design matters

Are websites today just about SEO, analytics and tracking, leads capture and conversion? Does web design matter anymore?

The answer is simple. Design matters more than ever.

User-friendly design with outstanding aesthetics separates average (non-performing) websites from a well-tuned business engine that supports your marketing mission.

In today’s world, success is the result of combining business strategy with creative inspiration and sound design principles. Here are five key principles to consider when selecting and working with a web design studio.

1) Brand identity.

Start with a brand statement that incorporates your business and marketing strategy as it relates to your target audience(s). Branding involves a lot more than a great logo. It’s your statement to the world and requires well-planned messaging. Branding guides your interaction with customers, clients, prospects, staff, vendors and the community at large.

2) Purpose.

Why does your company exist? Why do you offer certain products and services (and not others)? Why do you have a website? What do you need it to do? Purpose speaks to strategy. There must be a reason for everything, from font and color selection to logo development, from the selection and arrangement of design elements to site navigation.

3) Aesthetics.

Your web designer should be a good match for your design tastes so the finished website expresses your unique style. Your company’s website needs to stand out to get noticed and attract potential customers. If you’re going to make a statement effectively, the overall appearance and function must represent your aesthetic preferences.

4) User experience.

A website should be designed for optimal user experience. There are website conventions that tell us how to arrange design elements in a hierarchy that guides the user through website, with various opportunities for engagement. In optimizing the user experience, we consider visual presentation, navigation, overall impression, engagement opportunities and calls to action.

5) Mobile-friendliness.

In 2015, we reached the watershed moment when the number of Google searches on mobile devices outnumbered searches done on desktop computers and laptops. That’s when Google started favoring mobile-friendly websites in search results done on mobile devices. If your website isn’t mobile-friendly, your rankings suffer. No business can afford that.

The bottom line.

We have one to three seconds to make an impression with a website before a site visitor moves on to something else. One to three seconds! The immediate look, feel and messaging of a website is absolutely essential to 1) capturing your intended prospect’s attention and 2) sparking engagement.

These principles guide our work from the planning stages through design, development and testing. We offer: Custom WordPress website design, redesign and conversions to WordPress from other platforms. We also offer website audits to help business owners determine the best course for updating their web presence. Details here.

Once your website is complete, we’ll likely recommend working collaboratively with our SEO and online advertising partner, Austin-based Clear Blue Sky Digital, to optimize the site, get it registered properly with search engines and start generating the coveted traffic that will grow your business.

How do you know if you need a new website? Find out here.

Getting started.

If you’re ready to create or redesign your website, we’d love to hear from you. We’ll start with a 20-minute complimentary consultation. We also offer a comprehensive website audit including a full technical and design assessment with detailed recommendations. Email me for details.

Samples of our work are in our portfolio.