Why website design matters more than you think
You might be wondering.. why does website design matter? Do you even need it? What are the benefits of having a website? Fair questions. The short answer is - it matters A LOT and yes you need it. For the long answer, keep reading.
Let’s get into the four main reasons why website design matters and what are the benefits of having a website. But don’t just take my word for it, I also provide some helpful prompts to consider from your own perspective.
It’s not a requirement
First things first, a website is not a requirement. Yet, everyone who’s serious about their strategic goals (business or personal) has one and there’s a very good reason for that.
Let’s face the facts, there are businesses out there that are functioning completely without a website. These typically are businesses that focus solely on their physical location or have chosen for a social media-only presence. Limiting your reach to only the physical location of your business has many drawbacks starting from limited discoverability, difficulty showcasing value or lack of information to even doubts about legitimacy. A social media presence alone is also not advisable as all your content lives on a platform that you can’t control. If the platform stops working or changes the algorithm in an unfavorable way, it’s game over. So yes it is possible to operate without a website but it’s definitely not advisable or desirable. Both these types of businesses would greatly benefit from having a professionally-designed website.
A website is your most powerful tool for achieving your strategic goals and thriving. So my question to you is this: would you rather function at the minimum level or see your business flourish and exceed your own expectations? Right, the answer seems obvious. A professionally designed website will help get you there.
Let me paint you a picture
The best way I can illustrate the importance of a professionally designed website is by taking you on a little journey. Let’s say you want to buy a product. What's the first thing you're gonna do? Yep, grab your phone and Google it. You spend a little time searching and browsing but you can't seem to find what you’re looking for... annoying. You keep pushing and finally spot a website that sells what you’re looking for. YES, you click the link and get all excited only to find that the website doesn't work on your phone. The page looks like it is short-circuited, all text and images got thrown in one corner on top of each other and you can’t make sense of it. By some miracle you're determined enough to go to their desktop site. It opens slowly but it works, what a relief. You soon start to realize that something is off, you can’t quite put your finger on it but there seems to be something bothering you about the website, it's all a bit confusing and distracting. The images are poor quality and you can't seem to find the information that you’re looking for. There's a button which is not working. You spot some other small errors. You get the idea, yikes, this isn’t what you’re looking for.
This is an extreme example and we're also assuming that you didn't abandon this website after a few seconds of this mess. But we all know that there are versions of such websites out there even today. Now let me ask you this - if any ONE of these issues would come up on a website you’re visiting, how would that influence your experience? How would you perceive the business, would you think of them as professional? Would you trust them with your money? Would you invest time and struggle to make it work or would you leave like any of us would? On average, website visitors lose interest in only a few seconds after something goes wrong which results in them leaving. That’s the consequence of a poorly designed website.
OK so now we know on an instinctive level why website design matters but let's talk about the details.
1. Making a first impression
What's the first thing you do when you look up a product/service or when you want to find out more information about a business? You look up their website, YES! So your website gives visitors a first impression. In a world of short attention spans and instant access to information at our fingertips, first impressions matter more than anything. You only have one shot at making a first impression and starting to build trust with your audience. Once you've messed it up it's a lot harder to get it back so you need to make sure that the first impression is nothing short of amazing.
From a business perspective you can think of it as the face of your business, same as a physical location would be. Your website represents your business the same way that a building & location, interior design, staff friendliness and all other client experience elements would in a physical setting.
From a personal perspective, your website is your place to show your personality and achieve your goals the same way you would if you were interacting with people in real life. Let’s say you’re a health coach. Then your website should represent you the same way you coach someone in real life - just as friendly, supportive and motivating.
“75% of people base credibility on your website”
Your website is also your representation, it forms visitor perception about you and attracts and directly speaks to your desired audience in an online space. 75% of people base credibility on your website (source) - that’s right ¾ of all people judge you by your website which means that if your website is not up to par then it doesn’t matter how great your other marketing channels are.
Put it in action: What kind of a first impression does your website give? How do you want to be represented online, how do you want to come across as? E.g. professional, informal, friendly, informative, assertive, motivating etc. Now think about your website, would a visitor landing on your website perceive you the way you want to be perceived?
2. Showcasing legitimacy and credibility
Showcasing legitimacy and credibility goes a long way for both personal and business websites in dictating your success.
Having an expertly designed website for your business is the best way to showcase legitimacy, which is very important when starting out or when a potential client is looking up your business. Think about it this way, would you rather give your credit card details to a business whose website (A) looks like the one we described in the example above or (B) is expertly designed?
