How many websites have you clicked on and promptly left due to one of the following reasons?
- The website wasn’t very good or looked cheap.
- You couldn’t find what you were looking for very quickly.
- The website was difficult to use.
- There was too much going on.
All of these reasons are why you need to invest in great website design. Why? Because a lot of your potential clients/customers could have left for your competitors websites for these very reasons.
With so much noise on the internet and masses of content to wade through, people are making snap judgements. In fact, in the first 0.05 seconds of clicking through to your website, users will form an opinion that determines whether they will remain or leave.
To really make a mark on your potential clients (and grow your small business!), you must invest in exceptional website design to wow them from the offset. Here are 5 reasons why…
Having an exceptional website can lead to a lot of postive outlooks and reflections for your business! It shows you care, you're willing to invest and put the effort and time in to present and showcase your business. No one wants to work for or with a business that doesn't care. Your website is like your business' suit, you want it to look presentable.
Exceptional Website Design means that you will…
1. Increase Credibility and Brand Awareness
A professionally designed website builds trust and credibility with visitors. How? Because they can immediately see that you’ve put time, effort, and money into your business. (Remember those visitors who leave when a website looks cheap? This is not the image you want to be associated with your brand).
If you then use this brand consistently in your marketing materials and you spread it through your emails and your social channels, your brand and name will soon become recognised.
2. Generate Traffic
Many professionals think that they just need a website set up and running and that then will result in new clients flocking. That’s just not true. To stand out from your competitors, you need an exceptional website that appears at the top of search engines like Google.
To drive traffic to your website, you need to optimise it for SEO (Search Engine Optimisation). This means that Google needs to like your website AND see that visitors like your website too. An easy way to do this is to:
- Make sure that your website copy includes keywords that your target audience will search for.
- Publish regular blog content that includes keywords and topics that your audience will search for.
- Run speed tests to check that your website loads quickly (otherwise, Google will penalise you).
3. Reach Your Demographic
An okay website will ensure that when people do come across you, they will get the information that they need if they stay long enough to find it. A great website, however, with exceptional design, will ensure that you reach your specific target audience.
For example, you know your target audience, their wants and needs, challenges and aspirations. Therefore, your website needs to cater specifically to them. The images and colours should elicit the right emotions and the content should speak directly to them. If it does this, not only will they find your website, but they will be inclined to take the action that you want them to too (e.g. give you a call).
4. Actually Convert Users into Clients
Exceptional website design ensures that the right people find your website and actually stay on it long enough to take the action that you want them to. For example, if you want them to download resources or to sign up for your newsletter, you can feature these prominently in your design or set up pop-ups to appear.
Always create valuable resources that your target audience will want and allow them to download them for free in exchange for their contact information. This is the first step of the conversion process, allowing you to grow your email list and nurture these leads into long-term clients.
5. Discover New Target Clients
A professionally designed, SEO-optimised website should begin to generate new leads for you. Perhaps even in a demographic that you didn’t know you could target! This is essential if you want to actually grow your practice sustainably, so make sure to always check your analytics. Where are these people coming from? What resources and blogs are they most interested in?
