How Bad Web Design Can Affect Your Digital Marketing Campaigns?

We get why you love your website. You’ve probably spent weeks perfecting it- right from conception to launch. It’s been molded in your vision to impress friends and visitors alike.

But if you’re struggling to gain a substantial audience after putting your back into web designing, you might have a case of ‘good idea, bad execution’ on your hands.

In today’s digitally driven world, a robust web design is far more than a status symbol. Positive user experiences, good content, and usability or the lack thereof- can seriously impact your bottom line. Neglecting your website has real-world consequences- but many entrepreneurs do not fully realize the extent of the damage.

News flash: Your business can only grow so much without a constantly evolving audience. And a poor website may deter users from trusting you completely.

This isn’t the only drawback of a poorly made website. Let’s walk you through six other ways ineffective web design can hamper your digital marketing campaigns.

1. Higher Bounce Rates Due to Slow Load Times

Any good webmaster knows the pitfalls of a slow website. 47% of consumers expect a page to load in two seconds or less, meaning anything longer can dramatically affect your traffic.

People have little patience for a slow-loading website, especially when there are plenty of other options available. They won’t hesitate to click away from a competitor if your site speed is lacking.

To top this, slow page load times can severely impact your search engine rankings, primarily because it’s hard for Google to crawl and rank adequately. In some cases, you may be disqualified despite checking all the SEO boxes.

Fortunately, it’s easy to resolve this problem. There are plenty of ways to improve your website speed, including:

• Caching web pages
• Using a content delivery network
• Reducing image sizes
• Boosting server response time

You can also monitor your page speed using tools such as Google’s PageSpeed Insights to bridge gaps as they arise.

2. Lack of Credibility and Trust

It takes seconds for people to judge your website. Even if you do manage to keep their attention for longer, your site’s look and feel will continue to influence their opinion of you.

Your business could be as legitimate as any other in your niche, but not giving enough visual cues to the average browser will hamper your credibility big time.

In other words, websites that look hastily put together seem suspicious from the get-go. Unnecessary animation, stock photography, spelling errors, and other unsavory virtual clutter can contradict your brand identity and cause people to lose faith in you.

That’s why it’s important to invest enough time into your web design and ensure it matches up to current trends. Without it, your other digital marketing solutions may go to waste.

3. Crushed Marketing Efforts

Most website users have pretty high hopes for usability. They expect it to adapt seamlessly to multi-sized screens, contain relevant information, and be easy to access. However, when you don’t scale up to their expectations, you risk driving them away.

Because Google prioritizes mobile performance while ranking websites, there’s no excuse for having a non-responsive web design. Unless your website operates as flawlessly on mobile as it does on desktop, you’ll have trouble building an organic audience.

The same goes for valuable content. If you don’t publish effective blogs, articles, and stories that can rank, you won’t appear in more niche searches. Great content can help you find a wider audience and establish you as an authority on your subject.

A poorly designed website can hold you back and crush other digital marketing efforts. Be sure to work with a professional web design services company to get the best ROI on your site. A seasoned web design and development agency will be able to analyze your unique situation and put you on the right path.

4. Outdated Appearance

A website you don’t update frequently does more than hurt your SEO. A dated site tells your audience that you’re behind the times, or worse, that you don’t consider your customers a priority.

Visitors could assume you’re out of touch with industry advancements, or you’re neglecting other areas of your business too. And if your site looks like it belongs in the 90s, there’s every chance they’ll think you’re no longer operational.

Don’t let bad, outdated, and sloppy web design drive customers away. Consult a digital marketing company or web design services provider to breathe new life into your site and bring it up to speed with the times.

5. Lost Customers

Every time a frustrated visitor exits your site- whether triggered by broken links, complex forms, or confusing navigation- you probably won’t see them again. And where do you think they’ll go?

Your competitors’ websites, of course! If a rival site looks better, informs better, and establishes trust faster, you will lose potential clients to them, no questions asked.

No amount of word-of-mouth referrals and positive reviews can offset the cost of bad web design. That’s why we recommend you size up other industry Goliaths and figure out what they’re doing right. This way, you’ll know what to change and adapt to get your site on track.

6. Lost Revenue

A website’s primary role is to generate leads and increase conversions. You want potential customers to find you, take action, interact with you, and ultimately buy from you. But this will only happen once your website fits user expectations and industry standards. Otherwise, you might end up paying your hosting services provider without getting much in return.

The Bottom Line

Web design is a labor of love. Your website is bound to face issues now and then, but taking prompt action can prevent them from snowballing out of control. Now that you know the dire consequences of bad web design, you can whip it back into shape.

Need help with web design? Look no further than Wahha Design! Our digital marketing company offers web development services to clients across multiple industries, such as business, education, government, and health. We create innovative digital solutions tailored to your unique needs. For more information, feel free to reach out to us today!