Is Design as Important as Content?

Updated January 11, 2023

First Thing’s First

With content marketing on the rise over the last few years, a large emphasis has been put on the importance of creating regular content that is of a high quality. As a result of this, the design of websites can sometimes suffer a little. With marketers focused on writing more and more, sometimes design standards can slip with simple aspects of UX or UI design being forgotten.

So what better time for a reminder on why design should always be your most important thing:

First Impressions Count – Typically the first impression you get of an online business is their website and that impression is based on how it looks. While you might first see a blog page, or a page with written content on it, before you start reading your eyes will be scanning the page looking for things you expect to see.

We’re looking for contextual clues that we’re in the right place and we haven’t landed on a spammy or scam site. So if you’re running a banking website and a load of popups appear, don’t expect a high click through rate. Your design quality is the first sign you can give to a visitor that they’re in the right place.

Build a Solid Map – Having clear website navigation is another sign of quality that visitors can quickly pick up on when visiting a new website. While your copy can be witty and clever, you basic navigation needs to be clear and concise, showing users exactly where they need to go for what, in as few words as possible.

Don’t try and reinvent the wheel for the sake of it. Clear menus in logical places with information that users expect will go a long way towards convincing viewers that your site is legitimate.

As an aside, don’t forget to add a quality site search option. Having an onsite search is still very important and as well as adding functionality for your users, it can also give you a clear window into what people are searching for on your site. Which shows you how to improve your site navigation!

Pick the Right Color – Color psychology is huge. Having the right colors can make a page appear more trustworthy as well as improving readability. Ever notice how lots of banks have blue on their website, or in their logos? This is because blue is a trusting color. Or, more obviously, have you seen an environmental website that doesn’t have green on it?

Don’t Forget Design

As with anything, you can’t please everyone with the color you choose, but you should have an idea of the basics of color in design when you’re thinking about your website. For example, always make sure your hyperlinks are blue. Changing them to a ‘cool’ color to match your website design might seem like a good idea, but in this case acting conservatively will get you more clicks for sure.

Do you have any other design tips to keep visitors on your website? We’d love to hear them.

Photo credit – Top: Pixabay
Photo credit – Bottom: Pexels