At Ciplex, one of our favorite moments is when we get to unveil a new site or design for a client. Often, they have been thinking about upgrading their website for months; they are full of hope, and even a little trepidation, as they wait to see what their new home page will look like. When we’ve done a great job, and their jaws practically hit the floor, it’s incredibly satisfying feeling.
But, as we always have to remember, it’s only the beginning.
I’m not talking about the coding, search engine optimization, or any other sort of functionality – what I mean is that the design itself, beautiful as it might seem, is only one piece of the marketing puzzle. And at the end of the day, what matters isn’t building the prettiest picture… it’s putting together the most profitable one.
A good design is one that your customers love. Better yet, it’s one that gets them to buy, come into your store, or get them to do whatever furthers the business relationship. Everything else – including the opinions of your staff, colleagues, competitors, and yes, even your designer – is secondary.
Here are a few ways to figure out what buyers think of your site, and to keep the right perspective on your web design.
Test everything. There isn’t any such thing as a static website, at least as far as profitability is concerned. Be sure to constantly test your page layouts, copy, product images, and other elements to find the winning combination… and then keep testing to find a better one.
Don’t forget about usability. Lots of sites are great to look at, but no one is going to care unless that beauty translates into something they can navigate easily. Pay attention to usability, because your customers certainly will – by deciding whether to stay on your site or not.
Don’t get too caught up. In some industries, like advertising and public relations, web design is almost like a kind of arms race: no one wants to get caught lagging behind. If you find yourself changing designs just to keep up with competitors, stop and think whether you’re actually making good, bottom-line improvements, or just moving pixels around? All that matters is what buyers do when they arrive at your pages, so don’t worry as much about impressing the competition.
