The Importance of Web Design

On Web Designer Day, we should honour the hard work and dedication that our expert designers put into every project that they are involved in. However, we do this every day, as do the companies that we design websites for. By simply interacting with the websites that our experts design, we are all honouring their hard work.
So instead of honouring our web designers, we want to explain why the work they do is so important to your website.

Web Design

Good web design helps not only draw in users to the site but also to retain them. When perfectly executed, web design should be drawing the user’s eye to key features on the site, whether this is products, services, imagery or even text. It should also offer them easily identifiable clickable elements, helping them to navigate the site easily, for an increased chance of conversion.
Ultimately the design of your website will be aiming to improve the user experience (UX) while maintaining an attractive site. With the ROI on UX investments sitting as high as 9,900%, investing in UX at the design stage of your website can be the key to its success.
(EZMarketing, UX Cam)

Web Design For UX

The design of a website needs to be eye-catching, on-brand and user friendly. The brand may use bright and bold colours and designs, but unless these translate well into the design of a web page, you’ll be doing more harm than good by maintaining these brand elements.
A prime example of poorly utilised brand colours is orange writing on a red background, the colours do not offer enough contrast for the user to have an easy and pleasurable experience. Likewise, your aesthetic may suit well to a shaped/patterned/designed cursor, but if this reduces the UX, you’ll see the users reacting with higher bounce rates

The Basics Of Good UX

There are 5 core basics of UX that need to be considered when designing a website. These are relevance, usability, navigation, accessibility and familiarity.
Users arrive on a site with a purpose in mind, whether this is informational, transactional or otherwise alike. A strong example of relevancy in UX is the site, or landing page offering users the solution to their search offering the next step in their online journey.
When the user arrives on the site, they want to be greeted with easy to use functionality. No complex functions. This includes checkouts, forms, account creation and even just general browsing.
You may have experienced a poorly navigated website. This is all part of a good UX design. Any navigational menus should be easy to follow and free-flowing, allowing users to find the most appropriate page as quickly and easily as possible. Don’t forget this will be different on desktop and mobile sites.
We often forget that accessibility is also an important aspect of our online presence. Much like the accessibility of a bricks and mortar store. There are a number of design features that can be incorporated to increase the accessibility of the site. Such as following Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG).
Finally, consider the importance of familiarity with your UX. While we appreciate that everyone would like to have an entirely unique website, users favour familiarity when it comes to the design and layout. Such as where the menu should be, or where they might look for a search functionality.
(ThemeIsle)

Mobile-Friendly UX

Users are five times more likely to abandon a site if it is not optimised for mobile. And with as few as 55% of businesses conducting UX testing on their website the chances are that many of the remaining 45% aren’t mobile-friendly.
A web design that perfectly fits a desktop (where even screen size can alter a design) may not be compatible when opened on a mobile device. This means that the design requires at least some refinement, if not a complete overhaul, to ensure that it opens well on mobile devices.
With over 60% of online shoppers only using a mobile device when purchasing, eCommerce UX is equally as important as just an informational site. Here at Netbiz, we offer a mobile-first design, allowing you to capture all of your target audience, regardless of device.
(Truelist)

Web Design And Speed Optimisation

79% of surveyed online shoppers leave a website due to slow load speed. This means that while we love to see the interactive graphics when they slow download times, potential customers lose interest. Our web designers have refined the art of balancing attractive graphics and animations with optimal load times.
According to Kissmetrics, a 7% reduction in conversions can be caused by as little as a one-second page response delay. While 7% may not initially sound like a great deal, work this out across 12 months based on your average revenue. Consider this, in line with a site that is not mobile optimised and consider the potential loss in revenue. Is it time to improve your web design for UX?
(Truelist, Kissmetrics)

Web Design For SEO

SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) is a key factor in getting your website to rank well on Google. While many elements of SEO can be done, or modified, after a website has gone live, the primary work needs to be done at the web design stage.
Consider the CMS (Content Management System) that is used for the website. This will impact both the design process and the SEO. Our team of experts will help find the perfect one to balance both UX and SEO capabilities.
Ensure that the link structure is designed to be easily crawled by search engines. This includes the design of the primary navigation and sitemaps. Internal linking will also help to improve this. Why not speak to the digital agency experts in our SEO team?
(Search Engine Land)

If web design on your current site is lacking in UX, it’s time to contact the experts. Our team of expert web designers are ready to understand your website requirements as well as your brand guidelines, ensuring that your new design is right for you. For more information, contact your local web design company, Netbiz, today.