Your website is for your customers, not for you

Convert prospects into clients simply with the design and content of your website. To make this happen, the design and content of your website should focus on your target audience. You need to have something that answers the problems that your potential customers face, which is (hopefully) the same problems that your products and/or services help with.

• When is design important? -Always. - Design is an important part of every website as it helps to build trust and credibility. A potential customer wants to see a website that looks cared for and creates a sense of trust when they visit. However, they’re not visiting the website so that they can critique the design. They’re looking for answers to their problems. So the content, design and layout of the website should be geared towards one thing. Helping them solve their problem.
  
• The “wrong” blue - It’s okay for you to not like a certain shade of blue on your website. It’s okay for you to not like a particular image or font. However, when designing a website, you need to shift your mindset from “I don’t like this” to “my customer doesn’t like this”. Just because you don’t like a shade of blue, doesn’t stop it from being the one that converts best with their customers. Making your website company focused instead of customer focused is a common mistake and this makes testing crucial. Find an outside source (or two) to give you unbiased feedback before launching. 
  
• As the hero of the story, customers are visiting the website to get answers to their problems. They need to understand that they’re in the right place, which is why they should be the “hero” in the story. You don’t need a website full of “I” or “we”. Your audience isn't going to engage with this. You need to focus on the very basic human question of: what’s in it for me? If you get this right, you’ll capture the attention of your audience. It is also important to make sure this information is easily accessible and your prospect isn’t forced to search or jump through hoops to find what they’re looking for. 
  
• Share social proof - Sharing testimonials, case studies and reviews are a very easy way for any business owner to build trust. When someone is looking to buy, they’re interested in the experiences that others have had. They want to know that they’re buying something that will (hopefully) resolve the problem that they’re struggling with. According to Spectoos.com, “Statistics have confirmed that customer testimonials are the most effective form of content, coming in at an 89% effectiveness rating, compared to other content types.” 

Harel, Tomer, et al. “7 Eye Opening Facts about Customer Testimonials.” Spectoos, 22 Sept. 2019, www.spectoos.com/5-incredible-facts-customer-testimonials/.