If, like many business development professionals, your main focus is on securing new leads for your company, you may not have given website design too much consideration. So long as you have a website and it explains your products and services, then everything else is window dressing, right?
This is true in so far as content is king. Even the flashiest website design means nothing if the content isn’t optimised and of the highest quality. However, website design does matter for B2B, as a well-designed, modern website actively helps you as a lead generation tool.
There are many ways in which your website affects your ability to generate leads online. The following are just a few of them.
Branding
It isn’t just existing customers that refer to your website. It is everybody; from potential customers to competitors. Your website is the 21st-century equivalent of a shopfront and it says a lot about your brand. Having a website that positively expresses your brand identity makes a good first impression on visitors and gives you consistency of message throughout your marketing materials. Learn how important branding is with this article - Learn The Importance of Creating a Strong Online Brand And How To Implement it.
Loading Time
Website design is not just about appearance. It also affects how quickly your website loads. Large images and embedded apps can slow your site down to the extent that it impairs a visitor’s user experience. Most visitors will not hang around for a webpage to load if it takes too long. They will simply hit the back arrow and look elsewhere, leaving you with a potential customer lost. If your website needs a speed boost, read this article today - Website Load Speed Time – How to Give Your Website The Boost It Needs.
Mobile Access
We cannot emphasise enough how important it is for a website to be ‘mobile responsive’. Regardless of your industry, an ever-increasing segment of the decision-makers you want to target will be using tablets and smart phones as their primary means of researching information. Your website has to be designed to look good, no matter what size screen is used to access it. If your website is more than three years old and you haven’t had it updated, the chances are that it is not mobile responsive. This should be the first thing to address when refreshing your website design.
Bounce Rate
Take a look at Google Analytics and keep track of your bounce rate i.e. people who visit one page of your website and then disappear without clicking on any more links. A high bounce rate can say a lot about how user (un)friendly your website is. A poorly designed website will increase your bounce rate, while a streamlined, aesthetically appealing site will encourage visitors to explore further. More information on bounce rate can be found here - How To Reduce Your Bounce Rate In Google Analytics.
Conversions
The whole point of a website is not just to attract visitors, but for them to convert to leads. Your website design should therefore be focused on encouraging conversions, with clear, well-planned navigation, fast loading pages and strong calls to action. If your site isn’t optimised for conversions this may be reflected in a low conversion rate.
Check your analytics. If your conversion rate isn’t where it should be there are several quite easy remedies we can use to turn it around. Have a chat with one of our team about what would work for your business.
Search Ranking
Google appreciates clean code, web optimised images and tidy navigation, and penalises old-fashioned, un-optimised sites. Many businesses who undergo a website design refresh see an immediate improvement in their Google search results for important keywords.
Social Media Shares
The links people share say something about them as a person. People want to share content that reflects well on them. They are more likely to share links to websites that look good and have great content than they are with poorly designed sites. Refreshing your website design and optimising it for social media shares is a good way to extend the reach of your content and get new people interested in your business.
Web Design & Marketing
At JDR we approach web design as a branch of marketing. Your website should not be seen as separate from your efforts to generate new business online; and this goes right down to the colours you use and the way your site is coded. For a holistic approach to web design, ruthlessly focused on lead generation, chat with one of our marketing specialists today, and we can discuss a bespoke solution that suits your business.
