How to design a website which gets results

By seoBusiness

29 Jun 2021

Website
ebusiness-uk-web-design.jpg

Web design is more than just what looks good – though this is important too. A well-designed website can engage with potential customers, inform them, sell the benefits of your products or services, and be an effective sales tool.

A badly designed website on the other hand, can turn a customer away. Whether it’s an ugly website giving a poor representation of your business, or a confusing one which even a spirited customer gives up on, bad design can hurt your chances of making a sale.

Trends will come and go as fashions evolve, but here are the key staples that must always be considered when building a website that gets results.

1) Make an immediate impact

Web users are, in the main, impatient beings. With a wealth of resources available at the click of a mouse or a tap of a screen in just a few seconds, it’s important that your website grabs the visitor’s attention instantly.

You’ve got just a few seconds to convince them that they’re on the right website before they start looking elsewhere. That means branding, bold visuals and key messages go right at the top, equally so whether it’s a desktop browser or a mobile phone screen.

And that latter distinction is a key one. Today, more than half of all web traffic occurs through mobile devices. If your website can’t easily be viewed this way, you risk as many as half of your visitors instantly clicking the back button.

2) Simplicity is key

While important information should be front and centre, we’re only referring to the vital stuff, not absolutely everything. An overload of information can be overwhelming.

Too many links can make a website hard to navigate. Too much text outside of the right setting won’t get read. Strip out anything that’s not necessary. Pare back what’s left. Then make it all intuitive to find.

View your website through the eyes of a first-time visitor. Have their goal in mind and see how few clicks it takes to get to what they need.

3) Accessibility and usability

While advancing technology is making all sorts of weird and wonderful design elements possible, it’s not necessary (or advisable) to use them all.

Many web users have less than perfect vision, for example, which is something National Rail forgot when they turned their entire website grey to mark the passing of Prince Philip earlier this year. A flood of users took to social media to complain that it had made the site unusable to them, and what the company thought would be a nice PR move turned into the exact opposite.

Consider providing transcripts of videos, and detailing photographs in the description tab. Avoid using elements which require the use of a mouse. And Dark Mode is becoming increasingly prominent across the internet, using darkers colours to help protect the eyesight of users.

Just as would be the case when designing your premises, your website design must take into account the full spectrum of needs of potential users, otherwise you risk turning them away.

4) Images, video and beyond

The better a customer understands what they’re considering buying, the more likely they are to part with their money. Shoppers want to inspect their potential purchases, and visual representations are a vital way of enabling this.

High quality photographs are an absolute must, and worth your investment. Video is increasingly becoming part of online catalogues, whether that’s an outfit on a model, a simple demonstration of a tool in use or drone footage of a property.

While professional production is a bonus, these can be produced on a budget using off-the-shelf technology and editing software. But where there is budget available, augmented reality is emerging as an exciting new tool. It can be used to enable a product to be viewed from a variety of angles using handheld devices, it can insert a product into the user’s surroundings, and it can add ‘virtual’ labels to a real-world product the viewer is holding in their own hands to aid their understanding and enjoyment.

5) Social proof

Say what you want about how amazing your own product or service is, the glowing reviews always carry more weight when spoken by an independent third party. That’s why major retailers carry customer star ratings and reviews on product pages.

You can use external sites to gather reviews of your business, such as Trustpilot, which bolster credibility. Then use their widgets to seamlessly embed up-to-the-minute reviews on your site.

Hearing from satisfied existing customers gives added confidence to potential new customers and increases your chances of making a sale.

6) Calls to action

Whatever design decisions you make when putting together your site, you should have an end goal in mind.

When you’ve defined the purpose of your site – that is, what you want your visitor to do – you need to make that action especially obvious to users. If you’re collecting email addresses, make it clear where users can enter their information and give them a reason to do so. If you’re arranging appointments, explain the benefit of two-way communication and make it easy to book a time and date.

Ultimately, the design of your website should centre around the action you want potential customers to take, and then provide very clear signposts from initial interaction to completion to make the process as straightforward as possible.

