How Web Design and Development Can Help
Your Business Grow?
CHAPTER 1
Importance of a website in 2021
Welcome to the 21st century. Where Harvard students are studying online rather than their lush campus. Grandma & Grandpa are spending more time on Youtube & Amazon. In 2016 the number of total websites grew from 900 million to 1.84 billion till 2021. This clearly shows that the growth of the internet is inevitable. Doesn't it make sense to be a part of this growth?
The whole retail sector is gradually shifting online, the number of online consumers has increased from 1.32 billion in 2014 to 2.14 billion in 2021. The web gives people freedom to explore any product from any store without ever visiting it. How cool is that! Okay maybe not for window shoppers out there.According to Ragtrader Magazine, Australia “Two-thirds (67%) of Aussies digital window shop for fun on their mobiles - with 77% of those making impulse purchases when they do”. And you are missing out on this impulse buying behaviour.
If you are still wondering how digital presence can sky-rocket your sales then consider this. The Global eCommerce sales were 3.35 Trillion USD in 2019 and will become 5.424 Trillion USD in 2022 i.e. a growth of almost 62%.
CHAPTER 2
Why people are shifting to online shopping?
Everyone is in a rush - Time is money.
When was the last time you went to 10 different retail stores and compared prices to buy a product? No one does it now because of online retail stores. It saves time. “Time is Money” maybe the consumers are taking this proverb too seriously.
Reviews from other buyers - Social Proof.
Reviews build trust. More they trust your brand more likely they are to make a purchase. About 87% of consumers read reviews before buying. Talking about conversion rate, about 67% of consumers are influenced by reviews. The reviews act as word of mouth for the new customers.
Everyone loves options - Mo' option, Mo' happiness.
When shopping online the consumers are impressed by the options available. When in retail shops or supermarkets you have to search the right section and look for your desired product. Whereas, in online shopping the product comes to you. The web developers create certain algorithms that suggest the right product to the customers from their search patterns.
CHAPTER 3
What is web design and development?
In simple terms it refers to the complete process of developing a website from scratch. Although Web Designing and Development are two different processes, they are often confused as one.
What is web design?
This part is majorly concerned with the looks and layout of the website. The designing also includes UI, UX and visuals. It requires skills like HTML, CSS, WireFraming, Typography and Design tools.
What is web development?
This part deals more with the functioning of the website. It has 2 main components: Frontend and Backend. It majorly involves high level programming languages like Java, Javascript, PHP, Python, C# etc.
Should I hire one agency for web design and another for development?
No! If you don't want to feel like this guy, avoid this at all costs.
The reason is that website design and development is an integrated process.
Designers and developers work together to create an experience for your customers that they will remember and tell their friends about. When you work with a single agency, the likelihood of mistakes is minimised. It's less likely that your project will not be delayed. You'll have a single point of contact for any changes or mistakes.
If you opt for separate agencies, your website would be a mishmash of two minds. The delays will be inevitable. There can be many errors and you have to figure out who to contact (designer or developer). Even worse, they may refuse to fix the errors and blame each other.
CHAPTER 4
How can a website help you acquire new customers?
Most small to medium scale business owners think that their business is too small for having a website. But the statistics state something else: According to the Pittsburgh Post Gazette, 97% of consumers search online before buying anything and yet only 51% of small businesses are online.
Now this stat is shouting to tell that getting a website “decreases competition and increases opportunities for small businesses”. But this is not the only reason for your business to have a website
Let’s dive deeper into this.
24*7 Presence
To run a physical retail store 24*7, It would cost you a lot of extra money like employees salary, electricity bills, maintenance charges etc. But you only need an eminent web design company and you are done. It's a one time solution for a lifetime problem.
Credibility and Trust
Having a website will make you more trustful for your customers to do an business with you. Sweor published in one of its blogs that “75% of consumers admit that they judge credibility of any business by its website”. Alex Antolinio, a well known Creative Director says “The purpose of every brand is to build trust. Money is the by-product.”
Not only Alex, stats say the same, A research done by Brightlocal suggests “Consumers trust details from local business websites more than Google My Business or online directories” . The research also says “Only 8% of consumers never look at websites when choosing which local business to use” “22% of consumers check websites every time they are deciding on a local business”
Website = Trust = Loyal Customers
Creating trust in our customers is an important factor for word of mouth promotion and conversion rates. According to a Global Research conducted by Salesforce, 95% of consumers admitted that having a trust in a brand motivates them to be a loyal customer of the brand.
