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What is Website Design and Why is it Important to my Business

What is web design and why is it important to my business
As a business in 2019, you may think your website from 2010 or even 2015 is working for you. If you're website currently does not bring in to clients or convert as well as you thought it would, it would be beneficial to look at your website's design. If your current website has misspellings, broken links, or is hard to read, it will affect your online presence. When your online presence is affected, it will hurt your business.
 

Having a bad website no longer slips through the cracks in the mind of your customers. Having a good website design can boost sales, brand awareness, and turn prospective customers into lifelong clients. Having a poor layout on your website can be devasting to a business in today's modern world.

So let's explore what is website design and why is it important to my business?

 

What is Web Design?

According to Tech Terms, web design is defined as "the process of creating websites. It encompasses several different aspects, including web pages layout, content production, and graphic design."

"the process of creating websites. It encompasses several different aspects, including web pages layout, content production, and graphic design."

We here at Blue Cardinal Group like to think as web design as a business's online storefront. The homepage is the equivalent of having a nice window display to your brick and mortar store while the rest of the physical store is like your content on your webpage.

 

For the sake of the proper definition, let's break down the Tech Terms definition.

Webpages Layout

The aspect of "webpages layout" is more confusing than it seems. This means having a structure to your website. Organizing your website is key to having a good user experience. If you have a jumbled mess, it is hard for the user to get information from it.
Another way to think about "webpages layout" is how you would organize a retail store.
Some examples of web pages layout include the Zig Zag and Split Face to name a few.
 
 
Zig Zag Design
Visual depiction of the Zig Zag Design (Courtesy of EnvatoTuts+)
 
 
Content Production
Example of All Birds using various content production techniques including visual and text communications.
 
 

Content Production

Content production is what fills your website up.

Without content on your site, is the equivalent of having a great storefront but no products to show off. Content on a website can be in the form of pictures, text, videos, and infographics.

Each of the forms of content enriches the customer experience and will help your business show up better in Google.

Content can either make or break web design. If you have a bunch of confusing words and pictures on your website, the customer will think badly of your brand. Good content will drive customers to take certain actions on your website.  

 

Graphic Design

And finally, graphic design. When you figure out the layout of your website, and your content, the last thing to do is make it pretty. Graphic design is the final piece of the web design definition.

This is where your branding guidelines will come into place. You want to make your website match your company's look and feel. Good graphic design on a website will tie your online presence together. You want to make sure the content you created matches your company's persona.

Graphic design on your website can consist of any visual communication. Visual communication includes color scheme, typeface, and fonts that can convey the message you are sending.

 
So... what does good and bad web design look like in real life? Let's explore!
 
 
Graphic Design McDonalds
McDonald's incorporating graphic design into their web design.
 
 

Examples of bad web design

These web designs are not the worst in the world but they are flawed in the definition of web design. These websites are generally bad for the business and affect the customer experience. These should reiterate how important web design is for businesses.
 
 
Wow. This website is a complete mess to look at.

There is no clear layout to the design, the images are all over the place, and the color scheme is all off. The three aspects of web design are nowhere to be found on this website. The colors used all throughout the website have no uniformity to them. Almost every link has a differnet color than the one next to it and the navigation bar is useless.

 
 
Suzanne Collins, New York Times bestselling author of The Hunger Games, has a website that lacks content. One would think that a successful author like Collins would have a great website full of content that matches their skills as a writer. The actual content on the site is few and far between. There is to much white space on the site, and no clear layout. Suzanne Collins has a theme throughout her book covers that does not come close to coming across on her actual website. Feel free to explore the rest of the site and see for yourself just how bad it is.
 
 

Good examples of web design

Good web design takes your online presence to the next level. When your web design is good, everything is in congruence with your brand. This includes using the same typeface and color scheme to match your company.
Another important aspect of good graphic design is making your website mobile friendly. If your website is not mobile friendly, 52% of your visitors would be less likely to engage with your brand.  All of these websites will look congruent no matter which device you browse them on. When your website is working for you, often it is your best selling channel.
 
 
Let's look first at Manufactur Co., a Los Angeles based creative agency. Manufactur absolutely killed it on their web design. The colors are bold, the grid layout works very well for them, and the content matches the brand to a t. The user has a good experience on both desktop and mobile. All of the pages on the website are consistent with one another which creates a strong brand identity. It even won a web design award in 2018 for their newly designed site. Their website makes the company look so much better than some of their competitors. If their website is any indication of the work they do, you will be impressed.

 

See how good web design will make you trust one company over another. Let's look at one more well-designed site.
 
 

Bellroy, e-commerce store specializing in wallets, has a masterful website. The site works on many levels for Bellroy. The company's look and feel are seen everywhere on the site.  The Bellroy, e-commerce store specializing in wallets, has a masterful website. The site works on many levels for Bellroy. The company's look and feel are seen everywhere on the site. The images are striking and the layout is configured well. On a specific wallet's page, they start out with the options of the wallet and then lead the customer down to tell them more about the benefits of having a slim wallet. The utilize a zig-zag layout that works very well for them.

I guarantee you the products made by Bellroy will be as striking and bold as their website. This is why good web design is important. I am not even in the market for a new wallet but this site made me want to get one. The visual designs are striking and the layout is configured well. On a specific wallet's page, they start out with the options of the wallet and then lead the customer down to tell them more about the benefits of having a slim wallet. The utilize a zig-zag layout that works very well for them.

 

I guarantee you the products made by Bellroy will be as striking and bold as their website. This is why good web design is important. I am not even in the market for a new wallet but this site made me want to get one.
 
 

How does web design affect my business?

As seen from the examples above, web design directly affects the customer's perception of your business. I guarantee you that you would be more likely to buy a wallet from Bellroy than from the first bad website example. Having a cluttered online store is off-putting to a potential buyer; much like an actual brick and mortar store, you need a good layout for your customer's to navigate it.

 

In a study titled Trust and Mistrust of Online Health Sites,  done by professors from Northumbria University and Sheffield University, the study found 94% of customers didn't trust a site due to its bad design elements. This means that if your website is hard to navigate, cluttered, or keeps crashing, people will not trust your business even if you are well-known in your community.

 

You may not think of it often, but the first thing you see when you Google something is a website. Think about how often you make a judgment after a couple of seconds, 7 seconds to be exact, about that website.

 

We hope you understand just how important these first impressions are on your potential customers. We would be willing to bet you made some snap judgments about the companies websites we listed above.

 

All of these examples above showcase why web design is important to your business. Whether you are a huge force in your community or just starting up. Your website, if developed and designed correctly, can make a huge difference in the eyes of the potential customer and can even make you seem right on par with the big dogs in your field.

Need help with your new site?

Web design is not something you most people can just pick up and learn right away. We here at Blue Cardinal Group have years of technical knowledge and are always looking out for what's up and coming in the world of web design.

 

One way of making sure your website becomes your top sales-person is to make sure it is done right and better than your competitors. Outsourcing your new website design is common practice in the business world. After all, it is best to leave it in the hands of the professionals.

 

Blue Cardinal Group would love to work with you on your new website. We can make your website stand above the rest, and make sure your website converts your visitors into life long customers. Contact us to get a free quote for your new website.

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