Content marketing is currently one of the most successful marketing strategies. It will help if you have a robust online marketing plan to make your marketing successful. And, believe it or not, your website design plays a significant role.
But how web design impacts content marketing? Well, You must be careful when developing your website or hiring a web design agency. Web design has an impact on various parts of your online business visibility.
A company's choice of design affects how a potential customer views them. The first impression of a brand depends upon various factors, including style and color selection.
Thus, it means that poor design, or a lack of structure, may cause visitors to look for alternative firms. As a result, your company's web design poorly affects various elements, especially content marketing.
Let us talk in detail how web design impacts content marketing today.
What is Content Marketing?
Content marketing is the process of producing valuable content that indirectly promotes a brand. It sparks readers' interest by offering pertinent details related to the brand. Using content marketing to raise brand exposure and engagement is common practice.
Also, it draws in customers or users, produces sales leads, or encourages sales and revenue. Content marketing is one of the most crucial components of search engine optimization (SEO), and as you SEO marketing strategy allows you to rank higher in search results.
How Web Design Impacts Content Marketing
For brands, appearance is everything. The consumer is still at the center of everything in modern marketing. New tools and technology automate operations for efficiency or enhance analytics and data collection.
Still, one can never deny the importance of web design in content marketing. Here are five ways that web design affects the success of content marketing.
Your Website is the Face of your Business
A website is a digital business card, only more versatile. It is among the best platforms for increasing the consumer base. The public face of your business is your website.
When potential consumers search for you or your company on Google, they land on your website. Building a solid and attractive website that offers the appropriate information and can persuade visitors to become clients is essential.
Looks are important. Your content and brand will be worth less on a website that doesn't appear friendly. Even if the content is excellent, people won't feel persuaded to stay and read it if it looks unpleasant.
Users are more selective about the information they read today due to the dozens of options available. They'll use the expression, "judge the book by its cover." They'll form their first impression based on how you offer your content. This is how web design impacts content marketing.
Builds Trust and Credibility
Credibility is one thing you'll need to convert more website visitors. Customers can tell you are secure and reliable if you have credibility. Without it, it is hard to create more leads, sell more goods, or draw more visitors.
The legitimacy of a website is a problem for almost all businesses. Visitors to websites are suspicious right away. Unknown people are dangerous. It would be best to persuade website visitors before they are willing to place a wager on your company.
Visitors to your website are trying to find a cause to depart. In actuality, the majority of users exit online pages within 15 seconds. Websites with strong value propositions will keep visitors' attention for longer.
Here are a few pointers to assist you in increasing the trust and trustworthiness of your website's users.
Greet visitors with a well-designed website.
Create trust by utilizing endorsements.
Display your knowledge with quality articles.
Make sure the website prominently displays your contact details.
You should use original videos and photographs on your website.
Put your credentials and affiliations with industry organizations on display.
Enhance Readability and Engagement
Numerous factors affect readability. The font, spacing, colors, and pictures on a page will all affect how simple it is for users to read. High conversion rates are more likely to be the outcome of website readability.
Visitors won't stay on a web page they don't understand or find valuable for too long. They want to locate the information or data they require as soon as feasible. Hence, it's crucial to have concise content and a design that makes it simple for readers to understand.
Everything on a website, including blog entries, service pages, landing pages, and price pages, must be readable. It will help if you use an approachable manner to write all material on your website. This explains how web design impacts content marketing.
Utilizing online tools like Hemingway Editor is one method of evaluating readability. This tool assesses your content's reading level based on the grade level. Additionally, it offers advice on how to make your text more readable.
Essential Tips to Increase Website Readability and Engagement
To improve your reading experience, consider the following suggestions for web design:
Make your fonts large. Online readers do best with larger fonts, ideally between 16 and 18 points.
Apply the correct line height. Ensure the line height is 100% of the chosen font size.
Think about the color contrast deeply. A wise color scheme displays text well to readers.
Make content that users can scan at first sight. Be mindful of the sentence length, and utilize headings and bullet points whenever possible.
Boosts Conversion
Having a beautiful website is only one aspect of web design. It also involves employing the appropriate visual or written elements to persuade visitors to take action. Content marketing draws users to a website.
Adding visual components like photos, animations, videos, GIFs, and forms boosts user interaction with the pages. You can also add optical elements like movies, charts, and infographics, to make the material more attractive for your readers.
Check if the web design is adjusted to accommodate the addition of a new block after an update. Keep the design from moving or shifting while the element loads.
Provides a Great User Experience
The best aspect of any website is, without a doubt, its usability. After all, users and visitors are the reason for the website's existence. There is nothing more to ask for if the UI is intuitive for them.
Consequently, there are a few things that the designer should consider:
The website needs sections and categories to accommodate different contents. It will make the website catchy to the public.
