Designing to Sell

by Arian Howard

The internet of today has transformed websites into far more than tools used to display information to the world. Web sites have become interactive marketing devices used to wow their audience into buying into what they have to offer. Web designers and business owners alike are scrambling to keep up with the ever expanding and changing internet landscape. Because of the value placed on design, keeping up with the web site design curve could result in great success. Learning the few basic principles of web design means everything when you are designing to sell.

Easily one of the most important elements of designing a site that sells is designing a site that is visually attractive. The average website has about a 40% bounce rate (percentage of people who leave the site after viewing the first page). Having a design that captures your target audience will reduce the bounce rate and keep people coming to your site. A site with the right alignment, color scheme, repetition, proximity and contrast will stand out to your target audience.

Imagine yourself as an eager consumer searching the web for a product or service. You visit a site that is visually attractive, but half the links are broken, the images don't load, and directions on the site are unclear. More often than not, a person will leave a site that that is hard to use. User friendliness is an important principle of web design. A site has to work completely in order to convince your target audience that your product or service is really worth their hard earned cash.

A web site is a marketing tool before everything else. You may have an attractive site that works, but at the end of the day you still have to sell to your target audience. A site that is not delivering its message will not succeed. Having quality content that is convincing, easy to read, and free of spelling errors is as important as your design and user friendliness.

Turing a profit on the internet is not just about getting traffic to your web site. Providing your audience with a great experience is the only way to turn your target audience into valued customers. A well rounded arsenal of design, user friendliness, and content is the key to designing a website that sells.

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