You only need to have a quick browse of the internet to see just how many poorly designed websites there are. There are a lot of successful businesses out there and it’s quite incredible just how many fail to do them any justice.

Websites need to be engaging, informative, user-friendly and enticing. Without these key elements, a website just won’t fulfil its objectives.

By engaging I mean something that quickly captures your attention, such as amazing graphics, superb images and eye-catching web design in general. Informative could mean anything from the business name and page title, to a product description and homepage copy. A site must also be user-friendly and this means having excellent navigation. After all, a visitor to a site wants to find something and find it quickly otherwise they’ll become frustrated and click off your site and onto another site. An enticing website includes a variety of things, but mostly it just means convincing visitors to act on your information.

There is a lot of competition in the online market and it is the ultra competitive markets that require a website to have everything the visitor wants. They can afford to be picky and choosey, so unless your web design is right, you can expect your bounce rate to be quite high.

Whether you are a brand new business or an existing one that is about to launch a website, it is recommended that you research some of your competitor’s sites and identify ways in which you can emulate them and go beyond them with your own website. Having that one thing extra that no one else has can quite easily make all the difference. Don’t just look at websites in your industry in your own country either. Jump on UK, Australian and US sites as well as check out the variety of sites in your industry.

How much you invest in web design could make the difference between an average site and a highly successful and profitable one. If you’ve worked out what you want in a website and not sure it is within your budget, then it may be worth waiting until you can afford it, to ensure you don’t get a website that is only partly designed as you’d planned it to be.

Finding a web designer is easy. Perhaps the best way to decide if they are right for you is to look at some of their client’s websites that they’ve designed.