Your brand image is more important than ever. How you look can determine how you are perceived and how seriously people will take you. Of course, the substance is essential but style should not be forgotten at all. It is an important feature to establish your marketing presence. Think about the websites you visit most, what about them draws you back for more. For most of us, the answer is a sleek, clean, readable, and engaging web design. This is why you can’t skimp on your website in lieu of other important factors. You need to take a holistic approach. This is why we’ve constructed this helpful guide on how and why to make the most out of your website and designing it to draw in the most eyeballs.
Making Your First Impressions
Making your first impression is key. It is said that people make their first impression of you in the first 60 seconds of meeting you. So what do we do to make them? Dress smart, look presentable, carry yourself with confidence, look like you know what you’re doing. Just as it applies to people, so too does it apply to your website. When people first visit your website they will judge your business in the first few seconds and so it is key you make a positive impression or they will immediately find somewhere else to get what they need. Think about all the times you’ve been browsing the web and you come across a website with poor graphics, mismatching fonts, a confusing layout, and useless dead-end links. This is an extreme example but how often have you clicked off websites like that? Not only this but it will garner a negative opinion of your website and falsely get the impression that you do not provide good service even if technically your website is very good. This damages your reputation and leads others to avoid your site, dropping you further and further down the search engine results.
Perception is vital in this regard and if you want people to remain on your page and learn more about your business then good web design is crucial.
Search Engine Optimization
In the previous point, we mentioned how web design will affect your position on search engine results. Here we will delve deeper into what Search engine optimization is and web design will aid it. Search engine optimization or SEO is the process of increasing the visibility of your site in search engines such as Google and Yahoo! by improving certain features and characteristics of your site such as Tags and good meta descriptions, etc. One of the best influences on good SEO is web design elements. This cannot be understated. If the fundamentals of your SEO are not up to the task you will be fighting an uphill battle for eyeballs from the start. Thus the content you publish and how you publish it will directly affect your SEO. Many of the specifics of web design are quite specific and require pre-established knowledge in order to be SEO friendly. This is why we advise it is best to work with a web design agency that can professionally optimize your website for the best results.
Color, Layout, and Font
Your brand image is predicated on your design. Clear, attractive, and distinct images draw in customers and set the tone for your business. These design choices can be simple but highly effective. They include your website’s color choice, the fonts you use, images, and your layout. All these elements form your brand identity and help customers build a clear and distinct image of you. Think about Apple and its design. We bet you can’t picture their website in your head as clear as day. Even something simple like Google’s search engine, these images burn into customers’ brains and they call upon them when they think about who to turn to.
First, let’s start with color. It is likely that you have a logo and distinct brand colors. Apple has silver and white, Mcdonald’s has red and yellow, Coke has deep red, black, and white. Now visit their websites, you’ll see that their website’s color schemes align with these brand colors. This is the approach you should use on your own website. Simplicity is key, check out a color scheme guide to figure out what colors go together and what attracts the eyes. There are a lot of studies that detail how certain colors can elicit certain reactions in people. For example, blue is often associated with trust whereas neutral colors such as black and white can denote luxury and quality. What emotions you want to evoke in your customers is all down to the colors you choose so do not skimp on it.
Next, we’ll look at the importance of layout. Web design trends are changing all the time and part of this are certain layout trends. However, one constant across web design is simplicity. Sleek and clean designs draw your audience in and help them avoid confusion and clutter. Design your layout based on your user’s preferences. How many drop-down menus will they need? How many menu options? Do you need to link your social media links on your homepage? This greatly affects usability. Chaotic and confusing designs make it difficult to navigate and frustrate users. Keep everything well-sized and visible.
Finally, let’s discuss fonts and images. It goes without saying you don’t should be clear and easy to read in a color that stands out from and contrasts with your background color to make it as visible as possible. However also consider your audience, are you trying to attract a younger fun audience, then perhaps choose a more stylish font. It is you’re instead going for something more informative than picking something simple and professional. Your font and the images you choose should reflect your brand’s personality.
Final Thoughts
Hopefully, you’ve found this useful and given you a good idea of the importance of good web design. Web design doesn’t have to be hard or complicated, effectiveness and simplicity are key and should not be forgotten!
