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Why Every Business Needs Professional Web Design
January 15, 2022
In this day and age, businesses of all sizes need professional web design. The internet is a potent tool that can help businesses extend their reach and connect with new customers.
However, without expert web design, businesses will struggle to create an online presence that stands out from the competition. Web design can help businesses improve their search engine visibility, target their marketing efforts, and create a more user-friendly experience for their customers.
We had approximately 210 million websites in 2010 and the numbers have increased to over 1.8 billion by 2022! This increase in websites can be attributed to the popularity of new technology, in particular smart devices, which have made it easier for people to view web pages.
Why Is Professional Web Design So Important for Your Business?
Competition in the online space is becoming more and more intense. A business’s success can be determined by the quality of its website, including how user-friendly it is and how it appeals to potential customers, and it plays an important role in the buying decision of customers.
According to research, 75% of consumers judge a brand’s credibility based on its website’s design and one-third of them are influenced by what they see on the home page. So if customers inspect the website before making a purchase and don’t like what they see then it could be a huge disadvantage to the business.
Website visitors look out for an enhanced user experience, which includes having relevant and helpful information with quick and easy access to products and services. Visitors are more likely to return to your site if they find it easy to navigate. They may also share the information they find with others, which can increase your reach and impact.
However, only a well-designed website can make a good first impression and present your business as trustworthy to visitors and potential customers. But to create an effective website, you first need to know what makes a good one.
What’s Involved in Professional Web Design?
Creating an effective website design requires a combination of technical skills, creative flair and a good understanding of user experience. By including the following elements, you can attract visitors, increase conversion rates, and ultimately achieve your marketing goals.
Typography
Typography, or font, is an essential element of web design and plays a key role in communicating information to website visitors. Good typography can help create a visual hierarchy, which draws the user’s focus to the important points of the website in the order you’d like them to be seen.
Fonts can convey a certain mood or feeling that reinforces the overall tone of the website. They also help to optimise readability and accessibility, ensuring that users can easily understand the information they’re presented with.
Additionally, using a consistent font throughout the website creates a harmonious design that reinforces your brand’s identity. So, by following the simple rules of typography, you can be sure that the text on the website is legible and easy to read.
Layout
A website’s layout is another essential element of web design that affects user experience. A website’s layout helps to structure and organise the content on a page, allowing visitors to easily consume and digest information.
Additionally, a well-structured website layout can also help guide users towards particular actions and encourage them to move through your website in a more meaningful way. This can be done through the use of visual cues, such as white space, colour palettes, and typography.
Additionally, the use of images, icons, and illustrations can also be used to break up long blocks of text and provide visual interest, helping to draw the user’s attention to the most important elements on the page.
Colours
A website’s colour scheme is vital for good web design. Colour helps to increase brand recognition, draw attention to important website elements, and influence how users feel about a website.
Different colours can evoke different emotions in people, making it important to choose the right colours for a website. For example, while red is often associated with danger or anger, blue is typically associated with trust and safety.
In addition to choosing the best individual colours for a website, it’s also important to consider how colours work together as a whole. For example, black text on a white background creates a sharp contrast that’s easy for users to read.
Furthermore, a good colour scheme allows for easy navigation through the site, helps to create a hierarchy, and can help build trust from visitors. Ultimately, a well-crafted colour scheme can elevate a design from “good” to “great”.
Content
Having good content on your website is key to good web design. Quality content helps to attract the right audience, engage them and get them to take action on your website.
Good content also helps to reinforce your brand impression and increase website traffic. Content drives people to your website and design enhances that content.
This is why it’s important to pay attention to the principles of good design such as accessibility, flow, readability and visual inducement, so as to ensure the success of your content.
Additionally, proper SEO strategies are necessary to get your content indexed by search engines. So, focus on creating quality content that’s accessible, engaging and reader-friendly, to ensure your website’s success.
Learn more about how SEO can help your business here.
Navigation
Website navigation is an essential part of web design as it enhances the user experience. A well-structured, intuitive navigation menu helps visitors quickly access the information they need, leading to more sales and brand loyalty.
Good website navigation provides a clean, structured look that suggests your brand is organised and reliable. It also ensures that search engine robots can index the site effectively, resulting in improved visibility and rankings.
