Warning Is Your Website Missing These 3 Elements Of Good Web Design?
Practicing good web design is crucial for businesses hoping to develop a brand that connects positively with their desired audience. If you are a small business with a website, you should know that good web design is a flexible term. It means a different thing than it did 10 years ago so the key thing is to remain responsive to the current needs of your consumer base. Here are three of the most important elements of good, modern web design. Fair warning–if your site is not following these best practices, chances are you could be losing potential customers.
#1. Mobile Web Design
Focusing too much on how your website looks and interacts with computer users and ignoring the mobile internet user point of view can be a grave mistake. More than half–52% of people–are less likely to become customers of companies without good mobile sites. Gone are the days when web shopping only occurred on computers. Today, four out of five consumers use their smartphone to shop and make purchases. To reach these users, it is important to either develop a separate mobile version of your website that is compatible with mobile device use or make sure your website already works well with mobile devices. Things to watch out for are that your font size is legible, your graphics load quickly and your layout is self-explanatory.
#2. Search Engine Optimization
You could have the greatest website ever but still be missing out on potential customers because your website is not easy to find through a search engine. Over 80% of worldwide internet users type search phrases into search engines like Google to help them find websites. Often, even if users know a web address, they will still type key words into a search engine to access the site quicker. Therefore, if your site does not pop up as one of the top search engine results, you are missing out. If this sounds familiar, do not despair. SEO companies that specialize in generating more traffic to your website will work with you to make your website easier to find for your target customers.
#3. Strong First Impression
Just like when you meet someone for the first time, what users experience within the first three seconds of entering your site is crucial for forming their opinions about your company. In fact, if your website is not loading within the first three seconds, you are losing 40% of potential customers just like that. Because of this, one of the all-time most important elements of good web design is making sure your website makes a great first impression. How can you achieve a good first impression? Internet users are highly visual. They prefer scanning to reading. So accordingly, try to steer clear from the large blocks of text. Choose the most important key words strategically so your site is easy to navigate and use graphics and pictures to help communicate your message instead of relying solely on text.