Additionally, the layout should guarantee that the browser is always available at the top. Users, at a glance, get the information they need.
There should be appropriate space in the content. The usage of white space improves the content's legibility. Moreover, it facilitates the audience's ability to interpret and grasp the information presented.
A logical flow of information should also be present.
Enhances Accessibility
Another way how web design impacts content marketing is how it enhances the accessibility for the users.
A person can utilize and browse your website with ease if it has a superb web design. Even the best-crafted information is pointless if your intended audience cannot access or find them. Your visitors can access the pages they need using an intuitive web design instead of using their mental resources.
A corporate website should provide its customers with the information they require promptly. It is a waste of their time to make them browse through pages. They will only spend time browsing relevant stuff. Instead, they'll probably leave and get what they need on a rival website.
These components should be visible on your website:
Menu Bar
Search Bar
Archives Page or Button
About Us Page
Contact Us Page
Consider how the user will feel. Will the new users be able to find their way to the website? Do they get desired information for what they land on a random page? Do they have any directional breadcrumbs on your website?
Consider novel approaches to the layout and style of your website. It will help you to access the interests of your intended audience. Place yourself on one of them and examine the user interface of your website from their point of view.
Conclusion - How Web Design Impacts Content Marketing
In essence, the importance of content marketing and site designs are the same. Businesses are now embracing internet marketing to a large extent, and it's not the only marketing term you should know. Still, it would be best if you did everything in your capacity to align your marketing with your business goals. . User expectations have increased along with technology and tool development.
Changes to your website's design will significantly impact your content marketing initiatives. A website should be content-friendly and accessible from both desktop and mobile devices.
Web design and content marketing are closely related. You want users to feel at home because they are entering your home. Therefore it's in your best interest to meet and surpass user demands now that you know how web design impacts content marketing.
Why Web Design Matters
One question that we still hear a lot is: why web design matters???
We decided to dig deeper into it and share with you why good website design is crucial for your website.
By now, the majority of the world's particularly business owners are more inclined to the digital world. Your website gives your business a real identity online which is why if you want to flourish your online business, you must have a website. When it comes to having a website, it must be functional and have a good design.
Moreover, the Covid-19 pandemic has introduced the trend of an online approach to everything. People now preferably use the internet for all-purpose. It has increased the competition between websites serving online facilities. So to hit the jackpot, the website should be designed to compel the audience to terminate surfing and get hooked up.
For business and online success, effective website design is the crucial factor as your website design determines sales, profits, and audience/customer growth. A good website design ensures massive turnover and a competitive edge over the rest.
Let us delve into the notion of why web design matters so you understand its significance too.
Importance of Website Design
Digital marketing strategies have introduced several effective and reliable ways for entrepreneurs to get success in the digital universe. Businesses without websites miss out on numerous opportunities and potential customers due to a poorly designed website.
Website design has become the most crucial factor making it substantial to invest in effective web designing. It doesn’t involve rocket science in creating a website: several design options are available that make it a piece of cake if you have complete guidelines on designing a website.
Besides increasing credibility and accessibility, here are some of the reasons why web design matters and why it is important to design a website functionally and effectively.
Serves as First Impression
“You never get a second chance to make a first impression.”- Will Rogers
This quote implies all aspects of life. If the first impression is repelling, it destroys the temptation and intention to get further. A well-designed website creates an appealing first impression, whereas a crappy and outdated website design compels the user to leave the site at once. Now you know a substantial reason behind why web design matters.
Indeed, engaging and explicit content has a massive role to make a website highly ranked on Google Search Engine. But what if the site looks boring, unattractive, and confusing, would you continue to browse by the end of the content? You are likely to leave it and not return to it, right!
Ultimately, an effective website design becomes a prerequisite to ensure the lead traffic to your website. Since the first impression is the primary key factor in how the users perceive your business or brand, it is essential not to underestimate the worth of web design and invest in it without any hesitation.
Boosts Trust and Brand Consistency
Another major reason why web design matters. is that it helps build trust and consistency.
Before making any purchase or getting any services, users/customers go through its complete details and inspect whether the brand is worthwhile investing the time and money for it. If they find any inconvenience in using the website or do not get enough information about your brand, they will leave for the competitor brand.
Boosting Trust and Brand Consistency
Brand consistency and customer trust are other reasons why web design matters. Before making any purchase or getting any services, users/customers go through its complete details and inspect whether the brand is worthwhile investing the time and money for it. If they find any inconvenience in using the website or do not get enough information about your brand, they will leave for the competitor brand.
In the fast-paced world, people are unable to spend time in outlets or stores, so they prefer to browse for products online. As the competition in the digital world has become extensive, it has become mandatory to prioritize web design. Naturally, a professional site with effective website design captivates the user’s attention and wins their confidence.
