Importance of website design.

[hyokai]

I'm an aqverage joe, I know little about web design, or any of the technical stuff.

But I do know what makes me stay and buy on a site, and what makes me run away.

I like to see a clean, well laid out site. It shows the owner has put effort in, and is serious about it. Too many corporate sites are a nightmare to navigate, and I will leave the site if I cant easily find what I'm looking for.

I also get put off by sites that look the same, selling the same products as every other. because it says to me they have just taken an off the shelf package, such as for example, a dvd dropship site, and think all they have to do is stick to the standard format and get sales.

A good, well designed, easy to navigate, unique looking website will get more sales from me than any pre made pre stocked site.

And before anyone jumps on me, I started out with a dropshipland ready made site. I knew nothing ( still know little), and it failed to generate sales. My fault.

Too much emphasis is put on making money quick on ebay by certain companies, who are all too happy to take your money for a website and their product feeds, but whose customer service stinks, and they view their customers as quick money sources.
If a company came along, that offered a similar service, with good customer support, they would take the dropship get rich quick package market away from the self righteous companies that dont give a hoot for what happens after they have taken your money.

Ive digressed somewhat. In my humble opinion, a well laid out, easy to navigate site, keeps customers onsite longer. Design is important. But so is getting your site known. That part takes a lot of work, done by the site owner. Theres no easy way around it.

But then, I know nothing.

[scotserve]

Hyokai

I hate cookie cutter sites - they do nothing to individualise the business

Some people can go overboard with design though and not look to research what their client base is looking for from the site - sometimes a plain site is all that is needed.

I do think the logo is important - thats your branding statement for the business and should carry forward as your business expands, yes you cannot forget marketing no point in having a classy new shop down the end of a dirt track road and nobody knows how to find it but again in my opinion to many people rely on the great god Google and do little else to market their site SEO is only one small part of promotion and marketing

[EyeCandiLingerie]

Hi there,

When i first started out i had no idea of website design and would not have known a CSS sheet from anything else. It was way to advanced for me at that time and i initially paid someone to do a website for me.

This time around i checked out the forums and read up on how to do it and have now learnt how to change css sheets, add modules and get the site looking how i want it.

When it comes to the header of a website i have left that to someone who really knows what they are doing and i feel mine draws the eye which is something that i think is important to your potential customer.

My website is not fancy it is plain and easy to navigate and that at the end of the day is something that i always look for when doing my own shopping on-line. This has given me more time to concentrate on the products that i have added thus increasing the collections i have which at the end of the day for me is what my customer is looking for by logging onto my website in the first place.

Don't ever be scared to try anything is my motto as i broke it more than once and now feel as though i have the confidence to stamp my individual mark on my websites and not purchase an already designed one

SW

[Zola de Cwtchi]

Hello guys...I dont know much regarding web design either and i agree with mostly what hyokai amd scotserve say...however, i presume 'cookie cutter' sites are the cheapest available, therefore a good starter point for beginners...am i wrong?

Ive noticed the same template recently on a few sites...and i think they look good...different websites selling completely different products, different colours used...diffrent ideas!

During my looking around, i have also seen my 'fav' website...the one i'd like to work to own, not to copy...whats the point...but to learn from 'theirs' and put my own spin on it.

Now, me putting my own spin on my own site...im presuming that because i may be buying the cookie cutter site i will have to accept a basic look?

Im hoping not...in fact im pretty sure that i can add a wee bit extra...time will tell.


Sinful Wicked...so, you had a basic first site?...it was a success...and now you are putting together a second more individual looking website? so while you were experiencing the ups n downs of a first site, you always had a plan and learnt how to put it into action at the same time? i admire you for doing so...inspiration for all us learning and researching right now


ha ok...so what am i on about?? i dont know I think web design is important...to be able to stand out from so many similar competitors is a must...however, im not going to get bogged down by it...a very good logo and a basic clean looking site will do for now...whilst im learning the rest as i go...thanks x

[scotserve]

Hi Zola

What I mean by "cookie cutter" is the companies that churn our near identical sites for maybe a 100 different clients - they all look the same - dead easy to mistake one site for another - also has the bad brand image that say you buy from mr nice red site one day and you get scammed - two weeks later you arrive on mr red site two - maybe somebody totally different but are you going to trust them ? you are immediately going to like the two.

Site should be individual or at least not just an out the box solution the same as many others.

The above is obviously just my opinion

[Zola de Cwtchi]

Oh i see Scot...sorry doh...maybe im naive there, though id like to think im a fairly good googler...surely most can spot them though.

But i get yer drift

[scotserve]

Oh i see Scot...sorry doh...maybe im naive there, though id like to think im a fairly good googler...surely most can spot them though.

But i get yer drift

You could be surprised - I often have customers talking to me about sites and say things about the products and oh yes it had a lovely red layout and when you ask them the name - Oh I cant remember 

[paulc010]

There are many levels to a site "design" too. My main focus is always on the markup - I leave the "frills" to someone much more highly qualified 

A well thought out visual design that compliments the contents of the site goes a long way towards helping sell the products I think - just like high-end perfume ads that sell a "look" or a "lifestyle". If a site looks tacky then so do the products; to me anyway.

Paul

[gordym75]

Just a little note on how much of a difference a good design can make. I purchased a rather nice zencart template from seamus last week and having installed it and monitored the average time spent on the site by visitors, it has gone up by 199%. I dont think that's a conincidence either as the template has made the site appear a much nicer place to be.

Edited as the percentage i quoted earlier is actually for another site I have changed.

[seamus]

and having installed it and monitored the average time spent on the site by visitors, it has gone up by 199%.

that is some increase so it is 

[JhnStcks]

I usually go with recommendations from people I know, so website doesnt necessarily have to be important for me.

I often have people phone and enquire about products on one of my sites and they always get the site name wrong for some reason.

[gordym75]

and having installed it and monitored the average time spent on the site by visitors, it has gone up by 199%.

that is some increase so it is 

It's gone down to 140% today 

[Rainee Bows]

and having installed it and monitored the average time spent on the site by visitors, it has gone up by 199%.

that is some increase so it is 

It's gone down to 140% today 

thats cos they all over here you should see the stats for this place

Rain
xxxx

[conran]

But then, I know nothing.

Clearly you know quite a bit. 

Design and graphics are one of my hobbies, and I'm still working on making my site as easy to navigate and user-friendly as possible.

And I agree with a lot of what you've said. Unless I'm having trouble finding a product anywhere else, I'll choose a professional looking site over a template one with poor graphics and copy/paste descriptions. And I've often paid more to a more professional appearing site over a low cost option from a poorly designed site.

Engagement is also key. I've spent quite a bit of time creating content and graphics that draw visitors further in. And it's sometimes very surprising to see what works and what doesn't.

[Bart]

what about its relation to SEO?