Think about your own personal ‘bounce rate’ as an internet user. Given the fact that the average user will bounce within seconds of arriving, the reasons behind so many bounces back to Google’s SERP are likely rooted in website design and the sort of image you’re projecting onto the digital equivalent of ‘passers-by’.
These days, we’re all tuned into the things that make a website feel dated or cheap, but what are the ramifications of poor website design? Do they really undermine your brand enough to deter customers who are otherwise the perfect match for you? What about the search engines?
Here’s what you need to know.
Brand Credibility for Human Users
One of the first things – if not the first thing – a website needs to do is establish trust with its users. Most of us are peripherally aware of the risks of malware and cybercrime every time we go online, and any features that undermine the apparent legitimacy of a site are quick and easy deterrents. Fortunately, establishing legitimacy is easier now than it used to be; SSL certificates and other relatively prominent features can help to dispel any issues with trust.
But it’s not just about proving your website is free from viruses and other security flaws. It’s about proving that your entire business is operating at (or above) the standard your client expects.
According to insights published by Stanford University, 75% of internet users will judge a brand’s credibility by its website design. A site that feels dated, that directs users to 404s, that features out-of-date information, or that feels as though it’s been ‘done on the cheap’ will have about as much appeal as a bricks-and-mortar shop with peeling paint, tattered carpet tiles, and a range of stock covered in a thin layer of dust.
Of course, part of this comes down to maintenance. While the overall design of the website will inform visitors’ initial, overall impression, the finer points need to be routinely updated in order to avoid things feeling forgotten and neglected and as though the entire site has been left to fend for itself.
For a lot of business owners, website maintenance falls down the To-Do list – not least of all because the average person knows about as much code as can fill a postage stamp.
This is one of the reasons why we champion WordPress as the best CMS for building websites. While it takes expertise to get that site designed and running, maintenance is a lot simpler and a lot more accessible to those of us who don’t want to learn code.
Brand Credibility for SEO
Google and other search engines are also looking for credible sites. They want to push the best possible resources to the top of the SERP and ensure recognition is given to the brands and publications that represent the best in their class.
A lot of that stems from the content they publish, and that’s why the phrase ‘content is king’ is as common in digital marketing and SEO as it (still) is. But SEO is about more than maintaining a keyword-rich blog and perfecting your product descriptions; a lot of technical site improvements will boost your credibility with Google and give you a better chance of that first page of results.
Even factors as simple as a faster loading speed, mobile-friendly web design and an absence of broken pages and iffy internal links all demonstrate to search engine algorithms that your site is credible – that it has had considerable (and ongoing) time and attention and expertise invested into it.
This is the crux of all SEO – evidence of expertise and care versus a long list of rival sites that just don’t offer users the very best they can get. It all comes back to strong web design and regular maintenance.