A good website design must include the following features
Site Organization
Site organization is about how information is placed on each page and how it affects the customer experience. A user visiting your website expects to find complete information about your brand. It is, therefore, your responsibility to provide all the information in a digestible format.
The user becomes overwhelmed with information and leaves the site when it becomes incomprehensible because of a long text page with an unorganized hierarchy. If you section off the content using catchy headings is not only good for SEO, but also makes the user feel comfortable using the website to take the desired action.
Consistent visual hierarchy
Consistent visual hierarchy is another factor why web design matters. It refers to arranging or laying out the elements in a logical way to show the order of their importance. While designing a website, must consider the consistent visual hierarchy of site colors, typography, font size, and imagery, as these features influence the user's perceptions and make them take the desired action.
The uniformity in the order of information without emphasizing certain important aspects will miss conversions as a user will be hard-pressed to find the information they need.
You can utilize the colors and font size to highlight the importance of particular information or section so that it becomes feasible for a user to proceed towards the desired action.
Customer reviews visibly placed
Before buying any product or installing any app, people must go through the reviews given by other users. After finding any positive or valuable reviews, they make up their mind to go ahead. Hence, it is beneficial for boosting the credibility of your brand to place the customer’s reviews visibly and perceptibly while designing a website.
Awards
Getting featured on blogs or magazines or winning awards in the industry is certainly an honor.
While designing a website, you can consider displaying 5-6 awards (from the great authorities) that match your niche to benefit your SEO. Along with SEO, it boosts your self-esteem and users' confidence in your brand and website. Hence, getting accolades too plays a role in why website design matters.
FAQs
FAQs stand for Frequently Asked Questions and are the best way to make your website reliable and convenient for users. It lets you answer the concerns or questions frequently asked by the users about your business or brand.
To make your website more accessible for the users, adding FAQs is necessary. If your user finds the best answers to their queries provided by the FAQs page on your website, it will increase the user's credibility and the chances of the highest SEO scores for your website.
In the case of eCommerce, brand claims such as photography, money back guarantee claims, delivery times, customer reviews, product descriptions, etc.
Ultimately, this stimulates the users to purchase without a second thought.
Helps in Search Engine Optimization
A big reason why web design matters is because it helps with the website’s SEO.
The exact science behind SEO is beyond our ken, but as per the knowledge and guidelines available, the sites that fulfill the essential requirements of SEO can stand out in the competition. Once again, the designing of website plays a crucial role in that.
Internet surfers always prefer to visit the website from top to bottom. Google and all other search engines examine the website design and structure, content authority, and reliability to optimize your website. The code of the site and its compatibility with different devices including Smartphones and tablets also increase the chances of indexing and ranking the website by a search engine. Following the Search Engine Optimization strategies truly ensure conquest over your competitors. An effective website design is always according to these rules.
To understand how to create a good web design layout for your website pages, do go through Google's E-A-T (Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness) model. Try to build an authoritative and trustworthy web design from any expert web design agency to be on the crest of the waves in Google’s world. If you fail to meet the SEO requirements, you would have to jump through hoops to make your website visible on Google and other search engines.
While we are on the topic of getting an expert’s help to design the website, Tom & Co offers all kinds of website design packages. Moreover, we have quite a skilled team of website designers who can create quality websites with effective website design.
Usability and Users Experience
Users will keep returning to your website if they can access all the pages without any difficulty. According to research, consumers visit a site to view, buy products, or contact the brand. Well-designed websites cover both aspects and are extremely user-friendly, which explains why web design matters.
Besides getting information about brands, people also use websites to buy products and services online. However, sometimes customers quit the website right before making a purchase just because the checkout process is too long or complicated to comprehend the instructions.
One of the benefits of website design being attractive and powerful is that it attracts potential customers. Understanding the importance of website design is imperative to increase the sale or recognition of your brand/business. Make sure to add all the vital contact information and details about the website in the main navigation and upper right-hand corner of your site so that the visitors don’t feel clueless and can find the required information easily.
Furthermore, you should create a mobile-friendly website to improve its usability since more and more people prefer to browse through their mobile devices instead of their PC screens.
Good Website Design Means Greater Control of Conversions
The ultimate goal of your website is to convert visitors into customers. Effective Website design will make it feasible for the user to get the desired outcomes of browsing.
If you have an e-store, a customer will likely want to make a purchase. To make that happen conveniently, make it easy for the customer to find the services and the ‘Buy Now’ button. If the user wants to get information about a certain topic, the content provided should be engaging and informative to the user.
When all the website elements are placed in an unordered way, it creates a mess and users can’t figure out what your services are all about. But in a quality website, it becomes a five-finger exercise for the customer to find what they were looking for. This is a huge reason why web design matters.
Now that we have covered the importance of web design, let us discuss the elements of a good website design.
