When visiting websites, one of the first things we do is to appreciate (or judge) their look. A website’s lay-out and design greatly influences the interest of the visitors, as well as their initial engagement with the brand. A visually-appealing design is irresistible and hard to leave. The longer people are on your website, the better your chances are at converting them into buying customers. It is also equally important that your website is easy to navigate so that it will be convenient for your visitors to browse through the pages.
If you’re looking into giving your site a facelift, you need familiarize yourself first with the value behind a good web design. This way, you’ll be able to strike a balance with design elements you’re going to use. Listed below are five reasons why it’s crucial that your website has an appealing and navigable layout.
- Visuals are processed faster by the brain.
A good web design tends to be more effective in catching people’s attention and engaging them. This is because the brain processes visuals 60,000 times faster than it does text. As such, if you want to make an impression, your best bet would be dressing up your website in a design that doesn’t just resonates with your brand but also appealing to your target audience’s sensibilities.
If, for instance, you’re selling on your site products that promote health and wellbeing, you can consider painting your website shades of green as this color symbolizes life. You can also use quality photos of people that represent health and energy. Using appropriate images, along with evergreen copy, will help you communicate your brand message effectively.
- Visuals aid in your clients’ learning.
It is said that 65% of readers are visual learners, a significant statistic that you can take advantage of. Visual learners are those who learn best with the help of visual aids such pictures, charts, and diagrams, and that they have the capacity to recall what they have observed and can follow drawn or written instructions.
While it is still important that you cater to your all of your readers’ learning styles as much as possible, having a visually-appealing website will give you a good head start. Apart from your web design, your site’s pages are optimized for visual content such as hi-res images, videos, and other materials that you may make available for download. By offering content in different formats, you get to serve a variety of readers and appeal to their learning styles.
- It makes reading enjoyable.
Apart from photos and color schemes, another major decision you have to make when coming up with a good web design is the typography. A carefully-chosen set of fonts can do a lot to keep visitors engaged and digesting information. A type that is easy on the eyes will give your texts better readability, which means they’ll absorb your content better and remember what they read.
When considering types you’ll use on your website, you can stick to a minimalistic font that can be read easily by practically anyone who visits your site. The type you’ll choose should also resonate with the nature of your business. For instance, if your website speaks mostly a formal language, it may not be ideal to use a highly-decorative font for your blog or even your header. It’s also important that you balance the images, colors, and text on your site’s pages to avoid overwhelming your readers. Provide transition between these elements so that the readers will find it easier to finish reading your content.
- Visual content is highly shareable.
Posting content pieces that are not just evergreen but are also creative is an effective way to spread word about your brand. For instance, substantial articles paired with images, infographics, and short videos make for highly shareable content which is a good means to reach out to your potential clients. Visually-appealing content also has potential in starting interaction between you and your clients, as well as amongst themselves. The more people talk about your brand, the more likely it is for you to attract curious clients whom you can turn into loyal customers.
- It reinforces your branding.
A good web design is crucial to the image your audience will associate with you when they see your website. Whether you’re going for a serious tone, candid, or a playful one, your website needs to sport a layout and colors that will give off the feeling you want to stir in your readers. This way, it will be easier for your readers to identify with your brand and from there you can see which among them you should target first.
Like photographs, a cohesive and aesthetically-balanced web design can help tell a story even before you say anything. When deciding on how your website will look like, keep in mind your brand message and think how it will fit into the design. It will also help if you collaborate with a good artist to better put your ideas into paper and rule out the elements that may risk confusing your readers. Overall, it’s important that you take into account the kind of look your audience would want while keeping your brand message clear at the same time.
Image credit: CC by Jeremy Keith
