In the years when brick-and-mortar companies dominated the consumer marketplace, savvy businesses learned quickly that curb appeal was what brought customers into their stores.
Major attention and effort was put into the art of window dressing to draw the casual passerby into the store.
With the advent of e-commerce, the consumer journey has changed drastically.
Today, the look and feel of your website influences consumers to browse through your products and services or to pass them by.
In that way, your homepage serves the function of a storefront window display.
Good web design is a building block for increased sales.
Unlike a window display, however, it is not all about your homepage anymore. The entirety of your website must resonate with visitors in order to attract, engage, and convert your leads into customers and advocates for your brand.
Your site must speak to your audience. Different elements of your web design are telling a message either for good or for bad. There is a direct correlation between your website design and customer perception of your business. Remembering that customer perception is everything, what is your website really saying?
Consider the following scenarios and contemplate how your website visitors are likely affected by these common experiences.
Potential customer A is browsing and finds your landing page. Quickly skimming through the information, he spies a link that draws his eye. Curiosity aroused, he clicks the link ... and waits. When nothing happens, he clicks again quickly ... and waits. Ten seconds later, he is clicking away from your site and to a competitor's site instead. You have lost him, maybe forever.
Why did that happen? You may think that 10 seconds is nothing. As it turns out, 10 seconds is an eternity in web time. A report by Aberdeen Group reveals that a 1-second delay time in page load time yields:
Why does one second in time have such an impact on business? The answer is simple. When your web pages load slowly, the customer perception is that you do not care about his time. The result? A lost customer.
Potential customer B is excited about what he sees on your site. He is a researcher at heart, and enjoys reading everything about a product before purchasing. He has spent some time on your site, and is almost ready to purchase.
He wants to check out one more thing before he buys. Seeing a "learn more" link, he clicks and encounters the dreaded broken link. His mood goes straight from optimistically eager to frustration in one click. Why? What is that broken link really saying?
In the customer's perception, that link means that your company is inattentive to detail.
Potential customer C has spent considerable time researching his topic on the web. He has browsed several competitor sites, and for a variety of reasons, he has been dissatisfied with the user experience there.
So, he lands on your pages and starts to browse through. Clicking one link and another, he finds relevant information displayed in an easy-to-read format. Videos load as they should, links lead to pertinent information, and his experience is pleasant from his first click forward.
Increase your web traffic and conversions with optimized web design.
He purchases your product or service, provides positive feedback, and opts in to your newsletter and email subscription. Why?
He does these things because your website is speaking to him in the right tone, at the right moment, and with the right message. Your web design is providing him with the experience he wants. His perception is that you care about him, and that you are eager to meet his needs and address his pain points.
For good or bad, your website is speaking to your customers every time they visit. It is not only a reflection of your business. In many cases, it provides the all-important first customer impression. It is one of the things that most shapes customer perception.
To get the most from this vital link to your customers, it is necessary to continually test and analyze your website's design to optimize performance and enhance user experience.
Working with a web design firm that specializes in inbound marketing methodologies is a good way to confirm your website is optimized and sending the message you want your customers to hear. Get a free inbound marketing assessment today and ensure your website is all it should be.
Download our growth-driven design eBook to learn more about how our agile and data-driven web design strategy can give your organization the website you need.
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Mark Parent : January 20, 2016 11:52:00 AM EST
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