Elements of good web design
By now, you must have acknowledged the importance of website design after knowing its benefits in content marketing. A lot of elements contribute to designing a unique and quality website. Here we have picked out a few salient components that are most effective in designing a website and also play a crucial role in the importance of website design. These elements can be helpful for business owners who are wondering about redesigning their old websites.
Let’s dig into some of the primary elements of good web design.
Website Layout
Website Layout
A sturdy and well-built foundation ensures a secure and worthwhile future for anything. As it is rightly said that without a strong foundation, you’ll have trouble creating anything of value or worth. To ensure triumph over the competitors in the digital world, you need to lay a strong and indomitable foundation for your website.
In designing of a website, the layout is its foundation. When discussing why web design matters, we simply cannot ignore the importance of a website’s layout.
The website layout involves the arrangement of visuals, placing the content, and navigational elements. To make the site work efficiently, you should create a hierarchy among these elements that puts the most significant elements at the top. The hierarchy should be based on how you think your audience will use it.
Let’s look at the four prominent features that must be kept in mind while designing a web layout:
Header and Menu are the first impressions of your website. It is designed in a way that might help out a user to easily decipher the purpose of your website.
Images or Groups of images are placed just below the header. The audience or customers descry the image along with the Header and menu statement. These features decide whether the customer will stay to continue to the web content or instantly tap the back to continue surfing. Be very meticulous and choose the website image that may deliver the objective and motive of your brand or services at the first glance to the audience.
Content is all about the knowledge that is delivered to the audience. It should be precise so that audience can quickly peruse through it, and move towards taking the desired call to action.
Footer rests at the bottom of the website, on the ground floor. The chunks of footer include sitemaps with the link to your site pages, basic contact information, and social bars to lead users to your social media platforms. These footer features are essential to the development of your business or brand.
If you work on these areas, the overall design of your site will improve, and your website's purpose will be clearer.
Typography is simply the creative design you choose for the text of the content. This design may include font pairing, leading, letter designs, and kerning.
Typically three general styles: Italic, oblique, and small caps are used for typography while designing of a website. Small caps with large size fonts are used for headings and subheadings to distinguish the headings from the rest of the paragraphs more precisely.
To enhance the readability score and traffic to your website content, always choose a compatible color scheme and consistent + suitable sized font for your content. Further, to make your content easier to read, you should consider the line spacing in the paragraphs, which should be 1.5em (1.5 times larger than the font size).
Website Navigation
Website Navigation
Website navigation involves clicking and looking through websites and other resources on the internet. A web browser is used to navigate websites and click on links that lead to other pages. Website navigation is important to make your services approachable for users.
It is essential to design your website navigation rigorously so that anyone can access any page of your website without any inconvenience. A website with good design also has easy navigation, so pay attention to this aspect of your site too. Website experts at Tom & Co are quite skilled in this arena too, just saying. 😉
Visuals
We human beings believe in everything we see as the visuals spark emotions and action in our behavior. While designing a website, utilize the images that can deliver the purpose of your website to the target audience. Choose suitable, compatible, and decent images and videos along with the text to explain the information about your brand and services.
Though images and videos can attract an audience, too much of it makes the website cluttered and messy. The user may become overwhelmed after browsing through repeated images with inconsistent text. So be very vigilant about deciding where and how to place images and videos to make the content engaging for the users.
Color Scheme
Website color schemes
While we are on the topic of why web design matters, it is essential to discuss the color scheme of a site.
Colors add beauty to everything and attract viewers. The color scheme is quite a monumental factor in a good website design. Basically, it is a collection of colors chosen by the designer. The color scheme is one of the essential elements in designing a website as it reflects the website's objective and niche.
To create an appealing website, it is suggested to utilize three colors: two colors should be according to your brand, and the third one should be white for the background.
Content
Web Content
Website content is the backbone of any website. The content explains what the website is about and what services the brand provides. Engaging and unique content makes the website SEO optimized and increases Google ranking. When people ask why web design matters, they focus only on the design, not the content. Make sure you don’t make that mistake.
When a user decides to continue browsing a website, the content can keep them hooked to the site and compel them to take action. Action may be of any kind, it can be commenting and sharing the blog post and making a purchase by the time they are done reading the content.
Responsiveness
Responsiveness for every size
You may be thinking that your question is why web design matters, but we are discussing responsiveness. Why so?
Responsiveness in the website design is the flexibility and adjustment of the website layout according to the device screen. Since mobile phone users are growing rapidly, it has become compulsory to have a responsive website design.
A responsive website is easily accessible regardless of the device type. You can browse a responsive website using your mobile, iPad, tablet, laptop, or computer. It is loaded faster and generates a massive lead of customers. Quality websites are always responsive, so make certain yours is responsive too!
Call to action (CTA)
Call to Action
Once all the above factors are brought into action comes the eventual fate of your website.
After generating the lead and traffic, websites' ultimate purpose is converting leads into customers through a well-designed CTA button.
