Remember 15 years ago when having a website was an anomaly? Not so anymore. Today, 70% of U.S. adults say that they “rarely or never” use a phone book. When a consumer wants to find out about a local business, they pull up Google search and check the results. Not surprisingly, businesses are keen to rank on the first page, considering that 75% of online users never scroll to the second page. Why invest in web design services?
An important part of ranking well — and getting consumers to trust you — is having a well designed website. Having a poorly designed website can, in fact, hurt your business. Here are three ways that a badly designed website can hurt your small business.
1. People Give Up Quickly
You may not think it’s a big deal to make your customer jump through a few hoops in order to complete a purchase, or speak to a representative. They’re already on your page and that’s the important part — right? Wrong. Why pay for SEO if you’re not going to convert customers once they land on your page? Three out of 10 people fail to complete simple tasks on the average site, according to DigitalSynopsis.com. Common stumbling blocks include there not having enough information, difficult navigation, and poorly organized info. Quality web design and development can ensure that these easy to fix issues don’t hold you back.
2. Slow Loading Time Impacts Your Bottom Line
Here’s a fact that won’t surprise you: consumers today hate waiting around. How can this affect your website? About 40% of users will abandon a website if it takes longer than just three seconds to load! As Kissmetrics points out, for an online website making $10,000 per day, this can be the equivalent of $250,000 lost sales every year. It’s also worth noting that poor loading time can have a negative affect on search engine rankings. Luckily, web design services can deliver streamlined, great websites that don’t take 10 seconds to load.
3. What Makes Users Abandon Ship?
Have you ever told horror movie characters to say out of the creepy looking building? People naturally associate setting with safety. Effective web design will assure consumers that you’re a legitimate business; by the same token, poor website design will make them question whether you’re even capable of delivering their order. Studies have shown that contemporary website design should be simplistic and familiar. It shouldn’t have millions of images and small text competing for consumers’ attention, nor should people have trouble navigating the site. A web design and development company won’t make your website into the horror movie equivalent of an abandoned building.
Web design services aren’t the end all in having a successful website. However, they can make a real difference in making sure your site ranks well, and your users convert.