Whether you are creating an entirely new website or making changes to your current site, you may wonder the importance of website design and how large of an impact it can make on your business. Think of your website as the heart and foundation of your online presence. As it is the focal point, it needs to give your viewers a good experience and provide a seamless way for them to take action on your site. A seamless website design can give your digital marketing a significant boost and give you the opportunity to convert viewers to customers.
According to HubSpot, 55% of people spend about 15 seconds or fewer on a website. With more than half of people bouncing off of a site in 15 seconds, it's important to grab your viewer's attention quickly. Knowing that you have a 15-second window to grab people's attention, you need to take steps to create an engaging experience and provide them with valuable information. As more people are looking to the web for products and services, a website is crucial to make an impact in your respective industry. Below, we break down a few of the top reasons why website design is vital in digital marketing.
SEO, search engine optimization, is a method that helps you increase visibility on Google and other search engines. Search engine optimization is becoming increasingly important in the digital marketing landscape, as more people are turning to Google to research different products and services. Your website plays a significant role in your success on the search engine result pages, SERPs. When your site has high-quality content, responsive load time, seamless design, and other high-ranking elements, you have a higher chance of Google recognizing you as a credible source.
Many web design elements and practices influence how you publish content on your website, which affects how search engine spiders crawl and index your website. There are two aspects of SEO, on-page SEO and off-page SEO. On-page SEO plays a specific role in the success of your website design. It is crucial to set your on-page SEO up correctly so you can start with a strong foundation. High-quality on-page SEO can significantly improve your chances of appearing on the first few pages of Google.
Along with on-page SEO, web design elements can directly affect SEO as well. A website needs to be responsive, easy to navigate, have an eye-catching call to action, and more. Web design can be challenging to understand if you're not familiar with how it works or how it can impact your business. Still, by taking small steps to improve your design, you can increase your visibility online.
Your website sets the first impression of your company or your brand, so it's essential to create a perfect experience for anyone who visits it for information or resources. As more than half of people make a quick judgment in less than 15 seconds, you need to have a website design to capture their attention quickly. By having high-quality content, easy-to-follow navigation, valuable information, and other positive components on your website, your viewers are more likely to stay and convert. Without a good viewing experience, people will often "bounce" and leave your website without taking any further actions. Website design is crucial because it impacts how your audience perceives your brand or business. Your website will either prompt them to stay and engage with you or motivate them to leave the site and potentially look to one of your competitors.
One of the main things to consider in your website design and digital marketing plan is your competitors. Your competitors are also attempting to use SEO and marketing strategies to appear on the top spots on Google. It's important to do your research on your competitors to understand what you also need to do regarding your website design and marketing. As your competitors are also utilizing seamless website design, you need to stay ahead of the curve to compete in your respective industry.
If you want to remain in competition with them, it's important to use website and SEO best practices. You want your website to not only be on par with the competition but above them. If your website is outdated, missing information about your services or products, lacking a compelling call to action, unresponsive, that can lead your viewers to your competitor. You always want to consider your competitors to take the proper steps when it comes to website design.