Effective website design contains an attention-grabbing CTA button that instantly draws the users towards it. The color scheme for the website plays an important role in designing a CTA button. Choose a bright and eye-catching color for the CTA button to make your customers take the action you’ve meant for them to take.
Information Accessibility
It is necessary to make your website accessible to everyone, including people with disabilities, to increase its usability. Designing a website in such a way that is comprehensible for all kinds of people around the world is essential to ensuring lead and conversion. The more information and procedures you simplify, the more likely you will be to increase sales and traffic.
Ample knowledge is available on countless websites, and it has become crucial to get ranked and legitimacy on search engines including Google. The one who makes things accessible and effortless for the users wins the attention of users. The web design plays a crucial role in that which is one of the reasons why web design matters.
Wrapping Up - Why Web Design matters
Creating a website for promoting a business and brand has become imperative in the digital age. If you want fruitful outcomes, you need to invest in designing and maintaining an effective website. Once you have designed a quality website, you can attract potential customers like a magnet. Make your website accessible as much as possible to get acknowledged by the users and Google Search Engine.
Now that we have discussed in detail why web design matters, make sure you create a powerful website. It is essential to possess a website when the internet world has become most intriguing to people. Hence to flourish and prosper in the highly competitive universe, go ahead and approach someone professional to design a unique and model website. Experts at Tom&Co. are all ready to help you out.
FAQs
Why is web design important?
A well-designed website leaves a good impression on your business and brand and generates a massive lead of your potential customers. If people can easily find all the information they need about your business/brand, they will be more confident in your services.
What makes a good website design?
Here are so many factors that need to be considered while designing a quality website. The key factors that have a major contribution to designing a flawless website include:
Unique layout
Typography
Accurate color scheme
Well-organized design elements
Imagery
Why does styling matter in good website design?
Upon first glance at your website, visitors form an impression in milliseconds. To maintain engagement throughout the website, website design must incorporate styling. Styling reflects the type of your business or brand.
Can I design a website from my phone?
Several apps are available that have made it a cinch. You can easily design a website for yourself using your android, iPhone, tablet, or desktop.
What is a Content Management Platform and are They Needed?
Content management software (CMS) helps website designers to create a content management system for all of the content on a particular website. Some people complain that CMS takes more work than just posting content, while others insist that they could not run their websites without their CMS platform. What is CMS and is it really necessary to run your website?
What Is CMS?
Content management software (CMS) is a platform of programs that allows you to publish, arrange, edit, and archive all of the content on a blog or website. It is most commonly used on blogs, but many programmers use CMS on corporate websites as well. The CMS platform allows you to add any graphics or templates to your content that would help to unify new content with existing content.
Why Do People Use A CMS Platform?
The most appealing feature of a CMS platform is that it allows a person to manage website content without having to know anything about Internet coding. A CMS system is very straightforward and easy to use, and most CMS platforms offer a wide array of add-ons that can help you to customize your CMS even further.
Why Do I Need A CMS Platform?
Without a CMS platform, you have to know the HTML coding process for adding and arranging content in your website. Even for people who know Internet coding, a CMS platform makes it easier and faster to manage content and move content around on a website. But if you do not have that coding knowledge, then you have to find someone who can add and manage your content for you manually. Not only is the manual content management process time-consuming, but it is going to add extra costs to maintaining and updating your website.
A Content Management Plan
Every website or blog needs a content management plan if it is going to be successful. You need to map out how often you want to add content, what kind of content you want to add, how to handle older content, and what to do with content that you want to archive on your website. Do you want to keep your archived content available to all of your users, or are you going to put it someplace only you can get to it?
With a CMS platform, you can create an entire content management plan that will allow you to maximize the content that you add to your website. Without a CMS platform, the entire process will get extremely complicated and bogged down. A good CMS platform increases your content management efficiency and makes your content more effective.
WordPress is one of the most popular CMS platforms in the world, and you can usually get WordPress for your blog for free. Before you start getting involved with CMS platforms, you might want to talk to a digital marketing expert to get the information you need to maximize your content management plans.
The Growing Importance of SSL Certificates
An SSL certificate (Secured Sockets Layer) is a device you add to your website to encrypt and protect any information your clients input into your site. Over the past few years, the stories of data breaches and the theft of millions of pieces of important personal information have been making headlines all over the world. Google has decided that it has seen enough and it is going to immediately ramp up the importance of SSL certificates and make these devices mandatory for all websites.
What is Google Doing?
In 2018, Google is launching its initiative to go from recommending that websites get SSL certificates and use HTTPS (secure website coding language) to making both actions mandatory. If your website does not have an SSL certificate, then Google is going to flag your site as unsafe. While your site might be free of viruses or any immediate dangers to users, your lack of encryption protocols used by SSL certificates will force Google to consider your site unsafe.
