Make the Right First Impression with Your Website’s Design

First Impression | Laptop
June 29, 2016 Business Todd Endsley

The old saying is, “You never get a second chance to make a first impression.” This holds true especially with your company website.

The design of your website has the power to intrigue and entice your viewers, or send them straight to your competitors. With a well-designed website, your company can potentially increase and maintain web traffic and visibility, leading to greater sales and a better bottom-line. Online ecommerce has altered the way organizations take orders and how they get their products into the hands of their customers. As retailers continue to increase global transactions, they must adapt to enhancing the user experience by presenting customers with more immersive and interactive web interfaces.

Many businesses today are dependent on web traffic for their success. A user friendly website is essential if your organization plans to remain competitive and, ultimately profitable. A site that is too complex will push away the traffic you need to stay in business. The happier the user experience, the more likely your existing and potential customers will return to make a purchase.

Following are 3 key ways to help you make the right first impression through your website’s design:

Keep it Simple 

When creating a website, keep in mind that a constructive design will be one that helps users quickly and effectively navigate through your site to find what they’re looking for. To manage this, try simplifying your drop down and navigation bars, using legible fonts at proper sizes, and good, balanced color schemes. Incorporate engaging visuals in the form of images and videos to entice viewers who may be looking to skim around quickly and return later for more a more in depth look.

If the experience impedes visitors from getting to where they want to go on your website, you have a problem. If you keep it simple, you decrease the chances of someone leaving your site frustrated, and increase the likelihood that visitors will not only easily find what they’re looking for, but also ensure their return, and recommend your site to other potential customers.

Go Mobile

One of the most popular ways to make your website mobile friendly is through a method called Responsive Design. This is done by adding media queries to your site’s style sheets, which contain information to automatically size your website to the specific device it is being viewed on. As consumer’s access websites from a growing variety of devices, responsive Web design becomes increasingly important.

Today, people have grown accustomed to anytime, anywhere web access. From large screens to small screens, from desktops to handhelds, users now have the ability to shop and search when it is most convenient.  Including a responsive design element in your website will naturally increase your ability to accommodate a wider audience. The popularity of smartphones and tablets as a way of accessing the internet has risen rapidly in recent years, and will only increase in the foreseeable future.

Encourage Communication

Communication is vital with customers in any business, and your website can accomplish this in a variety of user friendly ways. Your site should allow them to take immediate steps to getting the information they need.  Adding essential communication tools such as requesting a quote, inquiring about a product, inviting a user to live chat, and providing a feedback form will give visitors instant access to you. Although users aren’t face to face with a company representative, it’s important to make your consumers feel that you are just a click away from helping them out with all of their needs.

Increasing and maintaining website traffic is a common challenge for all businesses. It’s all about making the right first impression, and maintaining the experience for repeat visitors. Just like in life, the first few seconds of a face to face conversation can make or break the relationship moving forward. You have the power to make the best first impression with the design of your website, and these key ways, if implemented properly, can make a big difference.


Todd Endsley

Director of Technology

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