Be it any niche, the market is always challenging, and in the current scenario, the competition has magnified. Small and medium-sized businesses have to look at various business channels to sustain and grow simultaneously. There are multiple channels like social media, web presence, and digital marketing, to name a few.
Among these, a dedicated website for the business is the most effective tool as it’s the window to the world for the company. A well-designed website has the potential to generate enough leads to help businesses stay afloat. Ironically, according to the Small Business Association (SBA), around 36 percent of small businesses don’t have a website.
Here is a primer article on why having a website is a must for any business and what to keep in mind while designing a business website.
Designing a Website is Not Rocket Science
Designing a website is not rocket science, and there are online tools, which let anyone with a computer and internet connection design a website and get it up online. If that intimidates you, there are companies offering services like website design, A/B testing, SEO, content strategy, search engine marketing, and more.
While these companies make it easier for you to get a website, you need to understand your audience first. After all, the website will be the first exposure to your business for many. And it has to be an experience for new visitors to stick around. Therefore, before heading out to hire a web design agency, take some time to ponder how you want your website to be and what you want from it.
Daily Mobile Internet Consumption Is Expected to Rise to 155 Minutes in 2021
The year 2020 witnessed a rapid digital transformation as more and more companies started websites to make up for closed physical stores. The COVID-19 pandemic forced customers and clients to rely on online services and websites for their needs and requirements. In fact, according to a McKinsey report, more than 80 percent of customer interactions with brands were digital.
With half of 2021 gone with lockdowns still in effect in some places and no hint of the pandemic coming to an end, the digital-first trend towards businesses is likely to stay for days to come. In yet another report, McKinsey observed that around 65 percent of consumers plan to stick to online shopping moving forward.
Brands need to understand that even during the post-pandemic era, digital traffic is likely to be higher than foot traffic. With this in mind, they should aim to design a website that best replicates a physical store to meet customers’ expectations.
Meet the Expectations of Your Customers
Meeting the expectations of customers is a real catch 22 situation for businesses. It’s natural for any customer to have high expectations from a website that they are frequenting. In the digital-first world that we are creating, customers want brands to understand what they want and their expectations.
A recent report by Salesforce revealed that most customers want brands to maintain a high level of consistency across various sections of their website. If a website offers an excellent experience in one department but fails to live up to that expectation in other departments, the customer is likely to bounce.
For example, if a website has a great selection of products but no express delivery or a specific mode of payment, it’s expected to lose a particular chunk of customers. Thus the catch-22 situation.
For the website to succeed, businesses need to ensure that every aspect has to be perfect. From the catalog to checkout, the customer experience should be nothing short of exemplary.
The Website Design Should Be About Building Brand Recognition
Whoever said that looks are superficial couldn’t be more wrong when it comes to website design. A website plays a massive role in attracting new leads, marketing the business, and converting leads to customers.
A good website design has two key elements, including enticing branding and performance design. The look and feel of the website can make or break a brand in the industry. By being visually consistent and attractive, brands leave a lasting impression on the customer and thus generating brand recognition.
Customers are more likely to recall a brand and return if the website experience has been consistent for them throughout the journey from the landing page to checkout.
Make Your Website Easy To Use and Put Customers at the Center
Having a cohesive brand visual across the website is not enough. A good website should also have a great user experience design. A website should put the customer at the center and make it highly convenient and enjoyable to navigate the domain.
Brands must streamline their web design in line with the best user experience practices for faster and frequent lead conversion to generate considerable revenue from their website. As mentioned before in this article, with the digital-first transformation, customer expectations are growing, and businesses that fail to put them at the center are more likely to fail.
The crux of the matter is that the online trend is here to stay, even during the post-pandemic era. Businesses that curate their websites to meet the growing expectations of modern customers will thrive, pandemic or no pandemic.
