Websites have become more and more important over the last ten years or so, to the extent that now most people use many websites each day for email, shopping, work, socialising and entertainment.
In fact, there are many thousands of businesses that trade purely online. They get their customers there, they convince them to buy, they get their customers address and payment, all on the web.
For other firms that don’t operate purely online, the website is still a vital shop window for them. Also, their email will usually be hosted in conjunction with their site, and if this goes down, even for an hour or so, they will have lost an important channel of contact with their customers.
For this reason, all aspects of websites need to be right, the domains, hosting, website design and functionality. Out of all these factors, most people will know that website design is the element that gives the first impression and keeps people on your site. But it also does much more than this.
One point that needs to be considered before anything is done is the design technology to be used. If you don’t, then costly mistakes can be made. Many designers will use Macromedia Flash for website design, purely because this programme became popular a few years ago as it enables movement to be put onto websites. The designers studied the technology and then stuck with it, doing every site in Flash, even ones where movement was not wanted. Visually the sites look fine, but people are now becoming aware that Flash sites are not good for the search engines, and a lot of business owners are now realising that their designer took the wrong path when selecting the website design technology for their site.
Branding is another important consideration for website design. Your website should reflect your brand, so when people visit the site they see something that’s in sympathy with the company’s signage, literature, packaging, advertising and so on. That way, potential customers will feel reassured that they’re in the right place. These days there are many rogue websites that are set up to fool people into handing over their important personal details. So it is particularly important that online shops make potential customers feel reassured that they’re in the right place when they are about to type in their credit or debit card numbers.
The structure of the site is a part of the design that must be right too. It’s important that people can get to all the pages they need in just a couple of clicks. So the navigation system must be thought out carefully with the customer in mind. You don’t want to have to drill down through three or four sub-menus to find what you want. People will just get lost and go to another site, and you’ll have lost a potential customer to someone with better website design.
If you want your website set up properly, it’s best to use a professional firm who will produce a good website design with the minimum of hassle. There are so many sites on the web that look amateurish, with awful layouts and typefaces. These are fine for people who want to dabble with do-it-yourself website design, but for a professional business this will just turn potential customers away. If you spend some time asking around and doing research, you’ll find a professional firm that will give you the professional website design you’re looking for.
