Now that online shopping and eCommerce have become the norm, local businesses are doing their best to keep up with the ever-evolving digital landscape. If your business is struggling to meet goals or not seeing any increase in customers, you need to take a closer look at one of your most powerful digital marketing tools: your website. Let’s talk about how important a modern website design is for local businesses.
Website design and content have changed dramatically over the years. Nowadays, it’s safe to assume that having a modern website can help your digital marketing campaigns significantly. A modern website can also help warrant you can keep up with the competition; if not be a step ahead of the pack.
Three Of The Most Crucial Elements Of Modern Website Design
Many key elements are considered when creating a modern website design. Below are three of the most important:
1. Responsive Web Design
With the unprecedented growth in mobile devices, responsive web design has become more critical than ever. Nowadays, your audience can access your website using many devices—tablets, desktop computers, and smartphones. If you want visitors to stay on your site, you need to ensure they have a positive experience.
Responsive web design works by ensuring all your site visitors have a good experience on your site, regardless of the device they use. That said, websites should be responsive, so it adapts accordingly to any device. This is crucial if you want to keep visitors and leads interested and engaged.
2. Solid Navigation
When users visit your website, they want to have seamless and easy access to the information they need. If you want to make the experience great for them, you need to have navigation that is very easy for them to use. The last thing your visitors want is to struggle just to find the information they are looking for.
Effective Business Website Design Tips: Everything You Need to Know
Visitors want to use your navigation bar and be directed to the information they need with utmost ease. If navigation is poor, visitors will be discouraged to stay long on your page, much more engaged with it. It is also important to remember that the attention spans of most users are short.
If you want people to stay longer on your website, you need to ensure they can access any information they are looking for as fast (and as quickly) as possible. If you have solid navigation in place, you’ll be able to entice visitors to stay on your site longer.
3. Purposeful Visuals
Many businesses are quick to integrate visual elements in their sites because they know it can boost engagement significantly. Embedding videos on the landing page has increased conversion rates by as much as 80 percent! Unfortunately, some go overboard and crowd their sites with countless photos and videos.
When done right, integrating images and videos can make a world of difference. When done wrong, it can make the site look cluttered and overwhelming. As a general rule of thumb, don’t add visual elements for the sake of adding them. Use visual elements purposely to keep your visitors interested and engaged but not overwhelmed.
The Importance Of Modern Website Design For Your Local Business
Modern website design has many peerless and enticing benefits. Some of the most notable include:
Credibility
One of the primary reasons you need to create a modern website is to boost the credibility of your business. Undeniably, many others are offering the same products and services you are offering. If you want to stand out, it would be best to have a modern website that is designed superbly and conveys quality information.
Without a modern site, people might doubt your credibility and legitimacy as a brand and business. In addition, having a modern website can help effectively create a favorable first impression. It is also a great way to let your visitors (and target audience) know that your business is legitimate.
Organic Traffic
With a modern and SEO-optimized website, you have a better chance of showing up in the top pages of the search engine results. In other words, people can find you very easily when they are looking for the products and services you are offering. Undoubtedly, an SEO-optimized and modern website will not only bring in more organic traffic but can also help boost sales and increase your customer base.
Brand
If you want to bring in more sales, showcasing your brand to prospective customers is one of the best ideas you can look into. When you clearly establish who you are as a business, what you stand for, and what you represent, you can boost the chances of your target audience choosing you over your competitors.
Having a modern website can also help you set your business apart from the competition. With a modern website, it can be effortless for people to find reliable and accurate information about your business, brand, and the products or services you are offering.
Leads
One of the most appealing benefits of having a modern website is it can substantially increase your chances of getting leads. As soon as current customers and new prospects find your site, they’d have a venue where they can find out more about your brand and what you are offering.
Through your website, leads will also have an easy way of getting in touch with you. While modern websites will require money to run and maintain, they can provide the most bang for your buck when used accordingly.
Customer Service
Many businesses get calls from current customers or new prospects asking simple questions like the hours of operation or location. If the call is missed, the customer is often left frustrated. Calls can also distract employees from focusing on other vital aspects of the business.
If you have a modern website, you can minimize those types of calls and increase employee productivity. From managing a restaurant to a retail store, if you have a modern website, you can minimize those types of calls and increase employee productivity. At the same time, it can help customers easily find beneficial information without needing to call. Undoubtedly, this can help provide a better user experience for your customers, old and new.
Digital Marketing
If you want to leverage digital marketing to grow your business and increase your leads, it is recommended that you drive traffic to your website or a specific landing page. If you have a modern website, you can easily target qualified customers and get the most ROI on your ad spend.
Announcements And Updates
Since your site is on 24/7, it becomes very easy to post announcements and updates, so your visitors will know if you have anything important or new to share with them. It is also a great way to keep everyone up to date with what your brand or business has been up to.
If you introduce new products or services or would like to run new promos, there is a greater chance of reaching more people since all your visitors can read about it on your site.
Lasting Value
Yellow Pages listings, magazine and newspaper ads, and even Facebook ads are deemed one-time investments. When you run an ad on Facebook or a magazine, it only runs for a specific time. Once the ad has completed its exposure, you won’t be able to get the money you invested back.
Your modern website, on the other hand, will be there forever. Even if you pay for its creation once, it will continue to work and generate traffic for you day in and day out. If you are not getting the returns you are expecting, a few tweaks might just be what you need to generate the ROI you are looking for.
Final Thoughts
A modern website is crucial to the success of your business, so it’s not something you should overlook. Done right, your website can be your most potent ally—it helps boost the number of leads and generates massive conversions without you spending a fortune.
About the Author
Gabby Klesser is the Outreach Manager for LA Website Design, a digital marketing agency that has assembled a team of expert web designers and digital marketing strategists. She often writes about web design, UX, social media, technology, marketing, and starting a non-profit.
