It is often researched how website design can affect the performance or sales of businesses, both in the physical market places as well as on the online market spaces. Usually, websites are a depiction of a business’s professionalism and overall brand image. In fact, many people judge the reliability of a brand by their online presence, especially by the appearance of their business website. Just like books are judged by their covers, websites are covers as well as portfolios of the business – in fact, they are also the most direct platform of communication between the consumers and the businesses.

There are different types of web designs. While some websites play with more negative spaces and minimalistic layouts, others incorporate more colors and elements with a lot ‘going on’ on the page in efforts to try to engage the viewer’s attention and decrease the ‘bounce off’ rate. However, what many brands miss realizing is that simple web designs are the most effective when it comes to setting a professional and reliable brand image, but that may also vary with the nature of the brand.

How Website Design’s Simplicity Matters:

Modernization is all about the ‘less is more’ approach, whether it is the newest smartphones, televisions, and even interior designs, the simpler you keep things, the better they are at making an impression. Similarly, website designs play by the same rules.

Before going into the details of why a simple website design is needed, let us list down the reasons why a very ‘busy’ website design should be avoided:

1. You don’t want to distract the viewers. While it is essential to have some interesting elements on your webpages to catch and maintain the viewers’ attention, it is also important to direct the attention to the right content – not just any content. In fact, having too many distractions in your web layout can direct a potential customer away from your website by confusing them and making them miss the information that they needed.You don’t want to appear unprofessional. Your brand is represented by your website design. Having a design that does not follow the basic designing rules like having a consistent font style or having a balance of design, does more harm than good. Steer clear of anything irrelevant and tidy up your web design for a neat, professional, and welcoming look.

Benefits of a Simple Web Design: How Website Design Makes a Difference

1. Better Conversion Rates:

   One of the primary functions that a business website serves is to convert visitors to customers. We have found it via many researches that websites with a simpler interface design have better conversion rates as compared to those with a ‘jammed up’ interface design. Your home page i.e. your website’s landing page decides your visitors’ decision to stay or go, hence it impacts your conversion rate. So, before you assign your website for design or re-design, ensure that you plan a simple design that displays all the relevant information so that your visitors instantly know where to go. To be more effective, focus most of the page’s attention on your Call to Action (CTA).

2. Faster Loading Time:

   Search Engine Optimization lists website’s loading time as one of the key factors for better ranking and increased traffic. As obvious as it is, any websites with heavier or complicated designs will take longer to load which risks sending your potential customers away to your competitors. People these days don’t have time and lives are quick-paced, so every second counts. To be precise, any website that takes longer than 3 seconds to load risks losing its visitors.

3. Optimized for Mobile Screens:

   As it is an essential requirement of modern web designing to have mobile-friendly or responsive web designs, it is easier to do this with simpler designs. Since most of your brand’s market views your website via mobile screens or ‘on the go’, it is important to have your website designed according to this information. If your website is not simply designed, it is more difficult to optimize for smaller screens and that is bad news for any business as it significantly reduces your viewer’s experience and conversion.

4. Lower Bandwidth, Lower Cost:

   Website designing is a huge expense, especially for smaller businesses. However, if done right, a simpler web design may cost you a much lower. A simple design requires minimum graphics to be uploaded, hence, it needs a lower bandwidth in your hosting plan for a simple design as compared to a graphically busy design. If you are getting a minimalistic designed website hosted for lower cost with all the benefits of professional appearance added with it, it’s a win-win situation.

Simple is better–even if you do not know how to design a website or have not gotten one yet for your brand, it is easy to use a website design software to make one for yourself. E-commerce literally gives you opportunities at your fingertips, only if you know how to use them.