In today’s marketing world, every business needs to have a website as their storefront. However, just having a website that’s based on templates doesn’t cut it – you need to make sure that your website is well-designed in order to be appealing to your visitors and entice them to take action and return. Because we are visual beings, the graphic design of your website is what will either attract or repel your visitors, so it is essential that you pay a lot of attention to it. Here are some of the ways that graphic design influences your online sales.
First impression is everything
Studies have shown that it takes 50 milliseconds for your visitors to form an opinion about your website, and decide whether they are going to stay or leave. Therefore, it is essential that the first impression that your website makes counts. This depends on various factors such as structure, colors, fonts, spacing, amount of text, etc. It is necessary for you to inspire your visitors with your design. There are three crucial things that your website needs to offer:
- Inspiring images
- Usability (without much need to figure things out)
- Credibility (knowing that your services are legit)
Organized contents
Quality content is the crucial part of your website, but if it isn’t organized properly, your visitors won’t be interested enough to look into it. As much as you might be driven to type out everything about your services that you can, too much text will drive people away. What your visitors are looking for are easily digestible chunks of text. Your headings and subheadings need to be clear, relevant and rich with keywords. Your slogans and taglines are what drives your visitors to action. Your content needs to be targeted and relevant, so that your visitors can find exactly what they are looking for.
Clear navigation
Having a simple and clear menu is a factor that can drive your visitors to take action or drive them away. The path needs to be logical and user-targeted, because nobody likes feeling disoriented when they visit a website. You need to think about what your visitors expect. The home page is their anchor, so that they don’t get lost. The contact page is the final destination. Everything in between needs to be named and listed so that it makes sense to them, and there needs to be a marker that tells them where they are.
A well-designed logo
The success of every brand is determined by its branding strategy. The most important aspect of this is the logo design. Your logo is your brand’s visual tool, and it’s the first thing that communicates your brand’s philosophy and mission to your customers. It’s the one visual thing that is the most easily remembered. The most successful businesses are associated with their logos, which means that it does more than even your name. The colors, shape, font and other visual aspects are what discerns your logo from others and speaks about how professional your business is.
Proper fonts
There is a reason behind the fact that Google has a list of fonts that are suitable for the web. Some fonts just don’t work well with websites, and even those that do need to be colored and sized properly, so that they are easy to read. The two types of fonts leave different impressions based on what your intentions are – serif fonts look more traditional, while sans serif fonts look modern. Having white fonts on a black background isn’t a good design choice. Flashing text is an annoyance for your visitors, so you should avoid it at all cost. Making a mistake when using fonts can make a huge difference when it comes to your graphic design, even if everything else is impeccable. There’s two things your fonts need to accomplish – to be pleasant and simple.
Quality images
High quality images are obviously a must, but this doesn’t mean that you should overcrowd your website with them. Too much images, or images that are too big, will slow the loading of your pages. On the other hand, images that are small will be pixelated and ugly. Also, you need to know that using generic stock images will not do, as almost everyone can spot them. This is why you should use professional images of your own products, services and employees. Infographics are a good choice as they display key information in an attractive and easily digestible way.
In summation
A well-designed website is both a source of traffic and your path to high conversions. If you pay attention to the tips in these article, you’ll be on your way to designing a website that is appealing and useful to your audience. Remember to keep your website fresh and always look for new solutions, while staying loyal to your brand image.
