Guest Post: Website Speed and Web Design 101

One of the many hats that I wear is a blog designer. I say blog designer because I prefer to design for WordPress. Back in the day I dabbled in HTML, but I have since moved on from that. The sites don’t have to be blogs though. They can be static business sites, photography sites, or much more. A couple of the most important things that goes into designing a site is good design, usability, and SEO (search engine optimization). A website means nothing if people cannot read it, the design is too hard on the eyes, or search engines cannot see it. The below guest posts shares some valuable information to think about for every web design.

There are many factors that you have to take into consideration when it comes to the design of your website. This includes factors such as the professional look of your site, how to effectively use graphics, the layout and design of the site, and the quality of the content among other things.

Another very important factor, which is becoming more and more vital in today’s fast-paced world, is the speed at which your website loads. Consumers have become increasingly demanding when it comes to the quality of websites, not only in terms of aesthetics and ease of use but also in terms of website speed.

Making improvements to design and speed

It is important to bear in mind that although the design of your website is hugely important, the speed at which it loads is equally as important. It doesn’t matter how good your site looks; if it is too slow to load the chances are that droves of potential visitors will head elsewhere, as they simply don’t want to be left waiting around.

The design of your website can have a profound impact on its speed. For instance, the graphics that you use on the site could affect the speed at which the site loads. Of course, the design of your site is one of a number of factors that can affect website speed, so it is important to consider what changes you can make in order to maximise the speed and provide users with an enhanced experience.

Turning to professionals such as NCC Group can prove really helpful, as this will enable you to benefit from a website speed test, the results of which can then be analysed. Based on the results, changes can be made to optimise website speed, which can go a long way towards increasing traffic to your site and ensuring visitors return to the site in the future.

By improving the design and subsequently the speed of your website, you will be able to benefit in many ways. This includes:

• Better user experience: Creating the best possible experience for your website visitors is important, as without visitors there is little point having a website at all. By improving the design and speed of your website you will be able to ensure your website visitors enjoy a smooth, hassle-free experience that does not cause them to put up with frustrating delays.
• Higher conversion rates: By improving the customer experience in this way, you can really boost the chances of your website visitors turning into customers. If your website loads quickly, is well designed, and enables them to enjoy a trouble-free browsing experience, they are more likely to stay on your site and go from being a visitor to being a customer.
• Improved rankings: A website’s performance is a very important factor when it comes to search engine rankings. By ensuring improved design and speed, you can optimize performance, which in turn will enable you to enjoy improved rankings.

All of these valuable benefits can stem from having the right design and optimizing the speed of your website, so these are areas that all businesses need to really focus on when it comes to their company websites.