The Perks of Having a Professional Web Design

If you want to save money, you can build a website yourself.

If you want to earn money, pay a professional to build it for you.

At first, that may sound contradictory.

And yes, it will cost you upfront. 

But here's what you need to know. 

The latest research tells us that 98% of people research a company online before deciding to do business with them.

So, that's pretty much everybody, right?

And you only get one opportunity to convince them to choose you. 

And it's your website that has to do the talking, convince them to trust you, and close the deal.

Do you want to leave that to chance? Just to save a few bucks?

Because if you do, it could cost you dearly.

Allow us to tell you all about the perks of having a professional web design and earn you money in the long run. 

 

Google Loves Professional Web Design

 

If improving your search rankings was the only perk of having professional web design, it would be worth your investment. But it's not; there are several reasons; however, this is the most important to you and your business. 

There are specific design elements that need to be applied to ensure Google chooses your website over the thousands of others. And this is how professional web designers help you because good design and SEO (search engine optimization) go hand in hand.

So, how do web design and SEO collaborate?

• Mobile-Friendliness: A professionally designed website will be mobile-friendly, and in 2015 Google made this a ranking factor.
• Easy-to-Read Design: A poorly laid out web design makes it difficult for users to find and read what they're searching for. Meaning they'll bounce, and that affects your rankings. 
• Website Speed: Website speed is a crucially important aspect of SEO; if your site is slow in loading (Google expects 3 seconds or less), you'll drop down the rankings.
• Sitemaps: A sitemap is a guide that search engines use to understand the layout of your website. Enabling you to inform search engines of page importance on your website. 
• File names: Images should have descriptive, logical names, as this helps search engines read your images and put them into a logical context.
• File size: Large files will slow download times, which provides a poor user experience, increasing your visitor bounce rate.
• URL structure: Page URLs with descriptive words help search engines understand your page and it becomes easier for your visitors to remember as well.

Once consumers find you; you must make a great first impression, here's why:

 

First Impressions Count

 

How often do you land on a website, instantly thought nope, not for me, and immediately hit the back button? 

It could be an excellent company, with a great service or products, maybe even for the best price and world-class customer service. But we'll never know, and neither will the thousands of other potential clients that land and leave.

"You never get a second chance to make a great first impression," Will Rogers, wise words from a great man.

Professional designers understand this and know-how to build websites using a minimalistic approach that ensures your site appeals to a broader audience and retains your visitor's first impression as they flow through your website with a feeling of ease and familiarity. 

And it's strategies like these that are proven to make a better first impression. 

Want consumers to recognize you?

Let's look at how next:

 

Establishes Your Brand Identity

 

Do you know how important branding is to your business online?

Google favors well established, consistent brands with a solid identity that consumers can relate to and engage with. Google actually promotes them over those businesses without one.

And according to Smart Insights, consumers 68% more likely to buy products, remain loyal, and recommend brands they recognize and trust. 

A professional web designer understands your brand's numerous assets and the importance and the benefits of using good font/typography in your content, and visuals including logo fonts. They will use them to create consistency throughout your site, enabling visitors to enjoy their browsing experience. 

Similarly, having a professional web design can help with your credibility; here's why that's important:

 

Gives You Credibility

 

It takes under 0.05 (50 milliseconds) for people to make a snap decision and form an opinion about your website and your company's credibility. And we know once you lose credibility, it's almost impossible to get it back. 

We've had the WWW (world-wide-web) for 31 years now and have become accustomed to seeing and using beautifully designed websites with seamless functionality. 

And it's what we now expect, we want websites that save us time, provide us with a positive user experience, and are clean and easy to navigate. 

And when we find them, we return because we know we can rely on them. After all, they're credible. 

Next up, how professional web design stops the bounce!

 

Reduces Bounce Rates

 

Steve Jobs once said:

"Design is not just how and what it looks like and feels like; it's how it works." 

We no longer trust websites with poor design because we now know there's no excuse for it, we expect a seamless UX (user experience), and if a website doesn't provide it, we're gone.

Bounce rates are hugely detrimental to your website's search engine rankings; your ranking will suffer if yours is high. 

A professionally designed website draws users in, leading them from your landing page and onto what your site has to offer. Serving to increase the time users spend on your website, decreasing your bounce rates, and improving your rankings and ROI. 

Speaking of your ROI, next we're talking money:

 

Professional Web Design Boosts Your Bottom Line 

 

According to a recent Adobe survey, "Companies with a robust design outperform companies with a weak design by 219% on the S&P Index (a stock market index) over 10 years".

As we said in the intro, professional web design will cost you upfront, but it's an investment well worth making. 

You now know that an optimized website will attract more visitors because of SEO. Retain them because of a seamless user experience. Turn visitors into prospects because of easy-to-read content, and convert them into leads because they'll feel they can trust and rely on your brand. 

Meaning a boost in your bottom line because of increased sales and a return on your initial investment that will continuously deliver. 

 

Simplifies Adding Future Website Functionality

 

Updates and additional functionalities are continuously required, so you can't just build your website and leave it. You now know, Google and consumers expect your site to contain the most up-to-date design elements.

And one of the many perks of professional web design is how easy you can update your site. Because designers understand your theme, know your branding, and how your site must function to provide your visitors with a memorable user experience. 

 

CONCLUSION

 

So, there you have it. 

You can either save money now or invest in your business's future.

But now you know the perks of having a professional web design, can you really afford to ignore them?

And miss out on the 98% of consumers that expect you to have one!