What Does SSL Cost?
One of the reasons website owners avoided SSL certificates in the past is because they were extremely expensive. In recent years, there have been some companies that have offer robust and free SSL certificates and that number is growing. An initiative called Let's Encrypt is a collection of IT and security experts who are going to offer durable SSL certificates for free. These certificates are going to cover your main domain and any subdomains you have, but it is still recommended that you invest in a more powerful SSL certificate for enterprise size websites.
SSL and Your Google Rankings
Not only is Google going to mark your website as unsafe if you do not have SSL protection, but it is going to give all websites that do have SSL certificates slight boosts in their Google ranking. If you do not have SSL and your competition does, then the gap between you two in Google results is about to get significantly larger. Needless to say, most users are not going to go to a website that Google considers to be unsafe.
Gain Credibility with Your Customers
Having an SSL certificate on your website not only enhances your Google results, but it also increases your website's credibility with your target audience. Users will see that you have a secured website and they will know that their personal information is safe with your site. This is going to be a huge advantage over websites that do not have SSL certificates, especially with the way Google is going to make security a priority in the media.
Peace of Mind
An SSL certificate means peace of mind for you and your clients. You will be able to grow your business knowing that all customer data is encrypted and secured from hackers. Your customers will feel more secure about giving you their payment information, and that is going to encourage more orders.
If you have never heard of an SSL certificate or the HTTPS coding language, then it is time to get familiar with both. In 2018, Google is making security a priority and if your website does not meet the new Google standards, then there is a good chance that your slipping Google search results will also conspire to keep consumers away from your website for good.
10 Common Misconceptions About Websites
The Internet has been around a long time, which means websites are a well-known commodity to just about anyone. As with any other technology, there has been plenty of time for myths and misconceptions to be created about websites that can skew business owners' opinions. Here we address some of the most common misconceptions and give you real information to work with.
It is easy to make a professional website
It is easy to make a free website that you can use for your hobby or group, but a professional website requires a professional programmer with years of experience and an understanding of the latest Internet technology.
Websites automatically generate traffic
Websites are exactly like brick and mortar locations; you need to advertise to generate foot traffic. Putting a website on the Internet is not enough to generate revenue.
All of my ideas should show up on my website
Even in the virtual world of websites, not everything is possible. Your web designer will do what they can to make your website just as you envisioned it, but sometimes concessions need to be made to get a functional and user-friendly website.
Once the site is made, the job is done
A website is never truly finished. There are constant updates to your company and product information, not to mention new tools that are added to your website to increase traffic and gather data.
I don't need to develop a website because I can just copy one
For almost any website, you can find the source code and see how the website was made. But any professional website is going to have trademark and even copyright protections on its website content. Also, copying code from one site to make another is going to cause your site to incur Google penalties, which means no one will ever see your site in search results.
Web design is easy so it should be cheap
It takes years of training and experience to become a professional website designer. As with any other business service, if you want professional results you will pay for professional services.
My web content needs to appeal to me because it is my website
If you want people to visit your website and interact with your content, then your content needs to be everything your visitors want to see. Appealing to your own preferences is not going to grow your business.
Once my website is completed the updates should be free
Website designers charge one fee to build your site, and then a monthly fee to maintain it. It takes work and time to update your site and you always pay for the time of a professional web designer.
I can write my own content
Your website is going to need daily content updates that you do not have time to create. Website content writing also requires an experienced copywriter to be done properly. If you try to do your own content, you might wind up violating Google rules and having your website penalized for months.
I can just grab images from the Internet for my site
You must either own the copyrights for the images you use on your site, or have permission from the copyright owner to use those images. When you grab images from the Internet and use them, you are stealing someone's property and creating a criminal situation.
The best approach to getting a good and professional website is to hire an experienced digital marketing firm. A professional will always get the best results for your business.
WordPress And Google Strengthen Their Partnership
When Google takes an interest in anything to do with the Internet, there is always a very good reason for it. Google believes in unifying as much of the Internet as possible to give users a satisfying experience each and every time. To achieve this goal, Google has partnered with many Internet giants and merged with others. The most recent Google partnership to start showing signs of getting serious is the one with WordPress
Why WordPress?
When it comes to an overall presence as a CMS platform, WordPress owns an amazing 59 percent of the CMS market share. Obviously, this makes WordPress the dominant platform on which websites are created and maintained. But it is also worth noting that one out of every three websites on the Internet are done on a WordPress platform. This makes the developers, add-on creators, and website owners who use WordPress a very significant group within the world of websites.
Mobile Website Development
In 2015, Google launched a program that sought to change the way website owners looked at mobile computing. Prior to 2015, most website owners did not focus on good mobile websites. For the most part, mobile websites were text versions of the company's main site. But in 2015, Google said that any mobile website that was not developed to maximize the experience for the user would not appear on Google mobile searches. Since most users access the Internet through their mobile devices, website owners immediately recognized the need to fall in line with Google.
