The ROI of a healthy, user-centered website
We believe that investing in a beautifully-designed and user-centered website is one of the best decisions any company can make, primarily because it will bring your company three things:
Visibility
Credibility
Opportunity
Ultimately, these three things mean a high return on investment for any time and money you set aside for a better website. In this week’s post, we’ll break down how investing in your website will bring your company better visibility, credibility, and opportunity, and why the ROI of a user-centered website is so high.
Visibility
First and foremost, a good website will increase your visibility with your target audience and potential customers or clients. In this digital age, having a website is almost non-negotiable if you want people to know what your company is, what your company does, and how to get started or purchase your services. However, an outdated website may actually hinder your visibility with certain demographics. For instance, tech savvy individuals may actually overlook your site if it looks out of date or too old, and assume it’s not a reputable source of information. That means they may choose to bounce from your site before understanding what your company is and what it does, and they likely won’t tell their friends and family about your company, which means you aren’t gaining any additional visibility from your site.
Now, here’s the catch: You can garner a minimal amount of visibility from simply having a website, but to really boost your visibility and catalyze growth, you’ll need a website that is user-centered and has strong search engine optimization (SEO) practices. That means opting for a website that has a seamless user experience and consistent branding, while also integrating SEO keywords in your copy, image names, SEO descriptions, and titles. At the end of the day, better SEO and a well-designed site that’s aligned with your business goals and your users’ goals, will result in a higher visibility for your company. That means more word of mouth, more sales, better reviews, etc.
Credibility
As we mentioned before, an outdated site can look untrustworthy. This can reflect poorly on your brand and reputation, and may even cause site visitors to leave your site before exploring your solutions/products leading to reduced sales. In this way, having an effective website will actually improve your company’s credibility, and even its reputation as being an industry thought leader. Your website can gain credibility by having a clear and consistent design, as well as an organic user journey. If visitors to your website are uncertain about how to navigate through pages, and are met with inconsistent design choices, they’re not only less likely to find what they’re looking for, but less likely to believe it as well. Think about the last time you went to a website that looked like it hadn’t been touched in the last ten years. Would you hand over your email address to them to “learn more about their services”? You may even rethink their slogan that they’re “the most highly-rated company in their industry,” and you probably aren’t taking a trip over to their blog to see what they have to say about said industry.
Just like most things, the healthier your website looks, the more credible your website visitors believe you are, and the less frustrated they are by the user experience, the more likely they are to hang around to see what you have to say.
Opportunity
Last, but most certainly not least, having a user-friendly, healthy website will bring you new business opportunities. Here’s where we start getting into the ROI of user-centered web design.
It’s important to remember that we’re talking about a “healthy” website. Meaning this website is user-centered, up-to-date, has strong content, has good SEO practices, etc. All of which means a visitor to your website can easily navigate through your company’s site. Visitors will leave a site if they can’t easily flow through a website, find the information needed efficiently, and enjoy the experience of doing so. For example, if a visitor comes looking for the features of your product, there should be a clear path to get there. During this journey to find that information, your company has one chance to clearly articulate a message about your product, don’t miss it. Investing in such a website will give you a positive return on your investment over time. If you’re an eCommerce site, this ROI will be evident as you can directly monitor an increase in sales due to a redesign of your site. However, it’s often much more complex to understand the positive ROI of a healthy website if your business is not an eCommerce platform. It’s important to remember that some leads that come from your website will not be as easily detected if users are not able to purchase something directly from your site. However, you can still see the positive ROI that comes from KPIs (key performance indicators) like clicks, views, website traffic, and your conversion rate. When someone engages with your website in a meaningful way and is met with a frictionless user experience, they are more likely to seriously consider your product/services, click on your call-to-action, close a sale, and ultimately bring your company more opportunities.
At the end of the day, this means that whether you’re an eCommerce site or not, your website experience has a direct impact on your bottom line whether it’s through sales, strategic partnerships, or reputation.
At EnticEdge, we like to call your website your 24/7 voice because it advocates for your company when you’re not around to do it yourself. Thinking about your current website in this way, what would your website say to potential customers or clients? As a living document, your website needs to be groomed, updated, and kept healthy so that it’s always putting your best foot forward when new opportunities come knocking. By giving your website the attention that it deserves, you’re providing your company with increased visibility, credibility, and opportunity--three things you absolutely need for market traction and growth, no matter what stage your company is in.
Looking for more? We highly recommend these resources:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=emb_logo&time_continue=6&v=O94kYyzqvT
https://www.business2community.com/online-marketing/8-tips-measure-improve-roi-website-0943128
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