Enjoyed this? Read more from seoBusiness

Latest news

1

New India branch campus on the horizon for Lancaster University Keir Starmer meets Indian PM and included Prof Simon Guy Lancaster University. Pic Simon Dawson

New India branch campus on the horizon for Lancaster University

09 Oct 2025

2

Best events and talented students complete finalists list for Lancashire Tourism Awards 2026 Best Events and Talented students on Lancashire Tourism Awards finalist list

Best events and talented students complete finalists list for Lancashire Tourism Awards 2026

09 Oct 2025

3

East Lancashire Learning Group named UK digital transformation leader in CIO 100 Awards Andrew Dewhurst with the award win

East Lancashire Learning Group named UK digital transformation leader in CIO 100 Awards

09 Oct 2025

4

PHX Training appoints new business leader in Blackpool Jason Davenport PHX Training

PHX Training appoints new business leader in Blackpool

09 Oct 2025

5

Velocity seals Airbus extension worth up to $54m Velocity Composites Has Announced Its Entry Into The Us Market

Velocity seals Airbus extension worth up to $54m

08 Oct 2025

Background image for hub sign up block

LBV Hub

Leverage Lancashire Business View platforms

Post your news
Post your events
Post your offers
Build your network
Improve your SEO
Gain coverage in the magazine
Sign-up
Events
CMI Level 5 Project Management Course
UCLanAerialCampus.jpg.jpg
LBV Hub Seminars
21 Feb 2025 - 21 Feb 2026

CMI Level 5 Project Management Course

Preston Campus, Preston, PR1 2HE

08:00 - 17:00

CMI Level 5 Management and Leadership Course
UCLanAerialCampus.jpg.jpg
LBV Hub Seminars
21 Feb 2025 - 21 Feb 2026

CMI Level 5 Management and Leadership Course

Preston Campus, Preston , PR1 2HE

09:00 - 17:00

Help to grow management course
Help to grow - barriers to growth.png.png
LBV Hub Seminars
26 Sep 2025 - 16 Dec 2025

Help to grow management course

Preston Campus , Preston , PR1 2HE

09:00 - 15:00

Advantage: AI – A Workshop for Business Leaders – Oct 10th
Ai 10.10.png.png
LBV Hub Seminars
10 Oct 2025 - 10 Oct 2025

Advantage: AI – A Workshop for Business Leaders – Oct 10th

Door4 Office, Burnley Wharf, Burnley, BB11 1JG

09:00 - 12:00

Unlocking major project opportunities in the North West
Lancs-cham-logo.jpg.jpg
LBV Hub Seminars
15 Oct 2025 - 15 Oct 2025

Unlocking major project opportunities in the North West

Strathmore Hotel, Morecambe, LA4 5AP

08:00 - 10:00

The New Employee Rights Landscape: Day One Compliance Essentials
EventBrite NORi - 15th Oct 2025 Webinar.png.png
LBV Hub Webinar
15 Oct 2025 - 15 Oct 2025

The New Employee Rights Landscape: Day One Compliance Essentials

Microsoft Teams, Microsoft Teams, PR253XH

13:30 - 15:00

The Business Network Central & East Lancashire
LBV Header (26).png.png
LBV Hub Networking
16 Oct 2025 - 16 Oct 2025

The Business Network Central & East Lancashire

Stanley House, Blackburn, BB2 7NP

11:30 - 14:15

October Freelancer Meet-Up
LBV Hub Networking
16 Oct 2025 - 16 Oct 2025

October Freelancer Meet-Up

Society1, Coworking Space, Preston, PR1 3LT

10:00 - 11:30

The Autumn Re set - pour me a wine
LBV Advert_Autumn Reset 1200 x 630px.png.png
LBV Hub Networking
16 Oct 2025 - 16 Oct 2025

The Autumn Re set - pour me a wine

The Artistry House , Preston , PR1 3JJ

17:30 - 19:30

HR Essentials for pubs, bars and licensed venues
EventBrite NORi - 22nd Oct Webinar.png.png
LBV Hub Webinar
22 Oct 2025 - 22 Oct 2025

HR Essentials for pubs, bars and licensed venues

Online - Teams, Leyland, PR253XH

13:30 - 15:00

RISE - Lancashire's unique leadership programme for women
thumbnail_Emma Weston Illustration WENDY BOWERS RISE Illustrstion.jpg.jpg
LBV Hub Seminars
22 Oct 2025 - 18 Mar 2026

RISE - Lancashire's unique leadership programme for women

East Lancashire Chamber of Commerce, Clayton le Moors, BB5 5JR

09:30 - 15:30

Women scaling up Blackpool Fylde and Wyre
LBV Hub Seminars
22 Oct 2025 - 09 Jan 2026

Women scaling up Blackpool Fylde and Wyre

The Small Business Academy, Blackpool, FY4 5JX

09:30 - 15:30

Advertise with us

Reaching 50,000 members, our print, digital and event platforms offer a fantastic way to raise your business profile and help you grow.

Find out more LBV124 Online Graphic
Subscribe now

Weekly news bulletin