The Importance of Great Website Design

Ah, Google! Where would we be without you? The reliable, unassuming internet search engine has served us well for almost a quarter of a century, and is now used by an incredible 52% of the world's population.

Somewhere amongst those four billion-plus regular Google users are your future customers, so it stands to reason that your brand needs to stand head and shoulders above millions of others in a crowded marketplace, which begs the question, how on earth can this be achieved?

The importance of good website design cannot be overstated; it's not by accident that the best businesses have the best websites. Check out the site of almost any high-performing business - large or small - and you will find the website design to be eye catching, slick, pleasing to use and aimed squarely at its target audience.

It's important to bear in mind that your website is an extention of your business; it showcases your brand and can be accessed by any one of billions of potential customers around the world, so it stands to reason that the website design needs to be top notch, not just to attract customers in the first place, but to keep them coming back again and again.

As the old adage goes, “A good reputation is hard to earn and easy to lose”. And so it is with website design.

It can help to think of a website as a shop front. Picture two shops standing side by side. The first shop has dirty, cracked windows, the stock on display is piled up in an untidy, haphazard fashion. The signage is poor, with a couple of missing letters adding to the general feel of neglect. The neighbouring store, however, provides a stark contrast, with its products beautifully displayed behind gleaming glass; the company name proudly emblazoned above the door....which one would you be drawn to?

It's the same with websites – if a site gives a poor first impression, it's unlikely to draw in customers, and any visitors that do arrive at your website won't linger for long – why would they waste their precious time wading through a subpar website when a better designed, more professional one is just a click away?

To make that good first impression, your website design should showcase the goods or services you have to offer, and should be easily negotiated by the customer. An eye-catching design also goes a long way towards providing that professional look.

There are three tenets to good website design, and they should be borne in mind when designing a site intended to appeal strongly to the customer. These are:

• 1) Simplicity
• 2) Positivity
• 3) Appeal

Simplicity - Your site should be simple to negotiate and should clearly highlight what your brand is all about, right from the very first page. It should endeavour to answer all the customer's questions before he thinks to ask them, and it should be clearly understandable to any visitor.

Positivity - Your website's design should showcase your brand or product in a positive way. Your customers should find any visit to your site to be a positive, even fun experience which they would like to repeat, and which they would recommend to others. Your properly-showcased brand should be memorable due to its eye catching design and the careful attention to detail, and not for any negative reasons.

Appeal - This is your chance to shine, to really sell what it is you are offering. Get the design right, and you will be making the most of this chance to reach out to your audience!

The three tenets, when utilised in a careful fashion, have the power to create an amazing, successful website which would be the envy of any business. Each site begins with the home page, so of course this needs to be designed with care, to really draw in the audience and to interest them in your product.

Here at Swifsco, we have the knowledge and expertise to create a memorable, professional website that your customers will love, and that you can be proud of. Give us a go, you won't be disappointed.