We’ve all heard that “design is key” when it comes to a website. But what does that mean, exactly? And why is it so important? Design is often one of the first things people notice when they visit a website. If your website looks dated or unprofessional, people are going to be less likely to stick around. In order to make a good impression on potential customers, it’s important to have a well-designed website. Good design can help improve your conversion rate and generate more revenue for your business. In fact, studies show that good design can increase conversions by up to 200%. In this blog post, we will discuss why good design is so important and how you can improve your website’s design!
It is known that people need only a few moments to form an idea of any object, and your landing page is no exception. A user needs about 50 milliseconds (that’s 0.05 seconds) to form an opinion about the landing page: like it or not, stay or go – that is the value of first impressions.
First impression depends on many factors: page structure (layout), colors, indentation, symmetry, amount of text, fonts and much more.
First impressions are 94% related to design
British scientists analyzed how various design factors and informational content affect the trust visitors have in health websites. The research clearly showed that the appearance of a web resource is the main driving force behind first impressions.
Of all the responses received from test participants, 94% were about design (complex, oversaturated layout; poor navigation; annoying design, especially: ugly color combinations, pop-ups (pop ups), small print, too much text).
Only 6% of respondents commented on the actual content of the site. Visual appeal and good site navigation had by far the biggest impact on first impressions. At the same time, poor navigation design caused aversion and distrust the fastest: many participants in the experiment did not go any further than the home page.
Similar results were obtained by Stanford University experts: almost half of the users (46.1%) evaluated the credibility of the information (!) published on the site based on its overall visual design, including layout, typography, font size and color scheme.
Great design makes people trust you and keeps them in your sphere of influence. Poor design causes distrust and makes visitors leave.
A positive first impression leads to higher satisfaction
In an experiment conducted to study the impact of expectations on subjective evaluations of product usability, participants read a positive or negative product review for a new mobile device before starting the testing process, while the control group read nothing.
The study revealed a surprisingly strong effect of positive expectations on the formation of subjective scores at the end of testing: participants who read positive reviews gave the device much better scores than “readers” of negative reviews and members of the control group. This effect of positive first impressions worked even when the test item failed the test – participants who read positive reviews beforehand still gave the device high marks.
Visual appeal is more important than usability
The experiment examined the impact that visual appeal and usability (usability) had on the performance and satisfaction of a user’s interaction with a website.
Users performed different tasks on resources varying in visual appeal (high and low) and usability (high and low). The results showed that the first impression is formed under the influence of visual or graphical component, rather than usability.
We propose to look at this vexed issue from this perspective: the “above the fold” part of the landing page/site should be the best part of the landing page/site simply because first impressions are formed in 0.05 seconds. What users see immediately at the top of the page will determine whether they want to scroll down the page.
Conclusion
Design is one of the most important aspects of a website or landing page. It can make or break a first impression, and first impressions are crucial to keeping people on your site. Good design is also important for usability and satisfaction. Even if your content is great, poor design can cause people to leave your site without ever reading it. Keep these points in mind when designing your next website or landing page! Thanks for reading!