3 Ways Simple Website Design Can Improve Your Marketing strategy

More doesn’t always mean better. When it comes to your company’s website, thinking “simple” is simply the best way to go. Today’s web designers can do more than ever with the advancements made just in the last few years. While adding sliders, motion graphics, and other trendy design elements can be very enticing, you need to make sure they add value to your users before you add them to your site. There is a lot of data supporting simple website design as the way to go. So let’s take a look at a few ways you can create a better site, by keeping it simple.

A study done by Google in August of 2012 provided some amazing insights into how users look at website design. One of the major findings was that “visually complex” websites were consistently rated as less beautiful than their simpler counterparts. To further drive home this point, “highly prototypical” sites that were based around simple visual design elements were rated as the most beautiful across the board. 

Simply put, a simple website design is better.

There is very solid scientific evidence to back up these stats. You can learn all about the science behind simple website design from this very cool article from Conversion XL. For the remainder of this post, we are going to focus on the marketing impact of a simple website design and how you can take advantage of it.

#1. Speed Can Kill

40% of people will abandon a web page if it takes more than three seconds to load. (Source: Econsultancy) (Tweet This Stat!)

This statistic almost doesn’t seem fair. But think about it. We live in a world where we have instant access to more information than we could ever digest. This is both good and bad. The good, we can learn about anything we want right now. The bad, we have no patience. Remember the good old days of being serenaded by a dial tone as you patiently anticipated being connected to the world? Many have forgotten that sensation. Today’s consumer just can’t seem to wait longer than 3 seconds, so we must accommodate.

Many websites that are design heavy and visually complex require a lot of extra code and scripts. This causes the server to work harder and results in slower load times. By opting for a simpler design, you cut out a lot of the extra heavy lifting and speed up response time. The result will be a faster site and happier users.

#2. It’s A Mobile First World

46% of mobile users report having difficulty interacting with a web page, and 44% complain that navigation was difficult. (Source: Keynote) (Tweet This Stat!)

If you don’t already have a mobile version of your website, you should. This year Google reported that, for the first time, more users are searching from mobile devices than desktops. Mobile is no longer the future, it’s now. If your site is hard to use on mobile, people will disengage with you.

One of the easiest ways to fix your mobile-friendliness issues is by creating a responsive design. Responsive design adapts to the user’s device in order to make it easier for them to interact. To have a smooth transition between devices, having a simple base is important.  By using some very simple CSS, you can even leave some of the heavier, non-mobile-specific elements out of the mobile view. Any business that is in the market for a new site must think about mobile first. The ones that do are reaping huge benefits.

62% of companies that designed a website specifically for mobile had increased sales. (Source: Econsultancy) (Tweet This Stat!)

#3. Simple Design = More Conversion

A website that doesn’t convert visitors into leads for your business is kind of pointless. The whole purpose of building a site and working on driving traffic is to create more business. The reason simple website design converts better is that it’s less distracting. When there are too many elements and choices on a website page, users get overwhelmed. Instead of engaging, many users just leave the site altogether. A simple design helps to relieve this tension by giving your users clear direction.  Approximately 96% of visitors that come to your website are not ready to buy. (Source: Hubspot) In order to capitalize on that statistic, you need to have clear direction on what steps you want your visitors to take.

Your website is the first thing many of your customers will come in contact with. As the saying goes, you only have one shot at a first impression. So make sure that you make it a great one!  By taking your great message and wrapping it with a clean, simple website design, you will create a better experience for your visitors and encourage them to connect with you.