A professionally crafted website is crucial for a successful business and strong brand image. In today’s digital world, people judge businesses by their websites and you want to make a great first impression. If you want to stand out from your competitors, hiring a stellar web designer is an investment that your company should consider.
What are some of the ways that a web designer can help your business?
1: Strong Brand Personality
Today’s companies are focusing on building their online presence and company tone. Having a strong, consistent, and established brand personality will help you increase customer loyalty and brand awareness. A well-designed, beautiful website that adheres to your aesthetic can help your company cement its brand on the internet.
A web designer can sit down with your team, discuss your site style and requirements, and review your current social media accounts, products, and other company-related content. At the end of the process, you receive a stunning company site that reflects your brand image.
2: Search Engine Optimization
Search Engine Optimization, or SEO, is one of the most important factors in digital marketing. This term refers to your website’s ability to rank highly in search engine results, such as Google. When people search for businesses and products, they use certain keywords in their search queries. If your website contains these keywords, your site will rank higher on Google.
However, SEO is not as simple as keyword stuffing your pages. Google consistently updates its algorithm to provide more accurate results to its users – and there are certain actions, such as using too many keywords in illogical ways, that will hurt you. In addition to keywords, your site will need a human touch and fast loading times, among other factors. For best results, hire a web designer familiar with current SEO strategies to optimize your site.
3: Mobile Responsiveness
Most of your customers use smartphones or tablets to access the internet, along with their computers. A large majority of your site’s traffic will come from mobile users. As a result, your business site will need to be compatible for mobile users.
If a smartphone user visits your site and your design is not mobile-friendly, they will leave your site and find a similar company with a mobile-responsive design. Not only does this increase revenue for your competitors, but not having a mobile-friendly site will cost you sales and leads. A web designer will update your site so it is friendly for users on all devices.
4: Increased Page Speed
One of Google’s SEO updates came in the form of the Speed Update. Released in July 2018, Google’s search engine ranking algorithm penalizes pages with a slow load time. That means that if your page does not load within a certain timeframe, your page will rank lower and less customers will find you.
One Google study found that if a mobile website does not load within 3 seconds, 53% of users will leave the page. Since a good amount of your users are likely on mobile devices, this could have significant implications for your business. A web designer has the training and the resources necessary to optimize your site for improved speed and security.
5: High-Quality Design
Web design is not as easy as it may seem. However, creating an effective website is an extremely complicated process. From headers to images to plugins and codes, professional web designers have the necessary background to craft a comprehensive business site that is both functional and beautiful.
While it may be tempting to use a free website design template you found online, your site will lack the quality and features of a professionally designed one. Hiring a professional web designer is an investment and your business will see the returns.
6: Safe Troubleshooting
Web design and programming are tricky. Sometimes, bugs and maintenance problems crop up due to flaws in the code or even a glitch in the system. While these issues are normal and routine for web designers, people without a programming background will likely struggle with troubleshooting.
Having a professional web designer will help your company prevent these problems from happening in the first place. If these issues do come up, the designer can identify and resolve the problem quickly and efficiently. You will save time and website integrity with a professional on hand.
7: Challenge the Competition
A strong web design is crucial in a competitive industry. Internet users often bounce from page to page looking for products and services. If your website does not provide them with easy information, is not visually appealing, or is difficult to use, the user will leave your site and visit your competitor’s.
Having a professionally designed website will keep you on top of your competitors. A web designer knows the best practices necessary to draw visitors in, present them with easy information, and urge them to convert. You will maintain a strong internet presence and stay on par with your competition.