The WordPress mobile templates have always been a challenge for website developers and users. Google has recently announced that it will be working with WordPress and all of its developers to create mobile templates that load faster and give a better overall experience to the user.
Speed Is The Key
One of the most important aspects of a website experience to a user has always been the speed at which a site loads. While WordPress remains a popular platform, it is also loaded with extra programming that slows down a website's load time. Between security procedures and add-ons that are not always completely compatible, WordPress has always had a problem loading smoothly.
Google has announced that a big part of its new WordPress initiative is to help streamline template programming and make add-ons more compatible. The key to a positive Internet experience is to have a website that loads quickly, and Google wants to help WordPress to get to the point where its sites load just as fast as any other platform, if not faster.
Now is the time to start getting involved with a digital marketing company that knows how to work with WordPress. With Google bringing plenty of extra attention and resources to the WordPress platform, it will not be long before WordPress is the elite platform that developers use.
Right now, WordPress is revered for its ease of use and huge network of add-ons. In a few years, Google wants to make sure that WordPress is the platform developers choose when they want a website that delivers the ideal Internet experience.
Tips On Having A Great Homepage
Your website is extremely important to all of your company's marketing activities, and your homepage is your website's first impression. As the saying goes, you don't get a second chance to make a first impression. Your homepage needs to be user friendly and be the kind of online resource that your visitors will want to visit over and over again.
Loading Time
The longer it takes your homepage to load, the more likely your traffic will bounce to another website. When we are talking about loading time, we are talking about tenths of a second. Your homepage needs to be designed to load quickly, and it needs to grab your visitor's attention right away.
Avoid The "Annoying Factor"
Contrary to popular belief, Internet users do not enjoy homepages that have audio or video that starts automatically. This is something called the annoying factor, and you need to keep your annoying factor very low if you want repeat traffic to your homepage. Avoid pop-up windows, large advertisements, and videos that start automatically to make your homepage appealing to all audiences.
Simple Design
While you will occasionally get the visitor who likes to look at a homepage and figure out what it is supposed to be saying, those kinds of visitors are few and far between. Your homepage needs to have a simple but appealing design that tells your traffic immediately what your company and website are all about.
Clear Navigation
The three-click rule states that if a visitor to your website has to click more than three times to find what they want on your site, then they will go to a different website. You need a simple but effective navigation system for your website, and you need to have an easily accessible site map to give your visitors everything they need to find what they are looking for.
Effective Images
Your images should take up as little disc space as possible to allow for fast loading, and they should all help benefit your company's brand. Images and videos are becoming very important for websites, but you need to make sure that all of the images on your website explain what your company does and entice your visitors to want to learn more about your company.
More Videos
Just because visitors to your homepage do not want to see videos that start automatically does not mean that they do not want videos at all. Your homepage is a great place to put a company promotional video, or a couple of video testimonials from satisfied customers. While you want your homepage to be as clean as possible, you do want to include as much information as you can that will entice your visitors to want to learn more.
A good homepage is going to make a big difference in how well your website converts traffic into paying customers. By putting together an effective homepage, you will attract more traffic and convince repeat traffic to come back more often. Hire a good digital marketing agency to make sure that your homepage is as effective and appealing as possible.
Tips For A Better Holiday Website
The holidays are a time when people start making travel plans and start shopping for friends and family. This is the time of year when retailers want to get the most out of their websites in the hopes of increasing business throughout the year. As the holidays get heated up, there are plenty of things you can do to make your website ready for the influx of new traffic.
Get A Site Map
A site map is not only valuable to visitors using your website for the first time, but it can also quickly improve your standings in the search engine results page. Instead of burying the link to your site map along the bottom of your front page, put it somewhere prominent where it will be easy to find and use.
Clean Up Your Site
If you do enough marketing before the holidays, then your website will more than likely get more traffic during the holidays than at any other time of the year. The holidays are your chance to win repeat business and grow your revenue base. But if your links do not work or your website wording is misspelled and hard to read, then you have wasted an opportunity. Take the time to go through your entire website and make sure it is the kind of website your customers will want to visit again.
Don't Forget The Mailing List
During the holidays, your website traffic expects to see sign up forms on your website for your mailing list and newsletter. Instead of disappointing them, make sure that your mailing list sign-up form is on every page of your website. You might get people occasionally opting out of marketing emails throughout the year, but you will never have a better time to get people to join your mailing list and have a larger audience for your website information.
Have Incentives
During the holidays, your website will get lost in the rush of competitor websites that are all clamoring for the same customer base that you are. Instead of getting buried by the noise, have your website stand out from the rest by offering incentives to your traffic. You can run daily competitions that all of your traffic can enter, or you can give discounts on orders placed during the holidays. You should get creative and find incentives that will help your website to stand above the rest and get more attention.
