Website Design: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly from your Web Design Company
Chris Mulvaney is the CEO of CMDS. I make things... I’m the creative entrepreneur with passion for (re)making brands and inventing solutions to problems no one knows exist.
When it comes to web site design, most people can tell you what they like and dislike about the sites they visit on the internet. However, distinguishing between good web site design and bad web site design involves more than personal opinion. Good web site design, done by a professional web design company meets certain universal criteria; poor web site design does not, often with disastrous results.
A professional web design company understands that regardless of the content, or the products and services rendered, every website needs to accomplish two basic things for the online consumer. First, it must be easy to find and to navigate. Second, it must make sense visually.
A Good Web Site Design – Allows for the Site to be Easy to Find and to Navigate, says your Web Design Company
This first criteria involves being highly visible to search engines, as well as friendly to the user.
Good web site design results in websites with high page rankings in search engines by using keywords in strategic places in the content of the site and ensuring that pages are properly linked, titled and meta tagged.
Bad web site design virtually ensures that your site will not be seen by search engines nor found by customers. Without proper keywords correctly displayed and relevant content, your site will be buried at the bottom of search engine results, causing you to lose potential customers to your more highly-ranked competitors.
Just as damaging to your online presence is the pet peeve of all web shoppers- the inability to easily navigate pages and find information. Nothing kills your online business faster than links that lead nowhere or to the wrong place, or content that is neither useful nor easy to get to. A professional web design company takes the users’ experience into account with every page, ensuring that there is no confusion or technical glitch to discourage customers from buying your product or service.
Will potential customers come back to a site that makes it difficult to shop? Not likely, considering how many well-designed sites they have to choose from. Hiring an experienced web design company that adheres to the criteria for good web site design will help you avoid these pitfalls in order to attract, rather than repel, your target market.
Good Website Design – Site Must Make Sense Visually
This second involves both the general attractiveness of the site and how easy it is to read.
As a business owner, you want your web site design to reflect your company – your reputation, the products and services you offer, and your desire to earn and keep customers. Good web site design avoids annoying flashes of light and color in favor of engaging animations. Distracting background patterns and too small (or too large) text in a poor color choice are replaced with clean, easy-to-read content. Navigation bars and other essential information are placed where the customer would expect to find them, making browsing a more pleasant and more efficient experience.
Good web site design invites the consumer to stay and shop in much the same way that a brick-and-mortar store might entice customers with an attractive window dressing. In both cases, happy customers equate to additional revenue for the seller.
Now that you understand the criteria for good web site design and what constitutes bad web site design, consider hiring a reputable web design company to help you improve your web presence and increase your online sales.