It seems like a silly question to ask in this modern digital communication era but in the spirit of there not being such a thing as a silly question, we ask: Why is a quality, highly impactful website important to a business? Not that long ago the question may have taken some effort to convince even the most tech-savvy businesses that stubbornly retained usage of historic marketing collateral to promote and connect with consumers. Remember the Yellow Pages, printed newspapers, sales fliers and even legacy publications like the Sears Catalog? If you don’t remember you are likely a member of a generation born after the arrival of the 21st century. That’s not a bad thing, but it does highlight just how much digital communication has advanced in importance in a relatively short period of time.
The answer to the first question could be arrived at after enumerating some obvious elements in a bulleted list, but to get directly to the point: A website is important to validate the business and showcase the brand value. If your business wants to connect with a targeted audience, that’s the place you must be in order to tell your brand’s story.
The internet has opened up the world for even the most modest of business ventures. Unlike in the past, consumers are no longer stationary, they are constantly on the move. In today’s world, if your digital effort is not compatible with mobile devices, you don’t exist. More consumers use mobile devices to research products and services before making a purchasing decision, both online and at traditional brick and mortar locations. In 2020, digital retail sales surpassed $4.2 trillion dollars worldwide. While it is true that finding a viable business that does not have an internet presence in 2022 would be akin to finding a commuter in a horse-drawn buggy on a busy Interstate, a mere, plain vanilla presence is no longer enough to gain attention and convert prospects to customers.
As with many aspects of marketing, effective website development is a combination of technology and creative design. Conversion, the point where a user becomes a paying customer, requires attention to not only the technology but also a combination of creative design attributes that guide a user to make a purchasing decision. Human behavioral studies have revealed that 75 percent of website users will make a value judgment about a brand’s credibility based on design, and 94 percent of first impressions about a marketer are made based on design-related factors.
A strategic website design facilitates improved search rankings, increases organic traffic and converts potential sales leads into loyal customers through authentic and personal conversations. For anyone who has been listening there is little chance of missing how important content is to an effective digital marketing strategy. Creating impactful website blogs, producing how-to videos, and utilizing sharp images to demonstrate a brand’s purpose and promise is a content strategy that can elevate a brand’s authority in the field, promote increased customer interactions, and foster a better understanding of the needs of the audience. Success of any digital marketing effort is not reliant on any one element, but rather on a combination of elements designed to engage two-way conversations with a targeted audience in order to promote brand value and consumer awareness.
But in order to stay relevant in a noisy and crowded digital environment it is critical to remain ahead of the competitive curve. Once completed and sent down the online road, a website is not done forever. It needs to be updated on a regular basis, fine-tuned to maintain its optimal speed and routinely monitored to effectively utilize an ever increasingly, important mobile technology. When was the last time you surfed your company’s website across all devices?
Experiential design, thoughtful layouts, quality user experience and SEO sitemaps are just a few ingredients for a successful website that will engage and retain your users. At Junction Creative Solutions (Junction) we create websites for our clients that tell a story, move a user through the path of engagement, and ultimately mobilize a user to take an action.
To learn more about how Junction can design, develop and implement a quality, high performance website for your brand, call 678-686-1125.