15 seconds is all you have, to make an impact.
Website design – A study looking at user behaviour across 2 billion website visitors over a month found that 55% spent fewer than 15 seconds actively on a page before leaving. Why is website design so important? 15 seconds is all you have, to make an impact.
For anyone that is counting on their website being a lead generation tool to grow their business, that’s a terrifying statistic. You put blood, sweat and tears into what goes onto your website only to find that 55% of people are potentially only casting a disinterested eye over it. It’s heart breaking stuff.
This is the key argument for why website design is so important. There are a few key issues that might drive people to walk out after the first 15 seconds.
- The website isn’t what they expected. The infamous example of Nissan.com – if you type that url in, thinking you’re set to buy a new car then you’re in for a shock. Website design is important right down to the web addresses you choose and making sure you have all the ones other people could commandeer.
- Outdated design. The internet moves fast in terms of website design. If your business’s website looked cutting edge in 2000, it’s most likely looking a little worse for wear. Even those that prefer a retro look don’t want to look at school report style fonts, on brash primary colours and outsized pixelated images.
- A design that didn’t survive the shift to mobile. Since 2017, over half of all web traffic has been via mobile device. If your prospects are looking at a website design where they can only read half of the screen and work to read the rest, the user experience is severely impacted. A mobile website or responsive design is essential as more and more people browse on smaller technology.
- Bad user experience. A frustrating user experience with slow loading speeds, unclear menus, crowded content, and an unnecessarily complicated looking process is all going to turn people away. Even if your businesses website survives that first 15 second drop out point, the more clicks and confusion your website design creates, the more people you lose.
Is it important to your business’s success to look at changing your website design?
Websites aren’t meant to be the equivalent of a yellow pages listing showing your contact details alongside a brief idea of what you do any more. They should work for you in terms of demonstrating your key unique selling points, projecting your brand image, displaying your products and services, and/or converting or partially converting your prospects digitally.
This is true of business to business companies, business to consumer companies and ecommerce.
Having a strong grasp of how your website is currently performing will decide if it’s time for a new website design. Are people visiting your website and are they the right website visitors? Are those visiting your website engaging with the content, or are you losing them quickly? Is it generating either leads or sales?
If you’re not meeting any of your business objectives with your current website then yes, it might well be time to revisit your website design.
The most important questions to ask yourself of your website design.
- Why are you redesigning your website? Is it that it no longer reflects you brand? Is there a high bounce rate and number of dropouts? Is it failing to convert in a meaningful way? Or is it as simple as that you’re unable to update it yourself using an easy to use Content Management System instead of hard code?
- What do you want from your new website? The failures of your existing website will no doubt define the objectives of the new website design project.
- Who is the website for? Your demographic will determine your website in terms of design, the language and tone used, and functionality.
- What kind of website do you want? Are you actually selling products or services on your website, are you generating leads or are you just looking to increase the awareness of your brand?
- What image do you want your business’s website design to project? Are there websites – even outside your industry sector but aimed at your demographic – that you think would appeal to your potential clients?
- How much work do you need to put into your new website design? If you have a website that doesn’t reflect your brand, doesn’t generate any traffic and you cannot even edit it yourself, this is most likely going to be a complete redesign project. If you’re overall happy that the look of your website follows your branding, but you’re losing your website visitors before they convert, then it may be a matter of analysing the user journey, identifying problem areas, and testing new approaches.
- How will you measure the success of your new website design? The project doesn’t end when you publish the new website. To assess the success, you should set long and short-term goals, and regularly measure if you’re set to meet those goals. If you aren’t, then there is additional testing and tweaking to be carried out.
In summary; website design is very important
The importance of a website design that helps you to achieve your business objectives cannot be overstated.
An online presence means you can reach more people, create more opportunities, and make more sales. It’s an opportunity to impact on people around-the-clock. It’s worth putting time and money in to it. If your online presence is only reaching people for 15 seconds, then it’s time and money frustratingly wasted.
Researched, targeted and efficient website design can mean the difference between an online presence that some people see for 15 seconds, or that the right people see for enough time to make a positive impact.
Take a look at some the websites we have designed for our clients
