When establishing your business it is important to present a professional brand, both in person and online. With today’s globalized e-commerce trends, your website is often the first point of contact for current and prospective clients and it is therefore incredibly important that you don’t skimp on the quality and design of your website. If you have a well-designed and functioning website, your business is more likely to grow. Here are six reasons why you should never skimp on the quality of your website design.

1.  Professional Appearance

While you may feel like you can get by with an amateur website the problem is that your business and brand will then appear to be amateur. People want to be able to confide in your brand, and your website’s professional appearance goes a long way to ensuring your brand is well received and respected. To avoid a poorly received website you should consider a custom website design that will allow your website to present your brand and business in the best light. From page design to graphics, to links, so much goes into your website that you may be unaware if you are not familiar with building websites.

2.  Functionality

If your website is not functional you will lose out on a lot of business. If your website is constantly crashing and encountering problems, users are less likely to place orders and return to your site. To alleviate these maintenance concerns, you should ensure your website is fully functional before launching it to the public. While there may be a few bugs encountered, you will have more luck growing your business if your website is fully functional before presenting it to your clients.

3.  User Experience

Confusing websites are the worst for consumers. If your customers cannot appropriately navigate your website, then you will lose business. When designing your website you need to ensure that the user experience will be top-notch. Make it easy for customers to get to know your business, check out your products and services and place orders. If the user experience is lacking for your website, you will find your business growth faltering. It is so important to have a well-designed and user-friendly website for healthy business development.

4.  Content for SEO

A professionally designed website will allow for appropriate content and Search Engine Optimization. This refers to how your website and brand will be recommended to consumers via search engines such as Google and Yahoo. When prospective customers type in their needs and click search, these engines will provide a list of top-ranked websites, meaning they contain content and keywords that are closest to what these consumers are searching for. If your website content is not optimized to be a top-ranked recommendation, your webpage will be presented pages down, generating little to no new client visits to your website. Visits turn into purchases, so your content must allow for high-ranked and visible responses to consumer queries on search engines. If your SEO is not to par, then you will find yourself losing out on business.

5.  Online Orders

Online orders are the way many people orders products and services in the global e-commerce marketplace of today. If your website is not designed to easily and effectively allow consumers to place orders, you may find these clients going to your competition. Viewing products and placing orders should be easy, customers should be able to track their orders, and not have any problems placing orders. The easier it is for clients to place orders on your website, the more orders you will receive. Professional web design will ensure that your consumers can easily place orders from your brand.

6.  Reviews

Reviews are incredibly important when it comes to conducting business. If your website is not appropriately constructed and designed, you will soon find poor reviews being listed for your company. If your website is easily accessed and user-friendly then you will find good reviews pouring in, leading to new customers and business growth. If your website is not user-friendly, this can detrimentally affect your brand if people post poor reviews of your services. While this may not reflect your products, people can post poor reviews for any aspect of your business, so having your website on point will alleviate these concerns.

Don’t allow a poorly designed website to negatively impact your business growth. If you skimp on website design, you will soon find your brand suffering from it. It is more than worth it to ensure your website is professionally designed, to allow for the best experience possible for current and prospective clients.