When it comes to redesigning your website, you may feel at a loss for where to start. You know that something needs to change, but chances are, parts of your website still serve their intended purpose well. How do you know what needs to be updated and what can stay untouched in the redesign?
Fortunately, we’ve had some experience in redesigning and updating websites. Over the years we’ve been in business, we’ve learned that it’s always a good idea to start with data. What do your visitors look for when they arrive at your website? What makes them stay, and what sends them running to a competitor?
We’ve run the numbers, and what we’ve found may surprise you. Here are 15+ statistics you should know before starting a major web design project.
The Stats
1. It only takes visitors 0.05 seconds (50 milliseconds) to form an opinion about your website.
First impressions can make or break your website’s success. Visitors form opinions quickly, and if your website isn’t visually appealing at first glance, they’re not likely to hang around long, much less scroll or click farther to learn about your company. The ideal is a page that loads fast, is easy on the eyes, and tells visitors the most crucial information first.
2. 48% of people cited a website’s design as the No. 1 factor in deciding the credibility of a business.
If credibility is what you’re after — and it certainly should be — good web design can help build trust with your audience. 48% of people say how the website looks is a good indicator of whether a business is legitimate, while 94% say an unattractive website is often the main reason they don’t trust a company.
3. 47% of website visitors look at your product and service pages first.
Don’t fall for the myth that your homepage is the most important one on your website. Nearly half of website visitors say they actually start at a product or service page, while only 38% look at the homepage first. And that remaining 15%? They start with the about page or other company info.
Translation: Every page of your website is important to the customer journey, and you should give the same amount of care and attention to detail to your other pages as you do your homepage.
4. Once on a company’s homepage, 52% of visitors want to see “about us” information next.
Speaking of customer journeys, more than half of website visitors like to follow up a homepage reading session with some info about your team and company … assuming they started at products and services. If not, 86% of people want to see your offerings then. And another 64% of people said they want to see your contact information following a visit to your homepage.
Remember, while every customer journey looks slightly different, it’s important to know what motivates your website visitors so that once they land on your site, they can easily find the information that helps them most.
5. On average, visitors only have time to read 28% of the content on a web page.
When was the last time you sat down and read a whole web page from top to bottom? If you can’t remember, you’re not alone. That’s because the average visitor is pressed for time and reads less than 30% of any given web page. Even when they have the time to read more, most website visitors choose to read only about 20% of your content.
That doesn’t mean you don’t need content on your web pages, because you do. But when drafting that content, include the most important information at the top of the page. That way your visitors are more likely to see if as they skim.
6. 38% of people will stop engaging with a website if the layout and/or content are unattractive.
An important component of good web design is a layout and content that’s easy for customers to engage with. Long walls of text or a layout that’s difficult to navigate are huge turn-offs to your audience, and will cost you business in the long run.
Break up text with headings and images (like we did with this blog) to add visual interest and keep visitors’ eyes moving down the page. If you’re not sure how to choose a layout that works for your audience and brand, a professional web design team can be a huge help.
7. Sites with dark color schemes increased growth by 2% while sites with light color schemes increased growth by 1.3%.
Even the color scheme you choose for your website plays a role in how your audience perceives your business. A recent study found that business with a darker color scheme for their website tend to grow faster than those who used light colors.
This may be because dark colors seem more serious and capable than flirty pastels. But dark websites can be tricky. While some look polished and professional — we may be biased, but we think our dark website looks pretty slick — it takes a practiced eye to know how to make things elements pop without being harsh on the eyes. If you’re considering a dark color scheme for the next iteration of your website, you may want to consult a professional web design team.
8. 51.3% of website visits come from smartphones.
Gone are the days when a company could throw together a quick desktop website and call it a day. Now, the mobile version of your site is even more important than desktop, as the majority of all website visits come from a smartphone. In fact, they have since late 2016.
Is your website equipped to handle mobile visitors? Is your site responsive to all screen sizes? Is the text easy to read on smaller screens? Are the buttons large enough to easily tap with a human thumb? If not, we can help bring you up to speed.
9. 40.7 million people used ONLY a smartphone to access the Web in 2017.
Mobile website visitors surpassed desktop site visitors for the first time in late 2016, and since then, the number of people visiting websites from their smartphones has only continued to climb. In fact, last year nearly 41 million people worldwide used only a smartphone to access the internet. That’s roughly 4 million more than in 2016, and it’s projected to reach 52.3 million by 2021.
In other words, if you’re not on the mobile website train yet, you may soon be completely out of touch with your audience.
10. Only 56% of small businesses in the US have a mobile-friendly website.
On the bright side, if you still don’t have a mobile-friendly website for your business, you’re in good company. The majority of small businesses in the U.S. are in the same boat, with 56% still reluctant to add mobile capabilities.
The silver lining is that being an early adopter puts you at a distinct advantage over your competition who are still dragging their feet. Investing in a mobile website now positions you nearly in front of a whole new segment of your audience that your competitors don’t have access to. Imagine what your business could do with those customers!
11. 40% of people will choose a different search result if the first is not mobile friendly.
Mobile websites are important regardless of how helpful, relevant, high-ranking, or aesthetically pleasing your desktop site is. That’s because 40% of people won’t bother looking at your site if it’s not mobile friendly. They’ll simply move on to the next search result on the list.
12. Mobile pages that are 1 second faster experience up to 27% higher conversion rates.
Whether it’s microwaves or instant messaging, our society has a love affair with instant gratification. The same goes for web page load speeds — the faster your pages load, the more appealing they are to your visitors. Speeding up the load time by just 1 second can up your conversion rates 27%.
If you’re having trouble getting your site visitors to convert, take a look at your website. Does it load quickly enough to keep your visitors engaged? Are there heavy elements slowing it down, and can you remove or shrink any of them?
13. 53% of mobile pages are abandoned if they take longer than 3 seconds to load.
While we’re on the topic of page load times, let’s talk about ideal speed. More than half of mobile website pages are abandoned if they don’t load in under 3 seconds (the real sweet spot is 2.4 seconds). But the average time it takes a mobile page to load is about 19 seconds — about as long as it takes to sing your ABCs.
14. Unique clicks are 15% higher on mobile-optimized websites.
If you’re still not convinced of how important a mobile website is to the success of your business, chew on this: Responsive websites get about 15% higher unique clicks than non-responsive sites. That’s partly because they display better on smaller screens, which most visitors are using, and partly because Google prioritizes sites that are optimized for mobile devices.
15. 57% of website users say they won’t recommend a business with a poorly designed mobile website.
One of the trademarks of a brand that resonates with its audience is a high rate of referrals among customers. As it turns out, good web design can help. Nearly two thirds of website users say they won’t recommend a business if it doesn’t have a nice website for mobile devices. So investing in mobile web design doesn’t just help your reputation among your current customers, but it helps you grow your audience as well.
Ready to redesign your website? We can help!
Here at Trajectory Web Design, we take pride in helping small and medium businesses nurture and grow their audiences, and it all starts with a stellar website. Ready to take the next step in growing your online presence? Contact us to get started.
