Web design is crucial for building a company’s online presence and sharing their information with the world. There are a lot of benefits that come with a great website from Portland web design, but one of the biggest benefits is increased web traffic that can lead to more business. If you find yourself asking, “Can poor web design lead to loss of sales?”, the answer is a definite yes. Here are five ways web design can make or break a business’s sales.
How Does Poor Website Design Affect Your Business?
First, let’s talk about how poor website design could hurt your business.
Decreased Online Presence
Modern customers do the majority of their research and shopping online. If they need a new service provider or are looking for a new product or business, they start online. But a poorly designed website lowers a company’s web presence and can turn away potential customers. It doesn’t matter if the company has a great product or amazing service, customers will take their business elsewhere if they can’t find your company. With a poorly designed website, they might not even know that you exist. A strong online presence plays a huge factor in attracting customers, so not investing resources into building a great website and overall presence leads to a huge missed opportunity in sales.
Lack of Credibility
In most cases, your website acts as a customer’s first impression of the company. Studies have found that the majority of customers judge a company’s credibility based on their website. If it looks professional and has current and relevant information, they are more likely to trust the company and want to do business with you. But if the design is clunky and unprofessional, it can be a major turnoff and make customers think you don’t take your business seriously. Customers don’t want to do business with a company they can’t trust, which means a poorly designed website can lead to a serious loss in sales.
Slow Response Time
A poorly designed website can be outdated and take a long time to load. Customers don’t want to wait for a slow website, which means they’ll likely click away and go somewhere else. A poorly designed website can also make it difficult for potential customers to contact the company with questions. Customers want information quickly, so having to wait for a slow response time can make them frustrated and give them a bad impression of the business.
Lowers Search Engine Rankings
Most customers start with a basic Google search to find the type of company they’re looking for and then work their way down the results. If your business isn’t in the first few results or at least on the first page, it’s very unlikely customers will find your site. Customers tend to view companies with higher search results as more credible. A large part of your SEO comes from the traffic and quality of your website. If you want your business to show up at the top of search results, you need an updated website with relevant content and great design. Websites that drive sales are designed with SEO in mind.
Doesn’t Inspire Action
The ultimate goal of any business’s website is to get customers to do something—ideally, to buy a product or sign up for a service. But a poorly designed website doesn’t include a call to action, which means customers simply click through the site and then move on to a company that makes them actually want to purchase. A website with a great design makes visitors want to connect with the brand and to become customers, and it makes it easy for them to do that. When a potential customer comes to a website that doesn’t inspire action, it means the loss of a sale and the customer moving on to the competition.
How Does Good Website Design Affect Your Business?
As you’ve already seen, poor website design can have a significant negative impact. But what could a well-designed website do for your business? Here are a few benefits:
Helps Promote Your brand
Having a website that is well-designed is an excellent platform to give people a positive impression of your brand. Excellent design takes your brand and ensures that it is implemented in a cohesive way throughout your website. It helps make who you are as a business clear to users visiting your website and leaves a positive lasting impression in their minds.
Provides Great User Experience
A website that is designed well is not only beautiful but is also functional. Great design ensures that your website is easy for your users to navigate, the text is easy to read, and the images are clear. Imagine how much more your website will do for you if your users are able to get on and find the answers to their questions as well as find the services or products they need. Users who enjoy their experience on your website are far more likely to visit again (and even use your services) than those who struggled to navigate your site.
Fewer Bounces and Higher Conversion Rates
Did you know that a good website could mean lower bounce rates? Having a high bounce rate means that people quickly navigate away from your website after seeing only one page. A professionally designed website is more likely to keep traffic on your website longer. In addition to users visiting more than one page on your website and spending more time there, great design could also mean higher conversion rates. With a website that is clear and looks trustworthy and credible, users are more likely to follow through on your calls to action.
Looks and Functions Well on All Devices
Today, more than half of the people accessing the internet are using mobile devices. Any website designer will tell you that it is essential to have a website that looks great and functions well on mobile. Having a responsive design that will fit to any screen will increase your chances of getting sales from those who access your site on the go as well as those using their computers.
Conclusion:
Great web design can drive sales, while poor web design can lead to a loss of sales. Investing time and resources in creating a great website that attracts potential customers can lead to big payoffs for your business.
Interested in learning what Cyphon Design can do for your website? Contact us with your questions today.
