Content marketing is, by far, the most effective marketing technique. Loading up a website with a wealth of useful content can do wonders for boosting sales. However, adding content isn’t enough. That content must be easy to find, read, and share. This is how web design impacts content marketing.
Good web design will allow the reader to find the information they want without needing to navigate through a ton of fluff. Good web design will make it more likely people will read the content too. Shoddy web design is well known for scaring people away, no matter how fantastic the content is. If a site scares people away, that’s a lost lead.
Fact is, web design plays a major role in content marketing. Get your web design wrong, and it doesn’t matter how great your content is. People just won’t bother paying attention to it.
For any marketing manager looking to increase their online presence, web design should be at the top of their priority list. Web design can have a lasting and significant impact on the success of content marketing efforts, from improving the user experience to helping build SEO authority.
With an understanding of how small changes in design can make big impacts on engagement with potential customers, it’s clear that investing in good web design is essential for today’s businesses.
In this blog post, we’ll discuss how web design impacts content marketing and why it’s important for maximizing your online reach. So, wondering how web design impacts content marketing? Continue reading to learn more.
How Web Design Impacts Content Marketing: Makes Content More Accessible
The whole point of content marketing is to have people read and engage with your content. Content is pretty useless if people can’t find it.
Simply put, good websites are easy to navigate. People shouldn’t have to hunt around for the information they need. Useful content should be no more than a couple of clicks away. In fact, related articles and content should be accessible in no more than 1 to 3 clicks.
The longer it takes to find something, the more likely people will just give up. The easier it is for people to find useful content on a website, the more content they consume.
How web design impacts content marketing will likely increase the amount of content your visitors consume. And the more likely they are to engage with your brand.
Content is Easier to Read
Again, this is all about ensuring that your content is read. Simply put, this is how web design impacts content marketing the most.
Good web design will ensure content isn’t a chore to read. If reading content takes too much effort, then people just won’t bother. If people aren’t bothering to read content, then that content is not benefiting you in any way.
Good web design will always focus on readability. This means:
- Ensuring the content font is readable i.e., no fancy fonts.
- Ensuring the text color is readable against the background of the site.
- Ensuring the content is easy to skim, i.e., broken down into readable chunks with short paragraphs, good headings, etc.
Businesses spend a lot of time working out the optimal web design to ensure their content gets read.
Lower Bounce Rate
The average time spent on a website is just 15 seconds. If a person doesn’t like what they see in 15 seconds, they are out of there. Since a person can’t do much reading in 15 seconds, the design of the site is going to play a major role in whether they decide to stay.
Good web design results in people sticking around. The longer a person is on a website, the more likely they are to read content, and the more likely they are to make a purchase.
Content Appears Much More Trustworthy
One of the aims of content marketing is to establish trust in a brand. The idea is that if a company is producing quality content, then they are much more knowledgeable in their market and thus a better company to buy from.
However, that content isn’t going to get read unless the website it is posted on looks trustworthy.
Websites need to look sleek and modern. They need to fit the brand, and they need to match what the target market expects. If a website looks old, it either screams ‘scam’ or shows that a business hasn’t really invested in their company.
If a business isn’t investing in its most important marketing tool (its website), why would anybody even want to purchase from them?
We have read some fantastic articles on websites that look like they were designed in the early 2000s. Guess what? As great as that content was, we would never buy from them. They just didn’t appear trustworthy in the slightest.
Turns out, many people think the same way as us. Studies estimate that 38% of people won’t even bother reading content if the website looks unattractive.
Allows Content to Be Displayed in Multiple Ways
Content marketing isn’t just about written content. It is about images. It is about videos. In rare cases, it can even be about sound.
A good web layout will combine a variety of elements. For example, blog posts will be peppered with images (infographics work incredibly well here) or even a quick video overview of some of the core concepts discussed.
Breaking up the content like this makes things a lot easier to digest. It also allows people to pick how they wish to consume their content. If a website were purely text, not only would it look hideous (and people wouldn’t read it), but it would give readers fewer options.
It may even make some concepts more difficult to understand. That is the last thing you want. Content marketing is about making things clearer, not muddying the waters. Just one more example of how web design impacts content marketing.
Tells Readers What to Do Next
Content marketing involves sharing information. Information that will help a customer decide whether they wish to make a purchase. Or, at least whether they should read more content on the subject. Customers need to be told what to do next. If they aren’t being told what to do next, then chances are they won’t do it.
Good web design will point people in the right direction. For example, good web design may encourage a person to read more articles, contact a business, or download an ebook.
By pointing people in the right direction, a site is able to keep readers’ attention longer, greatly increasing the chances of making a sale.
Should Be Readable on Mobile Devices
Did you know that over 50% of website visits come from mobile devices? The number is rising too. Despite this, many companies have been reluctant to invest in a website that looks good on mobile devices. Since over 80% of mobile users are reluctant to use a website that doesn’t display well on mobile, this is a problem.
Good web design will focus on creating a design that works well on both desktop computers and mobile devices. Nowadays, this means responsive design, i.e., a site design that ‘responds’ to the size of the screen it is viewed on.
If a site is well-designed for mobile devices, then it becomes much easier to keep a customer’s attention.
Draws in Search Engine Traffic
Over the last few years, search engines have been focusing heavily on website accessibility. They are looking for sites that:
- Load fast
- Work well on mobile devices
- Are easy to navigate
- Have a low bounce rate, i.e., people don’t just land on the site and close it down right away.
Content marketing is useful for increasing positions in search engines. But unless the web design is good, that content will rarely hit the top positions, at least not for the more competitive keywords. Since 93% of all web traffic goes through search engines, this is a major problem.
Pair quality content with good web design, and a business will find it much, much easier to gain traffic from the search engines. This means more sales.
Web Design and Content Marketing Go Hand in Hand–Invest in Both Today
Content marketing is vital for any modern business. It is the most cost-effective way to generate leads and sales. However, content marketing only works if it is paired with good web design.
It doesn’t matter how good the content is, if a website appears untrustworthy then people won’t bother to read it. If your website is a little outdated or doesn’t fit your brand, then make sure that you give it an update when you start your content marketing. It will result in far more leads.
Final Thoughts: How Web Design Impacts Content Marketing
All in all, web designers and content marketers must work together to curate an optimal experience so that readers can find satisfying and relevant content and be inclined to interact with it. By using thoughtful web design approaches and mindful consideration, businesses can ensure that each page on their website is not only attractive but also organized for readability.
With this in mind, it’s clear that web design plays a critical role in the success of any content marketing strategy. By staying current on the latest trends, business owners are sure to stay ahead of the competition.
Overall, great design is about much more than just a pretty website. It’s about creating an experiential online journey that fulfills the goals of both the customer and the company.