Poor website navigation, on the other hand, can lead to high bounce rates, lower conversion rates, and decreased brand perception. Therefore, it’s important to ensure that your website’s navigation is designed with usability, accessibility, and search engine optimisation in mind.
Ultimately, the key to good website navigation is to keep it simple and make sure that users can access all necessary information as quickly and easily as possible. This helps users understand the website and builds confidence in the product or service being offered.
Compatibility
Having a website with good compatibility is vital for effective web design. Cross-browser compatibility ensures that visitors have a consistent user experience no matter which device or browser they’re using.
This is important for providing the optimal experience for page visitors, as inconsistent browsing can lead to frustration and potentially cause them to visit your competitor’s website. Additionally, making sure your website is accessible to people with disabilities or limitations ensures that everyone can access and explore the website.
Lastly, having a mobile-friendly design will help bring in new visitors and customers who are searching on their phones. All of these elements combine to form an effective and user-friendly website design.
The Web Design Process
As a business owner looking for professional website development, you should know how a typical web design process works. To give you a better idea of how your site will look and function, we’ve outlined the steps below.
1. Discovery and Strategy
Every website design project begins with the discovery and strategy phase. One of the most important steps during this phase is determining the intended purpose of the website and the marketing goals of the business.
Following this step, it’s important to understand the target audience by asking specific questions to determine who they are and how they engage with your business. Additionally, understanding the industry, competition and value differentiation assists in creating a website that provides solutions to a user’s problem.
This is completed over several meetings in conjunction with the client and helps guide the planning phase. The web design team will then identify a handful of key decision points and develop a strategic plan.
2. Planning
The discovery and strategy stage provides useful insights to help understand the project and begin planning appropriately. The web design team will then create a documented timeline, detailed assignment plan, and web strategy for the project.
A site map is developed, with all necessary information clearly labelled, to visualise the structure of the website and how all of the various components are organised. This helps to ensure navigation is efficient and the website feels well-connected throughout.
Once the planning phase is complete, the agency will begin designing the site through a series of wireframes, user flows and other high-level design documents.
3. Design and Development
Website development is not just a technical exercise but also a creative process. The end result should be an efficient, well-designed website that will convey the message and brand values of the business effectively to its target audience.
A good website design should be simple and uncluttered, with clean graphics and quality content that’s easy to read and understand. The site should also have a consistent layout for users across multiple devices.
The success of this stage during the website development process depends on close collaboration between the client and the team.
4. Completion and Test-Run
The new business website is now complete and in its final stages of testing to ensure there are no unexpected bugs or errors before being released to the public. The site is ready for its first user, which is usually the client, to provide feedback on any last-minute changes.
During this stage, it’s also important for the website to be tested on multiple platforms to ensure full compatibility. As mentioned earlier with so many mobile device users nowadays, having a professionally designed website that’s responsive across all platforms is important to the success of your business.
5. Approval and Handover
Once the client has approved the website during a final meeting, the web design team hands it over and it’s ready to go live. This means that you’ve completed all of the tasks above, and have a fully functioning website that can be used by the client and their customers.
That concludes the professional website development process, but it doesn’t end there. In order to keep your new business website looking good, easy to use, and fresh in the minds of customers, regular upkeep is required.
6. Maintenance
It’s important to regularly review your new business website and keep it updated with the latest developments. This can include security monitoring, plugin updates, layout changes, and crash fixes which all help preserve the health and functionality of the website.
It’s also a good time to review your SEO strategy and update settings or add new content to keep your website looking fresh and ahead of the competition.
Want to learn more about the benefits of web maintenance? Click here.
Bottom Line
As businesses continue to grow and the way we do business changes, it’s now more important than ever to have a professional website design. Without a doubt, all businesses today will need an online presence to succeed.
Whether for sales or branding, a business website should be at the centre of every digital marketing strategy since it’s the first impression a customer has of your business. More than just having a website, you should invest in professional web development to help your business stand out from its competitors and grow into a profitable enterprise.
At Novo Digital Agency, we offer custom web design for businesses in Australia. Whether you have a specific project in mind, or simply want an expert opinion on your website design, we’re here to help.
Check out our professional web design packages and contact us today to build an outstanding online presence!
Want to grow your business faster?
Novo Digital Agency delivers customised, results-driven web design and SEO solutions for businesses of all sizes across Australia.
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