50 | Q2 2022 Mar22408 How Good Web Design Can Benefit Your Company Good web design is one of the most valuable investments a company can make. It impacts how the audience perceives a brand and is where many potential customers get their first impression of a company. It’s all about building trust with the audience and appealing to them so they will stick around, get to know the brand, and maybe even purchase the product or service. Here we explore just how an aesthetically pleasing website can benefit a company. We got in touch with Effortless Websites Owner, Fiona Southcott to find out how she makes web design so simple, accessible, and affordable for small businesses. Many companies have the misconception that a simple, DIY website is good enough to get their business out there and earn sales – but in reality, it’s not. Audiences have come to expect a fully developed, efficient digital experience from the companies they interact with. Consumers are becoming increasingly selective when deciding which sites they want to browse and shop from, with the more attractive and trustworthy ones coming out on top. In the digital age, attention spans are short – it only takes a fraction of a second for someone to decide whether to stay on a website or not. If your site is unprofessional, looks outdated, or is difficult to navigate, potential customers are likely to leave – and they may not come back, even if they would have liked your products or services. Nowadays, people are sceptical about shopping online, so a badly designed website can be seen as a red flag. In other words, the first impression your website gives is one of the most important components of your marketing effort. By investing into a visually appealing, functional website, your business can influence potential customers to browse for longer, thus increasing the chances of them making a purchase. Your competitors are utilising web design, and they are drawing in customers that could be yours. To truly stand out from the crowd, your website should adopt the latest features in web design, such as a responsive layout which adapts to screens on any device; thoughtful, eyecatching design; and a dynamic user experience. Effortless Websites can do all of this and more for its small business clients. Fiona Southcott established her web design company this year, with the COVID-19 pandemic being one of the push factors that persuaded her to take the leap and embark on the journey of starting her own business. She says, “As with many people in the UK, it gave me time to re-evaluate my position, my role, and the parts of my career that I enjoyed the most. Like myself, there were many others around the country choosing to pursue their dreams, retrain, or work on their own terms. These changes fuelled an increased demand for website design services.” To meet this demand, Effortless Websites comes with one aim: to make professional website design accessible to every business, no matter how small. At the core of its offer is an affordable, straightforward website design and build service for small businesses. Fiona tells us, “As the name suggests, we believe that there shouldn’t be anything complicated or stressful in the process of obtaining a website – to the everyday business owner, commissioning a website should be effortless.” This ethos is particularly appealing to the very smallest of businesses: the start-ups, selfemployed tradespeople, and individuals embarking on a new venture. Helping these little businesses gain control of their digital presence is where Effortless Websites’ expertise and focus lies. There’s a huge number of excellent web designers out there, but Effortless Websites is unique because its focus is on delivering the smallest of businesses the support, expertise, and digital presence they need to connect with their customers and reach their business goals. Fiona has also observed an increase in demand for a strong digital presence over recent years due to the increasing awareness of online “scammers”. Many business owners who have previously successfully operated solely through social media channels are now seeing huge benefits of the trust signals to be gained through a company website and more coordinated digital presence across multiple channels. Effortless Websites doesn’t build technically complex websites, it doesn’t build websites for large businesses, it doesn’t take on large contracts. Instead, it takes the time to understand and get to know the small business it is working with – their goals, who their customers are, and ultimately, where their website is going to take them on their business journey. Fiona comments, “It’s about so much more than creating amazing websites – it’s about being a friendly face, not expecting every business owner to be a digital whizz, and truly getting to know the business and their customers.” While the rise in the number of platforms for self-build websites could be seen as an industry challenge, it could also be seen as an opportunity. With these platforms comes the option of producing exceptionally user-friendly websites, so even business owners who do not have experience of web admin can quickly learn to make small edits and updates, empowering them to take an interest in and control over their company’s digital presence. Company: Effortless Websites Contact: Fiona Southcott Email: fiona@effortlesswebsites.co.uk Website: www.effortlesswebsites.co.uk by Rebecca Scotland
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