The Power of Design in the 21st Century

Did you know that the easiest way to communicate with customers is through a well-designed website? Far more people will visit a business website than will call or visit the company to learn about the business. Your website design is the gateway to your company, and the first thing that customers learn about your brand. The 21^st century is the century of the Internet, and if you are not communicating your message clearly, it will get lost in the millions of other messages out there. So what makes website design so powerful? Consider the old web pages of the past. They were full of text, had little formatting, and images took forever to load. Many websites only had one giant page, where visitors had to scroll down forever to reach the bottom. This clunky formatting is no longer an option in today’s world. Web pages must have clearly identifiable messages, bold graphics, and social sharing tools to allow customers to share your company or products with others. Your site design is one of the most powerful communication tools you have. With one page, you can turn off visitors or lead them to want to learn more about your brand. It is important to make sure your website is well-designed for the following reasons:

• Your site design is the first thing visitors notice about you: When a potential customer visits your website, the first thing they see is your home page. This page communicates everything about your brand to visitors, whether good or bad. Within five seconds of looking at your page, a visitor can determine whether or not he or she wants to stay and learn more, or leave for a more interesting site. Many visitors base your professionalism on the design of your site. If your site uses an old, clunky design, visitors will think your company or product is outdated. A good design, however, shows visitors that you are up-to-date and professional.
• Good designs bring more customers: The more attractive your site design, the more likely people are to stay on your site and connect with your brand. Whether that is purchasing an item you sell, or sending an e-mail to learn more about your services, you have a much higher chance of bringing in a higher number of customers with a well-designed and easy-to-use website.
• Good designs lead to customer interaction: When your website is designed well, it is easy for customers to navigate your site. Clear navigation leads to a higher level of interaction and sales. Good designs prevent customers from leaving your site in frustration because they cannot find the ‚Äúorder‚Äù button. Happier customers also buy more, which is also influenced by the design of your site.
• Good website designs communicate your brand to customers: The design of your site communicates the core message of your brand to customers. Some elements of design, such as color and style communicate the message subconsciously. Other elements, such as the text on your page and the photos you have communicate your message in a more outspoken manner. If you do not have a clear, simple design, customers can get confused and may not be able to determine what your website is all about. Confused customers do not make purchases, and they do not come back.
• Good designs are shared: If your site has a good design that is easy to use and read, then visitors are more likely to bookmark your site and come back often. This leads to visitors sharing your site with friends, which can bring in more visitors and customers to your site.

  What does your website say to customers when they first visit? Does your site clearly communicate the core message of your brand or product? Or does it send confusing, cluttered messages to customers? Fixing design flaws in your website can lead to a drastic increase in the effectiveness of your website and brand, both now and in the future. Do not allow your website to get ruined by poor site design. Get your web design fixed as quickly as possible so you can compete in the century of the Internet and stand out from the crowd, today, and in the future. This is a guest post by Lisa Peteres who is currently working for a web design agency. She is an occasional guest blogger on web design, web development and eCommerce .