Any idiot who owns a computer can answer this question with confidence. The correct response is: It’s mega-important! According to Google research, 81 percent of people say they look online before they purchase goods or services. If you haven’t put much time into making your website informative, attractive, and user-friendly, one of two things will happen when customers are shopping online for a good or service you offer.
Or…
To find out just how important a website can be to either winning or losing you customers, we consulted Xavier Perez, an IT consultant, a “fashionisto,” and a frequent online shopper, for his opinion on the matter.
EliteFlyers: So Xavier, what would you do if you were shopping for, say, hair products, and the first site you clicked on had misspellings and a poor design?
Xavier: I’d say, “This is whack, and a scam, and I’d never buy their product! NEXT!”
EF: What makes a website appealing to shop from?
Xavier: Organized design, easy to browse navigation menu, quick access links (for example, contact us, shopping cart, “other users like you liked these products”), and not too cluttered. If it’s clothing, it must have various pictures at angles and reviews of the products from real shoppers.
EF: Good to know. Now, if you’re thinking of going to a restaurant or bar, what types of stuff on the website can either convince you to go or discourage you from going?
Xavier: I want to see updated specials, like what is their happy hour, what is their menu, what is special about their place. They should focus on the entire restaurant and not just on the food. I definitely want to see what the food looks like, but no tacky pics of their food. Some Chinese restaurants are really bad about that. I would also want to read reviews off the website, like on Yelp! Bonus if I can make reservations right on the site.
EF: Does the writing on the site make a difference?
Xavier: Yes! A lot! The site should not read “our savory delicious succulent hamburger with our fabulous teriyaki sauce…” I’ll decide if it’s delicious, gosh darn it!
So there you have it – from the mouth of the online consumer. Website quality is an extremely important factor in helping people decide to come to you… or not come to you.
So what can you do if you suspect your website is in trouble? You have a few options. The first, and the cheapest, is good if you are relatively tech-savvy and have the patience and confidence to dedicate a few days to creating your site. You’ll need to search YouTube for tutorials on how to build a simple website, and then you’ll have to watch them. Oh yeah, and then you’ll have to do what they say! Like we said, it takes time, but it is possible, as long as the site you are trying to create is simple.
The second is to hire experts to get the job done. There is a huge selection of web design services out there. Ask people you trust to refer you to some reasonably priced professionals. The EliteFlyers web design team, for example, is competitively priced and can completely customize your site to your liking. Don’t discount the idea of hiring a copywriter, as well. Strong writing is a huge plus in drawing in customers from the web, and many copywriters can emphasize keywords that will help search engines to pick up on your site instead of the competition’s.
You can’t overestimate the importance of a good website. But you can start putting yours together today… that is, unless you like losing potential customers!
About Jenny DixonJennifer has been apart of the EliteFlyers.com team for over 15 years. She brings a deep understanding of web marketing, thoughtful strategies, that she's able to design, manage, print, deliver multi-media campaigns to meet all client's goals. Her personal portfolio includes high-end design and printing of business cards, flyers, post cards for elite businesses and individuals from all over the world.
