Your website is one of your most important assets as a startup. It’s the place where your target audience can learn more about who you are as a company, what you have to offer, and how you, as a business, are a solution.
In short, your website is your brand’s home base.
But, if you don’t have a site, where can you begin the website creation process — especially if you’re not design-savvy?
Before giving you some of the top design tips that you should be incorporating into your site, we’re going to first discuss why it’s important.
Let’s get started.
Why website design is crucial to succeed
Did you know that 50% of consumers believe that website design is crucial to a business’s overall brand performance? But, why? Does it really matter?
From typography to color palettes to customer experience (UX) copy, there are many things that contribute to an effective website design. User interface (UI)/UX design is crucial because it’s one of the first things potential customers notice when they land on your company’s website. It can also be the very reason why your website visitors may want to learn more about your startup — or click off your site altogether.
Just like anyone would, your customers expect your website design to be well-designed, informative and easy to navigate.
(Just as a disclaimer, we don’t write this as a means to scare you off, but to let you know the reality of how a design can make or break your website performance.)
Still not convinced that web design is as important as we say it is? Here are the exact reasons why you need to take website design seriously:
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It showcases your brand identity.
Without having a digital presence, how else is your ideal customer supposed to know who your brand is? By using your branding guidelines throughout your site, there will be no question about who your company is.
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It positions your business as a leader in its industry.
Your website can be one of the places where you can showcase just how serious you are about your business. If you don’t have a clear website design, it can rub off as unprofessional or that you aren’t a legitimate business.
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It helps you land more sales.
Lastly, having a great website design encourages more sales. From making an easy-to-understand navigation bar to including call-to-actions on your site, design can help with both your lead gen and sales efforts.
Ignoring Website Accessibility: Could It be Killing Your Conversions?
And if you’re still on the fence about whether or not you should invest the time (or resources) into the design of your site, here are some stats to back up why design is crucial:
- According to a report by Stanford, 75% of people base the credibility of a business on how its website looks
- A customer’s first impression of your site is 94% design-related
- It takes .05 seconds for visitors to form an opinion on your website
I think you get the message.
Now that you understand how important it is to have an effective design, let’s go through a few quick tips on how you can make a website design — great.
Quick tips to make website design work for your startup
Even if your resources are limited, there are plenty of free design templates that you can use to get started with. You can then customize them to meet your needs later on.
So, if you’re considering going the template route, here are some things to consider before diving into your design.
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Have a clear vision.
Without a clear vision, your ideal audience won’t have a good understanding of who you are as a company. This can lead them to “bounce off” your website as soon as they land on it. This is not what you want to happen — especially as a startup.
The main things your site design should convey include:
- Who your company is.
- The solutions you offer.
- Who your company serves.
- Social proof.
- A clear call to action (CTA).
- Intuitive navigation.
By including all of these pieces, you will be able to better guide your web visitor seamlessly throughout your site’s design.
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Get the basics right.
There are many UI/UX design basics that you should know before hopping into the design portion of your site. Some things to consider include:
- Having a purpose for your site (as mentioned above).
- Optimizing pages for load speed time.
- Using white space to your advantage.
- Understanding contrast.
- Staying on brand (including typography, colors, and text).
- Making your design responsive for all mediums (ex. mobile, desktop and tablet).
If this seems a bit too granular for you, there are plenty of resources out there to help you dig even deeper! It’s just a matter of taking the time to take a free design course or read an in-depth web design article to learn more.
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Don’t be afraid to ask for help.
You shouldn’t be afraid to ask for help — if you need it.
This can look like hiring a design contractor to create the design portion of your site or asking a friend to take a look at your drafted design to get a second opinion.
Either way, if you are still unsure if you can handle website design or not, we suggest that you still give it a try. You may be pleasantly surprised with how it turns out.
But, if you continue to run into roadblocks along the way, you may need additional assistance to keep your website project moving forward.
6 Essential Web Design Elements to Boost Your Website’s Conversions
Grow and scale your startup with design
With over 4.6 billion internet users worldwide, having a great site design is essential in order to stay competitive as a startup. As more and more people become more engaged with the digital world, it’s more important now than ever before to establish your digital presence — even as a startup in the industry.
By following the website design tips highlighted above, you’ll be on the right path to get creating a site that your customers will love. What are you waiting for? Try out your hand with web design today!
