How Does Website Design Affect Business Success?

Most business owners aren’t giving a lot of thought to their business website, especially if they are already engaging in some form or digital marketing, be that content marketing, SEO integration, social media marketing, or a combination. Indeed, business owners are focused on running their businesses, not critiquing their websites’ layouts.

But website design is a crucial part of online marketing success, and failing to invest in smart design could have ramifications for a business, even going so far as to deter customers. Consider the following about how website design can affect business success and the full impact of web design on your company’s digital marketing efforts–

Poor Website Design Can Lead to User Distrust

If you think that your web design is an isolated part of your digital marketing efforts, think again – data shows that poor website design can lead to user distrust. To be sure, in one study, which was designed to establish the different elements of digital marketing that influence trust amongst users online, a whopping 94 percent of users said that the reason that they mistrusted a website was a result of design elements; only six percent referenced specific content. (You can read the full study online.) This means that when it comes to customer mistrust, design elements may play a more significant role than does the rest of your website content. Have a great blog? It may not matter if users cannot comfortably navigate your site.

According to an article published in Forbes that reports on the study cited above, some of the elements that study participants specifically pointed to that led to user mistrust included:

• Overly-busy and complicated layouts;
• Advertisements, especially pop-ups;
• Print that was too small to easily read;
• Web design that was too simple, lacked color, or could be described as “boring”; and
• Slow load times – this is a real killer, as studies show that users will leave websites if they have to wait too long for pages to load.

Web Design Can Be a Powerful Tool

The above study shouldn’t leave you thinking that content and other digital marketing efforts outside of website design don’t matter; they do, but they should be skillfully integrated into a well-designed website. Intelligent web design can be a powerful tool and can benefit your business–and bolster business success–by establishing you as an authority from the start. When your website loads quickly, is attractive and professional-looking, and functions as intended (i.e. all of your hyperlinks work, the site is usable, etc.), you’ll immediately establish yourself as more of an authority in your industry by asserting that you don’t stand for mediocre content or design.

What’s more, great web design allows users to navigate your website, easily find what they’re looking for, and check out in a matter of seconds.

Invest in Web Design Today

Is your website outdated and no longer relevant for the 2019 user? If so, our digital marketing and website design team at NUVEW Web Solutions can help. To learn more about our web design process, please reach out to us online or by calling us at 219-323-3343.