Moreover, Around 82% percent of consumers believe that Trust is an important factor when buying something. Last year this figure was 73% and it has significantly increased this year.
Convenience
A Customer finds it more convenient to shop online in the bathroom while addressing nature's call instead of having coffee at your shop. According to an Article published by Bigcommerce, “43% of consumers shop when they are in bed, 20% do it in the bathroom, 23% shop in the office, 20% shop in cars and 10% shop under the influence.”
There are other factors like weather, neither the shops are open nor the customers would want to go out shop in extreme weather. Some people are just too lazy to go in any weather, they also need to be considered.
Being available anytime, any-day acts as a strong motive for buying products online as they feel privileged and find this more convenient.
Brand Awareness
Will you consider a brand which does not have their own websites really a ‘Brand’? When you want to turn into a ‘Brand’ you will want everyone to know ; Who you are? What do you do? Why are you different? What's your story etc. etc.
Owning a website is undoubtedly the best way you can make an impact on people. Your website would speak on your behalf, representing you when you are not even there. You may be sleeping but your website would be busy dealing with customers and finding new ones.
You will need to be careful with web design and development for your company. It should represent your ideas and beliefs. The more unique your website is, the more lasting impact it will have on the visitors.
Marketing and Reach
People surf the internet the whole day discovering new websites and scrolling through products they don’t really need . But, it stucks in their subconscious minds affecting their future shopping decisions.You will want people to have your brand in their subconscious minds.
A well optimised website ranks better on google. This makes you more prominent in the minds of our consumer. Having Blogs and Articles, or even how to guides will attract the potential buyers and consumers interested in your products category.
According to DemandMetrics, “companies who post blogs regularly generate 67% more leads thus engender 67% more sales”.
Sometimes people do not actually need to buy something just to read about products, if they read it on your website they may either get convinced to buy instantly or in the near future. Nevertheless, they will know you and prefer you over others.
Forbes in one of its articles mentions “If you plan on leveraging digital marketing to increase your leads and grow your business, you'll likely want to drive traffic to a website or landing page”.
Sales Growth/Profit
Let’s be honest, the ultimate aim of any business is to gain more profit.
Website based retail stores have higher profit and sales. Top Digital Agency mentions that “62% of companies have reported a mobile responsive website increases sales”
You should also consider the fact that web design and development will increase your sales along with reducing your expenses.
Managing physical Brick and Mortar stores included a number of expenses. But for having a great website to promote your brand you only need a reliable web design and development company.
Conclusively having a website is a win win situation for small and medium businesses as it will increase profit and reduce expense.
CHAPTER 5
Elements of a high performing website
Merely having a website won’t do magic for your business. Your website must have the following for getting the desired results.
- Faster Loading Speed- Websites that load faster tend to attract more customers. Slower websites are often found responsible for higher bounce rates. According to Google, “53% of mobile website visits are abandoned if a mobile site takes longer than three seconds to load. For every one second delay in site load time, conversions fall by 12%”. And you should listen to Google, they rank your website on their search engine.
- Mobile Friendly Website- Having a mobile optimized website plays an important role in increasing sales. According to Top Digital Agency, “62% of companies have reported a mobile responsive website increases sales” plus “By the end of 2021, 73% of e-commerce sales will take place on a mobile device”.
- Aesthetics/Design - We DO judge a book by its cover. Aesthetics & user experience are important in creating a first impression of your brand. Top Digital Agency states that “94% of first impressions of a website are design-related” along with this “75% of people form their opinion of a website based on its aesthetics”.
- Snappy Home Page- Home page of a website should cover everything that a consumer needs to know - who are you, how are your products going to make their lives better, how many people actually like your product etc. Hubspot in a post suggests that “Addressing buyer fears on landing pages can increase conversion rates by 80%.”.
- Blogs- Maintaining a blog and updating them to keep being relevant is helpful in a number of ways. TDA clearly states that “70% of consumers learn about a new company or business via a blog”.
CHAPTER 6
How to audit your website?
Website Audit is basically a scrutiny of different aspects of your website. It ensures that your website is in perfect condition to perform at its peak.
