Your website is the welcome mat for your business. It’s the first thing many potential customers will see when they search for your products, services, or name. But it’s more than just a place to land – it’s also a vitally important part of your overall digital marketing strategy. Your website should be drawing in customers from around the web, enticing them with a great user experience and compelling content. And finally, the goal is then converting them into satisfied and loyal customers. Sound like a lot to ask for from just a little website? Well, with the right web design services, it’s all possible.
What is Web Design?
Web design is, quite simply, the process of creating a website from start to finish. It involves planning what your site will look like, conceptualizing how it will function, and arranging all the pieces beautifully together.
While web design is a simple concept to grasp, building a website that looks great, offers a seamless user experience, and converts visitors to customers is no small task. Your business website definitely needs to be aesthetically pleasing. However, it also needs to function well and be easily found and understood by search engines and people searching alike.
Why is Web Design Important?
Web design is very important for your business because your website is a pivotal part of your customer journey. Your potential customers will encounter your website at most or all stages of your marketing and sales funnels. Studies have shown that between 70-80% of potential customers research a business online before they make a purchase or visit in person. Having a website that doesn’t do its job properly can lose you a lot of business.
Therefore, website design is more important these days than ever. 20 years ago, perhaps you could get away with a very basic website without much aesthetic or functional value if your products were top-notch. But now, customers expect a much better experience on the websites of even very small businesses. So, they’re likely to head off to your competitors if they don’t find these qualities in yours.
In addition, your website is an important lead generation source for your business. Failing to optimize on this and your whole sales funnel will suffer as a result. Your website is your most important tool to generate and convert leads.
What Are Web Design Services?
The good news is that it’s easier than ever to create a beautiful, functional website for your business. There are now many expert website design services, ranging from DYI website builders to full-service web design companies and more. And they exist to help business owners like you make the most of your website. (This also means there’s really no excuse for having a poorly-designed website anymore!)
Your web design plans should align with the rest of your internet marketing strategy to maximize the benefits of your web design services. That means knowing how people will land on your website – from PPC ads, organic traffic, and/or email campaigns. Using this information, you work towards building a strategic website accordingly.
Web Design Services to Enhance Your Small Business’s Growth
Web design services come in a variety of options, which is great for the modern business owner. You can choose the option that makes the most sense for your business now. There are also options that will let you upgrade your website when you’re ready to make the move to gain more customers.
Here are the three most common kinds of web design services.
Site Builders
A popular option for very small businesses and beginning entrepreneurs, site builders let you design and build your own website without much (or any) technical knowledge. Popular site builders include Wix, Squarespace, Hubspot, and WordPress.
A note of caution for those looking to grow your business: while the first three options let you set up a site very easily, they will limit your eventual growth. They’re difficult to transition into a larger website with more advanced features and/or a larger audience. Plus, it’s difficult to transfer those sites onto a new platform.
However, they do offer the benefit of being very simple for business owners to set up themselves. And they make it easy to create a user-friendly page flow, integrated CTAs, and sites that look good on mobile devices.
If you go the build-it-yourself route, we suggest you start with a WordPress website builder. They’re a little more work to set up than those other content management systems (CMS). But luckily, they will allow you to grow and build your traffic and your business more easily.
Freelancers
Do you have a larger marketing budget and prefer a custom approach with less work on your part? If so, you can hire the web design services of a freelancer. A freelancer with years of experience in website design services can be an affordable way to build your business website. With their expertise, they can design it for optimal user experience and conversion rate.
Freelancers are a popular option because they charge less than website design agencies. Just remember that they’ll need to give you back full control of your website once the design process is complete. You’ll be responsible for owning and maintaining your website over the years, and any ongoing optimization or updates will probably cost extra.
For business owners who don’t mind maintaining control but want good results on a more limited budget, freelancers can be a good option. (Interested in learning more about typical budgets and costs for website design? Check out our complete guide for more info.)
Agencies
Web design companies and digital marketing agencies are a more expensive but also more comprehensive option for creating a beautiful business website. While the higher cost is certainly a factor in web design decisions, given the importance of a highly functional website and the ROI involved, the investment can be well worth the initial cost.
A web design agency will create a great-looking, easy-to-navigate website for you from start to finish. They’re up to date on the latest best practices for:
- on-site SEO
- website design to enhance marketing
- mobile-friendly design
- ecommerce website set-up
- industry-specific guidance in many cases
Digital marketing agencies often offer web design services as part of their package of services as well. This can be a great option because you get a website design that’s completely integrated into your overall digital marketing strategy, ensuring everything works seamlessly together. They’ll also test your website design along the way to make sure everything is completely optimized for your success.
Agencies are a great option if you want to create a website that is custom-designed for your company’s success from start to finish. While the costs can be higher, the results are typically well worth it if you go with a reputable and well-established agency.
Looking for a Web Design and Digital Marketing Agency?
If you’re looking for a full-service digital marketing agency that offers best-in-class website design, Content First Marketing has you covered.
Our team of expert website designers will build you a website that not only looks great but also targets more qualified prospects and visitors who are more likely to convert into paying customers. And our complete offering of marketing services will seamlessly integrate all your digital marketing channels with your beautiful new website – and deliver you real results you can measure.
Schedule a free business review here to find out how we help businesses grow. You can use these insights for inspiration, and let us do the marketing for you.
Sources:
https://www.crazyegg.com/blog/
https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/
