Stats That Prove How Important Good Web Design is to Your Business
If you’re at a crossroads and are not sure about how to move your business forward, you might want to think about allocating some funds for a website redesign.
Most business owners are reluctant about changing their website because it not only costs money, but can also be very challenging and frustrating – especially if they’ve had bad experiences with the wrong web design agency.
However, if you find that your business is stagnating and you’re not seeing any growth in your client base, your website is probably not being as effective as it should be.
If your website hasn’t gone through a major design update in the last 3 to 5 years, then there’s a good chance that it’s already looking outdated and that it’s no longer performing to current technology standards. It’s important to note that technology moves quite quickly which affects people’s tastes and search engines are always updating their algorithms.
Your website is essential to your online and offline marketing efforts. When people hear about your firm or happen to discover your site through a search or an ad, your website will be the first thing they’ll look at. If it doesn’t create a great first impression, there’s very little chance that they’ll convert.
If you’re not sure whether you need to overhaul your digital presence, here are some interesting stats that will push you in the right direction.
- You have 50 milliseconds to make a good first impression.
Yes, you read that right a— 50 milliseconds, not 50 seconds. You have less than a second to make a good first impression on your website visitors. If they don’t like what they see, they’ll move on to the next financial advisor website on their list.
- Most visitors spend less than 15 seconds on a website
If your website does a good job at making a good impression, you’ve only got 15 seconds to catch their attention and convince them to stay on your site. The longer a user lingers on your site, the more likely they are to convert.
- 94% of user feedback is about website design
Researchers found that most people judged websites based purely on how it looks and only 6% of those surveyed mentioned the content.
Some of the web design-related feedback included:
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- Complex and busy look
- Boring design
- Poor navigation
- Color choice
- Pop-up ads
- Font size
- Too much text
- Poor search function
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You have to thoroughly test your website’s user interface so that you can provide the best user experience possible.
- 66% would rather consume content on a website that’s beautifully designed
According to a survey conducted by Adobe, most people prefer to consume content on a great looking website rather than a plain and simple one. In addition, the percentage goes up as the age demographic gets younger. 38% of those who participated simply stopped engaging with the website if they found the layout or images unattractive.
An outdated and badly designed website will cause you to lose a lot of business. Modern designs along with great color schemes and typography go a long way in keeping visitors engaged.
- 47% of users expect websites to load in 2 seconds or less
Aside from web design, speed matters a lot. A fast loading website helps create a positive first impression and improves your brand image.
In addition, according to Adobe, 39% will stop engaging with a website if the pages take too long to load. If you’re not optimizing your website speed, you’re giving up almost half of your visitors. In total, slow websites cost business owners $2.6 billion a year.
- 70% of businesses don’t have a clear call-to-action button
Call-to-actions are crucial to any website. You’ve put a lot of effort into making a great looking site that people will want to spend their time on, but they could just as easily leave at any moment and never come back again.
Having well placed call-to-action buttons gives you a higher chance of creating and maintaining a lasting connection with your visitors and converting them into clients.
Your call-to-action can be something as simple as a short contact form or mailing list sign-up form. The key is to make the conversion process easy and obvious.
- 85% of adults think that mobile websites should be as good as the desktop version
A clear indicator that a website hasn’t been updated in a while is if it doesn’t work properly on mobile devices like smartphones.
Approximately half of the world’s Internet traffic is through mobile devices. Google has also switched over to mobile-first indexing.
If your website is not well optimized for mobile, you’re not only turning away visitors, but also negatively affecting your site’s SEO performance.
- According to a Stanford University study, 75% of users will judge a company’s credentials based their website’s design
Having a bad website doesn’t only negatively affect visitor impressions and new business growth, it also decreases customer confidence.
Your website is the online face of your company, so you should make sure it showcases your brand as a successful and professional operation.
Businesses need to redesign or update their websites routinely, and it doesn’t need to be a difficult process. Hiring a professional design team can make light work of your website redesign and keep your financial services business relevant to tech-savvy users.