You and your team can perform a basic website audit in two categories - 1) SEO 2) Design & UX
1) SEO Audit
Search Engine Optimisation audit is done to ensure that the website is properly optimised to reach the masses.
Search Engine Optimisation audit is done to ensure that the website is properly optimised to reach the masses.
- Copy your URL to the SEO analyser. It will run a test on your website to check the optimisation.
- The tool will identify Off page and On page SEO problems(if any).
- It will look for Broken or missing links.
- Page errors and page loading time would also be analyzed.
Look for:-
- Loading speed of the website must be under 3 seconds. Google confirmed that “77% of mobile consumers say they are more likely to purchase from mobile sites that offer them the ability to make purchases quickly”.
- Fix or eliminate the broken links.
- Relevant Content tags should be there.
- Focus Keyword must be included in the Title.
- Links to related topic should be added in the footer section.
- Google analytics errors and google Page Speed Optimization must be closely monitored.
2) Design and Experience Audit
The website must be easy to use and navigate. This not only helps in making customers enjoy their stay, making purchase & remember you, but also helps in your website ranking higher in Google. Yes! Google takes the user experience metrics into account to rank your website.
The website must be easy to use and navigate. This not only helps in making customers enjoy their stay, making purchase & remember you, but also helps in your website ranking higher in Google. Yes! Google takes the user experience metrics into account to rank your website.
- Headers, Titles, Body should be present distinctly to make it easier to go through the page.
- The Font Color and Size should be in contrast with the rest of elements. So it is easier to read.
- Pop-ups should not irritate users. Instant and Large size Pop- ups are generally annoying.
- White space to text ratio should never be one sided. They must be in a proportion that makes the page readable and attractive.
- CTA must be present in the first 1/3rd part of the web page.
- The Images, Favicons, Logo, Typography and page colours should not be in complete contrast. They should be in orientation with the Brand.
These are the starting points to observe any gaps in SEO & UX. There are other audits which are important as well like Content Audit, Lead Generation Audit etc, but that's a topic for another day.
CHAPTER 7
Should you invest in a website if you already have a Sales Funnel or Landing page?
Many entrepreneurs owning small to medium scale businesses often get into this debate. Before giving a verdict, let's get familiar with the concept of a sales funnel, how does it work and what is the process.
What is a Sales Funnel?
Funnel is simply an effective cascade marketing. In a funnel you convert prospects or general traffic into loyal customers. This requires them to follow a series of successive steps. The different steps eliminate others and only select potential customers. There can be leaks in a funnel, hence lower the leak better the funnel.
How is a website related to a Funnel ?
Websites are also used to gain customers, but there's a difference. A website can tell a story not just on one page but on every page a customers lands. You can have a collection of pages for different needs of different users. You can educate your customers through regular blog.
Think of a 'landing page' or 'sales funnel' as a temporary stall that you put on the roadside or at a fair during Christmas season which is themed around the occasion. Whereas a website is your permanent store where the user can visit later & have more than the limited experience that stall can provide.
Can you do away with just the stall? Sure you can. But you will have a hard time retaining customers & building a brand.
Wouldn't it be better to provide a better, more premium brand experience through your store?
Can you do away with just the stall? Sure you can. But you will have a hard time retaining customers & building a brand.
Wouldn't it be better to provide a better, more premium brand experience through your store?
There's a time & place to use sales funnel for specific purposes. And, the truth is funnels and websites work great together. Websites may even contain multiple funnels. Purpose of both the entities is to drive traffic that can be converted to paying customers.
Key takeaways
- The advancements in technology have completely changed the business principles of every industry.
- The eCommerce sector is in the forefront of leading the world into a digital economy.
- Global eCommerce sales in the last few years have grown faster than GDP of many countries.
- Having a digital presence in the form of a website can increase the revenue and reach of any company.
- Consumers are preferring online shopping than walking into retail shops.
- There are multiple reasons accounting for this like Convenience, More options, Better prices etc.
- For having a website all you need to do is hire an efficient Web Design and Development Company and relax.
- Your websites must have all elements necessary to make it a Great Website.
- You should regularly Audit your website to make sure it is working seamlessly.
- Relying completely on popular eCommerce stores like Amazon can be detrimental for your Brand and its identity in the long run.
- Sales Funnel are incompetent to preform alone, paired with website they can yield better results.
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