On occasion I get a prospective client or two who sincerely ask me, “Does it really matter what the website looks like?”. Every time I hear something like this, I have a little heart attack and shake my head.

Have you ever seen an episode of the popular ABC show Shark Tank? It’s one of my favorite shows that features different American entrepreneurs trying to convince a panel of multi-million dollar investors to invest in their product/business. The panel consist of very successful businessmen and women such as Lori Greiner of QVC, Mark Cuban and my personal favorite, Kevin O’Leary. I don’t think I’ve missed an episode yet.

While watching Shark Tank, one important thing I’ve noticed is that Barbara and Laurie almost always point out when the packaging and presentation of these products is not up to par, and for that reason alone, they will either not invest at all, or invest and demand a change in “design”. Why? Because it’s simple. If a product or service is not designed well, it’s not marketed well. And marketing is all about design.

Having a website that looks great and functions well is as important as having a physical brick & mortar business that is clean and organized. It’s exactly the same.  Would you hire a dentist who’s lobby was messy, outdated and cold feeling? Would you trust that this dentist had all the best and newest technology available? Thoughts like this run thru the minds of a prospective customer regardless if you have a restaurant, medical practice, insurance company, etc…

Take a look at these two dental websites.

Which dental practice would you contact first?

This is why web design is important. It is important to give our visitors the information they need in 3 seconds or less. This is the amount of time you have to convince someone visiting your website that they should stay on it or contact you.

A well designed website should be: 

• Organized and uncluttered
• It should be easy for your visitors to find the information they are looking for
• Good contrast for easy reading
• Relevant in design to your particular business
• Easy to read fonts and font sizes
• Call to actions telling your visitors what they need to do next
• It should look professional

People treat Google like the modern day phone book. So when you have the opportunity to get a visitor from Google or Bing, don’t risk losing them just because another website was easier to navigate or just “looked prettier”. It’s unfortunate, but people will judge a book by it’s cover. It’s important to stay competitive and design is just one of those ways you can stay on top of the game.

Design is everywhere. From how food is placed on a plate to the packaging of the yogurt your going to buy at the grocery store. From the clothes that you wear, to the building you choose for your small business. There is a reason businesses of all kinds spend billions of dollars a year just on design alone. And if you notice, they don’t stop. Microsoft and Adobe redesign their product logos every few years just to keep up with the current design trends. In technology, it’s important not to look outdated.

When I tell you that investing in good design will help convert your customers/visitors, I’m not telling you my opinion. It’s design science and it’s been proven for many many years. You can even go to school to get a bachelors in Interior Design. I didn’t even know that until I started researching about the science of design. I can go into a lot of detail about the science of web design, but I’ll leave that for my next blog post.

Get your customers in the door, and then prove to them why they should stay.

Web design is all about getting them in the door.

Here is a great infographic on great landing page design from kissmetrics. A leader in marketing and analytics online.