Just how important is the use of graphics on your website? In all honesty this is the one thing that can really make or break your entire site as it is the graphics that will create that all important first impression. In other words, get them wrong and it does not matter what you are selling or saying as people will simply click off, but how do you get it correct in the first place?

When Graphics Can Become Too Much

First, we need to look at the simple fact that there are cases where graphics can easily become too much. You go onto a website, they hit you in the face, and you are so taken aback by the graphics that you largely forget what the actual website is about.

Now, that tends to mean one of several things. Perhaps there has been a lack of communication between yourself and the graphic designer, so you are both looking at different things and completely different ideas. This does not bode well for your website because this lack of unison will tend to always lead to misunderstandings and one party, which means you, will end up being disappointed. After all, how is the graphic designer going to be able to produce exactly what you want if you do not tell them?

However, perhaps this has happened because you actually do not know what you want? You might not have done your research to see what other people are doing and the role that graphics play there.   This is of course entirely your own fault, but it can ultimately lead to you having a website where you might feel that the graphics are fine, but they are just not what is expected from a modern website.

The Impact Poor Graphics Can Have

Let us assume that you have indeed gone ahead and had graphics produced for your website that are over the top. Understanding the impact that these graphics can have on the visitors to your website is clearly going to be important as it is always advisable to have a site that is pleasant to the eye and which actually makes it easier to navigate around the website.

How do you feel if you see an advert that is just too loud and yet tells you no information whatsoever? Of course it is annoying and you will quickly get to the point where you will simply switch off from trying to understand whatever it is that the advert is trying to tell you. Take these same feelings and apply them to your website because that is how your visitors will feel if your graphics do the same.

You need to remember that your website is there to promote your business whether it be service based or product based. It is supposed to be informative, useful for your visitor, have a point of existing, and be easy to navigate. Graphics are supposed to compliment a website and not detract from its main reason for being there. If graphics overpower a website, then there is less chance of your visitors doing what you actually want them to do, which is either buy something or contact you for more information.

So, What Do You Do?

Clearly poor graphics can have a detrimental effect on your website, but what do you actually do? Perhaps the main key is to do your research before you even think about having a website designed.  This will give you a better idea of what it is that you actually want in a site and, in turn, you will have a better understanding of the types of graphics that work best for you. It is perhaps even an idea to save some examples of sites and the graphics that they use in order to then show your own developer.

The other main thing that you need to do is to actually have a discussion with your developer. Listen to their ideas, compare them to your own, and then see the kind of end result that you will then be able to come up with. Working as a team always produces the best outcome as everybody knows what they are wanting to get out of it and both client and designer can be content with the finished article.

In Other Words

What we are saying here is that you the client need to have some degree of input when it comes to the graphics for your website. It is not good enough to just leave it in the hands of the designer no matter how good they are because they need to get inside your head and know the kind of thing that you have in mind for your site.

Communication is key as is your own research. A designer can advise you on what the current trends are, and it is advisable to listen to them, to make sure that your site looks fresh and modern rather than stale and stuck in the past. By just working together the chances of mistakes being made are going to be reduced and would it not be better for your state of mind if you were content with everything at the first time of asking?

If you thought that web design was purely about making your website look nice, then you are wrong. Instead, it has an impact on every aspect of your business online including branding, the amount of traffic you receive, and SEO. In other words, a bad or poorly executed design can have a catastrophic impact in more ways than you would imagine.

The Building Of Trust Via Design

One of the first points that we need to make is that a well designed website generates a lot of trust in what the site has to offer. This is rather surprising because studies have indicated that over 90% of people that say that they have not trusted a particular website point to the bad or outdated design as being the problem while under 10% only ever refer to the content. In other words, people simply cannot move beyond a badly designed website as their eyes are drawn to it and they pretty much become blind to what the website is saying.

So what kind of things about the design leads to people not trusting the website? First, if the layout is seen as being far too busy or too complex to understand. People see this as being a sign that there is a lack of organization or the people behind it are just running around and losing control.

People also mistrust a website that has a tendency to use small print because their first thought is that they must have something to hide if they are writing things so small that people would simply give up with trying to read it. There are also issues with websites that take too long to load, or have boring colors and a boring design and all of this is decided by the individual within seconds of landing on that website.

Content Does Still Play A Part

However, even though we just stated that the design of a website is very important when it comes to  building trust, you still need to understand that content plays a major role. Indeed, around 80% of people state that the quality of the content is important to them, but you still need to get them past that initial step of liking what they see from a visual point of view for them to then be able to make up their mind about what you have to say.

In the same study that looked at how important content was for building trust, it was also noted that there are certain things that people look for in the wording that appears on a website. People appear to love when there is a section covering frequently asked questions. People love content that is informative, easy to understand, and it gets to the point quickly as we do appear to have relatively low attention spans. People also love content that is fresh, and is relevant to the website and what they would expect to see, so clearly this is something that has to be done correctly because if that is not the case, then trust in your site will be lost.

Web Design, SEO, And Building Trust

Finally, it is also a well accepted fact that people tend to trust those websites that appear further up the search engine rankings. They see those websites as having more authority over various keywords even though they do not really understand the complexities of SEO. However, the design of your website can also play a role in your ability to rank higher on those searches and, in turn, it also fits in with your ability to build trust in your website and brand.

There is a tendency for some designers to use crazes when it comes to their designs and even though it may look modern and cool, it can have a negative impact on the way that search engines can find and then crawl through the site. Look at the example where people love just one single page that scrolls on for an eternity. This looks great and people love not having to jump between pages, but from an SEO point of view there is one vital component missing. With no pages to index, the search engines find it harder to pick up the site and you then need some pretty amazing on-page SEO to try to rectify the problem. This can be extremely expensive, so in all honesty you are better off with a design that sticks to the traditional format, but has modern colors, and other cool features that marks it out as being modern. Think about it. Keywords are important when it comes to SEO, but you achieve better results when they are spread throughout a site. Using this one page design means they are all together on just one single page and that is something that should be avoided.

What we are saying is that there are several key factors in building trust in your website and this is an issue that needs to be tackled from the moment that people land on your URL. Your design has to be pleasant and welcoming. Your content has to be relevant. Your SEO has to get you up those rankings. Without them, you will be struggling and let’s face it, nobody wants to struggle, do they?