Showcasing legitimacy, credibility and seriousness is also important for non-business websites. For weddings, having a stunning and professionally-designed wedding website creates a real presence and an anchoring point online as an official source for all the information for your guests. For other types of personal websites, think this way- who seems more knowledgeable about cooking, (A) someone who cooks amazing dinners or (B) someone who cooks amazing dinners and runs their own personal cooking blog which attracts thousands of readers?
Put it in action: What is your value proposition? Are you showcasing your legitimacy and credibility? Are you positioning yourself as the expert in your field?
3. Housing your brand
You can't make a website without first having a brand identity. At the same time, you can’t build a reputable brand without a professionally designed website. In other words, branding and website design go hand-in-hand as all elements of a brand identity are brought to life on your website.
Websites aren’t meant to be just pretty and you should be placing your strategic goals at the forefront of your website design. However, the visual appearance of your website matters SO MUCH. It takes less than a second (source) for website visitors to form a design opinion whether they like your website or not. So getting your branding right is key for building a beautiful and successful website.
It takes less than a second for website visitors to form a design opinion whether they like your website or not.
Put it in action: Grab our free Website & branding checklist to find out what are key elements of a strong and strategic brand identity. The checklist answers the questions - How to ensure your brand identity & website tick all the boxes? What are the key functional and strategic requirements of a well-designed brand identity? Claim your free website & branding checklist now!
4. Saving you time
Having a website also serves a very functional need - it saves your precious time.
Imagine for a second that you run a business that doesn’t have a website. You have to give all the information that your website holds by phone or through other decentralized means. Every new person you interact with, every new potential client needs information from you. You would have to explain to them every time what you're offering, what your pricing is and all the other relevant details they need to know. Or imagine having to book appointments or schedule classes and track all event registrations on your own. Imagine how much harder your life would be without the option of having a website.
The same is true for non-business websites, especially for wedding website design. A wedding website ensures that you no longer have to tell everyone 50 times when the wedding takes place, what the agenda is, where’s the venue, how to get there, how or where to book accommodation and on and on. You also don’t have to individually deliver RSVPs only to chase and remind people that you need their response and then come up with a system to keep track of everyone’s dietary wishes and song requests. This can all be done centrally and digitally, with a professionally designed wedding website that showcases all of this information and collects RSVPs saving you a massive headache and a lot of time.
Put it in action: How much time are you spending on repetitive tasks or requests? Is there a way to optimize it, add information to a website, digitalize, add automation? How much time could you save as a result of having a professionally designed website?
FREE RESOURCE
WEBSITE DESIGN & BRANDING CHECKLIST
In case you’re wondering… What are key elements of a strategic website design & branding? How to ensure your website & brand identity tick all the boxes? Does your current website & branding (still) suit your needs?
Making the investment
As you see there’s many benefits to having a website so I wanted to discuss the investment it takes to hire a website designer. While it doesn't directly relate to why website design matters in general, it relates to why website design will matter to you.
Let's address the elephant in the room - having your website designed by a website designer is a significant investment. And here’s why it should be. Like all professional services, website design takes a lot of effort, thought, expertise and industry knowledge. Having a website designer help you on your journey will save you a lot of time and headaches, significantly increase your overall experience and result in a much more successful website than if you were trying to wing it and DIY.
Another reason why website design services require a substantial investment is because you need to look at it as a long term investment that is value-based. A website is a long-term investment and while you might need to tweak and freshen up your website every now and then it's an investment you make for many years to come. Website design fees are value-based as you pay for the value that you get out of your website. As you know, a website is your most powerful tool for showing up online the right way and for speaking to your target audience. With this in mind, the value of your website is immeasurable and you will earn back the investment many times over. All things considered, the investment you make on website design will generate a much bigger return on investment in the long-term.
Now that we have walked through all the reasons why website design is so important for both business and personal reasons I hope these tips will be helpful for you on your website design journey. I'm so excited to see how you apply these in practice! And if you haven’t already grabbed your copy of the Website Design & Branding Checklist, get it now - it’s free!
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I am passionate about working with businesses and weddings and I understand how overwhelming and stressful thinking about your design needs can be. We live in a world of information overload, busy days and an incredibly high bar for visual standards where first impressions matter more than anything. The stakes are high and it’s tough doing it on your own. We strive to be a trusted partner in your journey offering all-in-one packages or fully custom designs that truly fit your needs, free up your valuable time and help bring your vision to life!
You can always reach out to us and ask any questions about your design needs. Or if you're ready to jump in and turn your vision into a reality with our help then we’ll be more than happy to help! Learn more about our services now.