A business cannot be successful today without a website, and a website cannot be truly successful without UX/UI design, expert SEO, valuable content, adequate white space, thought-out color schemes, branding, positioning, and alignment, as well as mobile-friendly formatting.

Sound like a lot? It is – and that’s just the tip of the digital iceberg.

But what does all of that mean? How long does it take? What are the steps and how much does it cost? Does it really need to be custom to be good? And what does ‘UX/UX design’ even mean, anyway?

If you’ve often had questions like these or want to know more about a possible website design (or redesign) in the New Year – then read on.

Web Design Stats You Should Be Paying Attention To

• 38% will leave your website if the layout or content isn’t attractive
• 47% expect every webpage to load in under 2 seconds
• 88% of online visitors will not return to a website they’ve had difficulties with before
• A company’s trustworthiness is based 75% on web design
• On average, users spend 6 seconds looking at your written content – the rest is spent on design
• You could add 7% to your conversion rate if you increase the speed of your website
• 48% say a website’s design is their #1 ranker in determining the company’s credibility
• Over 60% of companies who designed a mobile-first design website saw a considerable increase in their sales
• Almost half of online users will switch to a different site if the first isn’t mobile-friendly
• 60% of internet access is done from mobile devices
• 50% of e-commerce purchases come from mobile devices
• Almost 70% of small businesses lack a Call to Action (CTA) on their website or home page
• Over 45% of website visitors check your products or services page before going to any others

Still think web design isn’t that big of a deal? Or that a $150 template site will do?

Your Custom Web Design Checklist

SEO is #1

Search Engine Optimization isn’t just about blogs and social media, backlinks and domain authority, it’s also about site speed, internal linking, click-through rates, bounce rates, and time per page – all of which directly relate to your web design.

Looking at it from another angle, it doesn’t matter if you have the most beautiful website in the world if it doesn’t rank well. Because it doesn’t matter if you design a beautiful site if no one ever gets to it.

UI/UX is #2

UI Design is User Interface Design

Which means you think of the interface – or look – of the site. Though this area is quite complex, it can be explained in a slightly watered-down way like this:

UI Design focuses on using the design of the site in unison with the content & layout to be both attractive and guiding to the user.

UX Design is User Experience Design

Which means you think of the user experience or the ease of use & usability. Essentially, it means you are trying to make your site easy to navigate & intuitive to follow.

Color Choices & Branding

If anyone has ever asked you your favorite color, your least favorite color, or even your opinion on what hue or shade they should choose for an event, item or merch, then you have some experience in color and branding.

Your branding and your color make you recognizable and professional, not to mention adding to the visual appeal of your business – and remember, your visual appeal is what most will judge your trustworthiness on.

Use Lots of Whitespace

Whitespace is just as important as your branding and color scheme. Why? Because all of our time spent looking at screens strains our eyes, and huge blocks of text are not easy to follow, digest, or even look at.

Don’t hurt your readers’ eyes, give them adequate whitespace instead.

Actually, whitespace doesn’t need to be white, it should be named ‘blank space’ more accurately. It simply needs to be a section in between your text that allows your eyes the rest they need before moving onto a new section.

Think of blogs as a great example:

Most blog pages use narrower writing margins, or, they have extra whitespace on both sides (as much as 2” margins on both sides, instead of the usual 1”). Additionally, blogs always keep their paragraphs short, in digestible chunks that draw the reader down, keep them from feeling overwhelmed, and are easy on the eyes.

Have Clear Call to Actions (CTAs)

If your web design isn’t clear and accurate with its Call to Actions, then you are truly doing yourself a disservice, as CTAs are how you get your website visitors to do whatever it is you want them to do.

This can be to contact you via phone call, email, submission form, or other ways. Additionally, a CTA could be to take a survey, to buy a product, or even to simply share something on social media.

‘Call to action’ just means you are asking your website visitor to do something, or, you are calling them to do an action.

Live Life in the Fast Lane

Here are some of the most common ways you can help boost your site speed during a web design:

• Optimize your photos, all of them
• Compress filed that are large, so they will open quicker
• Minimize HTTP requests in Google Chrome’s Developer
• Do your research and choose a good hosting site, this greatly affects your speed

Are You Ready to Start Your Web Design Project?

If you still feel worried about taking on a web design project, talk with JSL Marketing and Web Design – after all, it’s in our name. Or, take a less direct route and check out our portfolio here, or peruse our own beautiful, functional website.

We can’t wait to match your beautiful New Year with a beautiful new website!