Be Sure You Are Remarketing
Remarketing is the process of reaching out to traffic that visited your website for only a short period of time, made no purchase, or made a purchase they did not complete. Your digital marketing expert can set you up with a remarketing program that will grab this valuable traffic and try to turn it into another revenue stream.
The holidays are the one time of the year when people who do not normally shop online take to the Internet to get great deals. Your website will never have another chance all year and this kind of great exposure, so it is important that you take advantage of it and turn your holiday traffic into year round business.
5 Things Every Good Website Has
Your company website is one of your most important marketing tools, which is why it is important to invest in a digital marketing expert or a website design agency to design and maintain your site for you. If you spend enough time comparing the websites of your competition and sites outside of your industry, you will start to notice that good websites have a few qualities in common. While you don't want your website to look like everyone else's, you do want to have a site that brings in traffic and has the basic features it needs to be successful.
A Site Map
A site map serves two important purposes for your website. It acts as an easy way for your traffic to find the exact page they are looking for, and it helps search engines to catalog your site easier. This entices search engines to move your website higher up on the search result pages for primary keywords in your industry.
A Fast Loading Front Page
Time is money and every fraction of a second your traffic has to wait for your website to load increases the possibility that your traffic will bounce to another website. While it is important that every page on your site load quickly, it is critically important that your front page load as quickly as possible. Internet users will not wait very long for your front page to load, and you could be losing valuable traffic if your front page is loaded with programs that slow it down.
A Simple Navigation System
Every web designer uses the old adage that it should only take a visitor three clicks to find the page they are looking for. In most cases, your traffic will leave your website if it takes more than three clicks to find the primary pages on your site. Users will often give a pass to archived information or special information that is not expected to be easy to find. But all of your primary company, product, and customer service information should have an effective and easy navigation system. Being a business owner its important that you know why web design matters for good customer experience and for driving business revenue.
Easily Accessible Contact Information
Since your website is a marketing tool, it needs to supply your web traffic with basic information as quickly as possible. That is why just about every website you see has the company email address, phone number, and even physical address prominently displayed on the front page. Even though every website has a separate page for contact information, that very same information will still be easy for users to see the moment they access your website.
Standard Fonts
It can be very tempting to try and put fancy fonts on various parts of your website, but that also defeats the purpose of having the site in the first place. All of your information needs to be easily accessible to your audience and easy to read. Using special fonts could not only cause problems when your site tries to load, but it can also make it difficult for your audience to understand all of your important information.
A good website utilizes the tried and proven methods that have helped other websites to find success. There are plenty of ways to make your website stand out from the competition, but you want to avoid trying to alter the core principles of good website design that bring you web traffic in the first place.
The Basics of an Effective Website
A company without a website may as well not exist as far as most consumers are concerned. A website provides a measure of legitimacy and professionalism that cannot be overlooked, especially when there are so many competitors vying for the customer’s loyalty. Does your website measure up?
The Why
Why are your customers on your site? Are they looking to browse items and ultimately make a purchase? Are they looking for more information and potentially seeking to make an appointment, get an estimate, or make some other kind of request? It is crucial that your website’s format meets the user’s needs. Regardless, your website should be easily navigable and contain appropriate pages such as “About Us” or “FAQ”.
Your site should also be mobile-friendly so that consumers on the go can have easy access to information about your business. Your website can be responsive, meaning it will automatically adjust to various screen sizes or you can utilize a mobile-ready site for those on portable devices.
The What
What is your site doing for the customer? Make sure your site’s purpose is clear and is appropriate to the industry. Information should be easy to read for the consumer as they will not dedicate too much of their time on your site. Color scheme and font should not clash with your logo or your business’s colors and your color palette should contrast with the text color. Pick a font and color scheme combination and stick with it throughout your site in order to maintain a clean streamlined look that conveys professionalism. Consider using a Sans Serif font such as Arial that makes for easy reading on screens. Try not to over-clutter your site with too much text and use images to draw attention and provide variety.
The How
How does your site convey information and appear aesthetically? Images on your site should be crisp and high quality as well as relate to your business. Overly stock-y photos, while excellent quality, can seem fake and not as authentic. Be sure consumers know how to contact you from the site by providing information like a phone number, email address, and business address. The 3 click-rule is essential in web design: your user should have to use no more than 3 clicks to find the information they are looking for. This means not burying information under layers of pages off of the home page. Use an ‘F Pattern’ design, meaning convey information in order of importance, i.e. left to right and top to bottom, or the way we read. Use a grid layout to keep your site neat and orderly and easy for the eye to follow.
If your site doesn’t follow these basic guidelines, you may want to consider a re-design. Use a professional web design agency that will ensure your site is professional, easy to follow, and appealing to consumers.
