Do Looks Matter?

Posted on October 5, 2007

There’s some discussion among web designers and developers regarding whether a web site or blog needs to be pretty or not. Do looks matter? Is the design important? After all, content is what’s supposed to matter, right?

Not entirely. There are a number of reasons for having a clean, nice looking, well designed web site and blog.

Consider if you had a physical location for your store. Do looks matter there? Of course they do. You want a clean, attractive, well-organized store. It should be inviting and welcoming. You wouldn’t have a gourmet coffee shop with spills on the counter and trash on the floor. You wouldn’t have plain concrete floors and unfinished walls.

In the same way, your web site looks matter. If you think of your web site as a store, then you should give it the same consideration. Make it inviting and warm. Make it a place where people want to hang out for awhile. Don’t put up flashy signs or bright neon colors. Don’t make it cluttered and messy. Make it easy for your visitors to find what they are looking for. Give them good, clear pictures, too.

By all means, looks matter. Does pretty matter? That could depend on the purpose of your site. There are news sites that have a clean, uncluttered look but would never be considered pretty. And that’s ok. But consider if you’re trying to sell jewelry, or beauty products, or clothing. Your visitors will be more drawn to your site if it looks pretty.

Here’s some things to consider for your web site:

Make your visitors want to visit a while
Give your visitors a nice design that’s easy on the eyes and they may hang around longer. Make it welcoming and inviting.

Make your identity known
Your web site is an extension of your brand. Your brand is very important. It is how people recognize your company. Everything about your company should have a similar look and feel. Otherwise you’re going to confuse visitors to your web site or blog. They may not realize that it is part of your company. In the same way, all the pages of your web site should have a similar look. They don’t have to be exact, but it should always be obvious that you’re still on the same site.

Stand out from the crowd
You don’t need neon lights and bright colors for this. But your web site should be your own. Canned templates won’t usually work for this. There’s no substitute for a good design.

Be consistent
Use your logo, color scheme and general design on every page. You can have variation. But your visitors should never wonder if they’re still on your web site.

Your web site doesn’t have to be beauty contest material, and content is still very important, but make sure your visitors have a pleasant visual experience when they visit your site.

bwh Web Designs specializes in pretty, clean, well-organized web site design. Contact bwh Web Designs today for help with your web site design and marketing.

Is Web Site Marketing Different?

Posted on October 2, 2007

Is there really a difference in how you market a web site? Or can you apply the same principles that are used in marketing a brick-and-mortar store?

Yes and no. In one sense web site marketing is the same since you’re still selling your product or service. The question is, in an analogy comparing a web site to a brick-and-mortar store, where does the web site fall?

Here are some of the suggestions I’ve heard marketers give to web site owners: Make your web site bold with lots of bright colors. You need to have a splash page. And more along the same lines.

All of those suggestions are in line with what a billboard or a magazine ad might be like. But a web site really doesn’t compare to a billboard or magazine ad. Their purpose is to attract attention and draw you in.

Just as you wouldn’t make your store look like a magazine ad, you shouldn’t do that to your web site. Experts in web site marketing agree that content is what really matters.

It isn’t that looks don’t matter, I’ll even address that in another article in this series. Just think about it though. Do you really want bright colors dominating your web site. I’m thinking of the really bright neon colors. The ones that are hard to look at for too long. Save the bright colors for your own billboard or advertising. Don’t blind your visitors with them.

As for splash pages, they don’t really serve a useful purpose. They add an extra page with a graphic image or a Flash animation on it. There usually is no text. And they use a redirect to take the visitor to the main site. Or at least those that haven’t already left.

Internet visitors are on a mission. They have in mind what they need and that is their focus. They generally are also very smart and incredibly impatient. Don’t turn them off before they get a chance to see what you have to offer.

If you’re going to talk with a marketer, make sure they are well-versed in online marketing. In fact, ask them for references. If they tell you marketing a web site is the same as offline marketing – run! While there are similarities, there are also important differences. Your web site deserves the attention of someone who knows about web site marketing.

Contact bwh Web Designs today for help with your web site marketing.