How Website Design Affects User Perception
A New Age
There’s no question that we are progressively reaching a more technologically advanced society, and that accessibility to all forms of media and the internet has become so widespread that even the youngest of us have access to it. Studies show that…
“Kids these days will be more tech-savvy than their parents by the time they're 10 years old, according to new research.”
-SWNS, News and Media Content Agency
Competence in this area of life - especially the youngest of us - is rapidly increasing, and for good reason. Now even children can discern between well-made and outstanding pages, and not-so-stellar ones. So for those of us planning to launch a business, having a well-made website to stand out among the dark and chaotic chasms of social media is more crucial than ever. But like all things, no website is built the same.
My Own Experiences With Bad Websites
First, a confession for you readers. I am no professional website designer, nor have I truly had the experience necessary to make the audacious claim that I can be the judge of whether or not a website has all the necessary components to launch a successful business platform. But I was once a middle schooler, burdened with the task of doing a research project like so many of my peers. Fortunately for me, the teacher provided us with a list of resources and the like to support our quest. Unfortunately for me, the websites were about as outdated as a jar of peppers I once found festering in the back of the fridge one fateful day. I may have been a middle-schooler, but I could spot something spoiled and unwanted from a mile away, whether it be on a screen or in a fridge.
The websites were atrocious, in every conceivable way: the design, build, user-friendliness. It made completing what was supposed to be a simple project more like navigating a minefield of typos, bugs, crashes, and terrible color schemes that made me gag more than the moldy jar of peppers did. The worst part? The information was amazing. It was reliable and reviewed by professionals. But did it seem like that? Was my perception of the information perhaps altered by the unruly design of the website?
The Necessity of Professionalism in Website Design
I felt guilty quoting and citing those sources. My moral compass went haywire. As I fixed up the last typo in the quote I cited (left over from the poor excuse of a website I had just copied and pasted from), I remember gratefully thinking,
“Ah, well at least in years from now businesses will professionally maintain their websites to deliver the best experience to their clients, to show the genuine nature of their products, thus creating a better exchange of services between them.”
Okay, so I didn’t actually think that. But the point still remains. Even with the best ideas, wording, and accuracy of information, if a website can’t hold up to the scrutiny of a middle-schooler, why would it hold up to the scrutiny of a potential customer interested in paying (perhaps very large sums of money) for the services your website claims to offer? It would not. And that is the importance and necessity of professionalism in website design.
Ask yourself this question:
”Would 7th grade me rely on my website for the services it offers? Would 7th grade me appreciate the design and quality of my website?”
If the answer is anything but an assertive and confident, “Yes!” then you still have some work to do.
A lot of work to do.
