Poll: Internet Users Place More Weight on Web Design

By Rick Sloboda (@webcopyplus) Jun 3, 2009

5 comments

The demand for good web design is increasing, revealed a recent Webcopyplus online poll. Almost 25% of web users indicated “poor visual presentation” as the number one element that drives them away from websites.

Only 6.6% of web users who participated in a similar 2007 online poll indicated ‘poor visual presentation” as the main reason to abandon a website. That equates to a 267% increase during the two-year period.

Our web content specialists believe the increased desire for quality design comes from the fact that Internet users have become increasingly sophisticated. Consequently, more of today’s Internet users understand that a well designed website makes it possible to achieve more, with less time and effort.

A total of 318 web users were asked what’s most likely to drive them away from a website.

50.9% indicated “slow load times”
24.8% noted “weak web copy”
24.2% specified “poor visual presentation”

In the 2007 poll, 51.2% of 258 participants indicated “slow load times” and 42.2% noted “weak web copy” as their biggest turn-offs.

True Beauty Comes From Within

Informed web designers and business owners alike know that design is vital to a successful website, and its beauty must go far beyond looks. While design needs to support a company’s brand positioning, it must also effectively inform, communicate and provide positive experiences.

A winning website is one that delivers useful, relevant content that allows people to accomplish their goals quickly and easily. In today’s hectic society, that’s what makes a great and lasting impression on the Web.

Good design achieves simplicity through a range of elements — from a single point of focus to intuitive information flow to plain, familiar menu names. And as more people flock to the Web for everything from casual encounters to green homes, more businesses will likely lean on web specialists who can contribute to effective design.

Web professionals who specialize in select services, technologies and industries will increasingly thrive with higher tier clients and get paid accordingly. In contrast, jack-of-all-trade web types can’t keep up with every emerging tactic and tool, and they’ll eventually only appeal to and serve clients who are purely price-driven. These clients generally don’t value expertise, nor are they willing to pay for it.

Additionally, web professionals will benefit from the fact that businesses are pushing more of their marketing dollars online – even those businesses that have been hesitant to shift from traditional media such as TV, radio and newsprint.

Moving marketing online makes more sense than ever. Something’s off when typical consumers might spend 25% of their media time on the Web and a company is investing only 5% or so of its marketing budgets on websites and other online promotions.

With almost 75% of global consumers using the Web frequently (Internet World Stats), a $10,000 investment in a website will get almost any business a better return on investment than an ad in a newspaper, magazine or print telephone directory. A website can provide greater reach and superior exposure, and it works for a business 24/7 for multiple years.

Web Copy Carries Punch

With 24.8% of web poll participants indicating weak web copy would most likely prompt them to abandon a website, businesses should continue to take their web writing seriously.

While there appears to be increasing awareness surrounding web writing in general, many businesses continue to fail to recognize what a professional web writer can bring to a website and a business’s bottom line.

Web writers, website content writers, SEO copy writers — call them what you will — these web copy specialists are often not even being considered a part of the equation when it comes to building or overhauling a website.