Tetradic Color Palettes
Tetradic color palettes are similar to triadic, but they incorporate four colors that are spaced equally around a 12-color wheel. Again, if you choose this type of color palette, it is often most effective to make one color the primary and then create accents with the other colors.
Analogous Color Palettes
Analogous color palettes are very simple and require you to choose three colors that sit side by side on a color wheel. Since the colors are close to one another on a color wheel, then they are likely to work well together in designs. The BP logo, which includes yellow, yellow-green, and green, utilizes an analogous color palette.
Complementary Color Palettes
Complementary color palettes utilize two main colors that are directly opposite of each on a color wheel. These combinations are very simple and popular, with some of the most common being the red and green of Christmas or the orange and blue of The Chicago Bears football team.
Another thing to consider when you are selecting a color palette for your brand and your website is how the colors may impact the emotions of visitors. Every color can evoke different emotions in the people who view them, like red being associated with passion or energy and yellow being considered innovative and joyful. Once you understand the psychology of colors, you can use that knowledge to ensure that your website has the feel that you want.
Images With a Purpose
The images you include on your website can either help or distract from your overall goal. For example, if you are creating a website to sell art that you create, then you want to be sure that the photos you include of each product are high quality.
This will make sure that people who visit your website have a clear idea of what you offer and will know what they are receiving if they purchase from you. By contrast, outsized, poor-quality, or irrelevant photos will only serve to distract from the message you want your page to send. Brandon Scott, a professional acrobat, includes high-quality photos of his performances on his website so potential clients can see his skills.
Make It Quick
Capturing and keeping the attention of visitors is essential to the success of your website. You may have utilized the most important elements of a website design when you were creating your site, but that does not matter if your site does not load quickly. In this era of high-speed internet, users expect nearly instant results, and a slow website will drive users away. In fact, over half of them will leave if your page takes longer than three seconds to load.
Some of the most effective ways to accomplish this are optimizing the size of your images, compressing files so they do not slow down the functionality of your site, and addressing your website’s coding to avoid unnecessary delays.
Contact Eminent SEO for Custom Branding and Website Design
Is your website snazzy, snappy, and user-friendly, or outdated, bloated, and difficult to navigate? Using these principles of good web design can drive traffic to your website, increase your engagement, and boost your conversions. Take a look at our Eminent SEO design portfolio for more ideas and demonstrations. And, contact us when you’re ready to discuss high quality website design services.
CEO, Business Consultant, Researcher and Marketing Strategist
Jenny Weatherall is the co-owner and CEO of Eminent SEO, a design and marketing agency founded in 2009. She has worked in the industry since 2005, when she fell in love with digital marketing… and her now husband and partner, Chris. Together they have 6 children and 3 granddaughters.
Jenny has a passion for learning and sharing what she learns. She has researched, written and published hundreds of articles on a wide variety of topics, including: SEO, design, marketing, ethics, business management, sustainability, inclusion, behavioral health, wellness and work-life balance.