Web Design Makes
Picture this: a website that loads within seconds, leading you to a homepage that looks organized and pleasing to the eye. Assuming you’re looking for medical information, you see that this website has the latest news in the medical industry as well as a search bar in a strategic location to narrow down the medical articles you want to read.
Now think of this website: a slow website that has to load more content with every little scroll you make. It uses unsightly fonts, unnecessary eye-catching colors, and ads covering too much of the website that you see barely any content.
Between the two, chances are, you’d think the first website is a legitimate medical information website written by medical researchers with data worth reading. The second one, however, might remind you of a high school student’s attempt at HTML and copy-pasting Wikipedia articles to fill in the content. At worst, you might even think it’s a fake news site designed by anti-vaxxers and people who shun modern medicine in favor of essential oils and burnt sage.
And when it comes to businesses, the same effect of web design applies to people searching for businesses. If you’re doing digital marketing services for your clients. It’s possible the first thing you should focus on is their web design. Because if it looks that bad, customers may think your client’s website quality is similar to the quality of their product or service.
Web Design = Trustworthiness?
One study entitled Trust and Mistrust of Online Health Sites shows just how much effect web design has on a business’ trustworthiness. For one month, a researcher asked fifteen women with health conditions to search the internet for related health advice. The researcher asked them to search for medical websites specifically chosen for their web design elements.
The results? Despite the reliable content, 94 percent of respondents said they mistrusted the site because of web design elements not because of the content. Which was actually reliable. They cited problems such as complex layouts, pop-up ads, unreadable print. And ugly web design is just some examples of these citations.
The project was not on a business website. But what’s to stop a person from making the same assumption on a business website if it looks ugly and not trustworthy? Using that implication, you can emphasize the importance of your web design services when you finally make your pitch.
What This Means for You
If you’re certain your digital marketing agency provides quality services, this fact may be useful when it comes to selling web design services. By convincing them how important web design is for a business. They may be more willing for your company to implement web design, among the other services you provide.
It’s important to stress the importance of web design when you first pitch the service to your client. Show them how it’s a weakness for your client’s business, and that, if they’re dealing with B2B clients. Bad web design can scare off around 37 percent of potential business partners.
One of the best ways to sell web design to your clients? Show them the carrot on the stick. The carrot is their authority and reputation, which improves with good web design. The stick is the fact that bad web design scares away potential customers. Reducing the revenue they can make off their website.