There are more sites offering valuable information than ever before, turning the World Wide Web into one competitive playing field. The importance of a good design cannot be undermined at all.

There are a lot of things to focus on when developing a functional and effective site. You have to deliver content that users find valuable, as well as provide a pleasant user experience (UX) from start to finish. The latter is actually more important than ever in a market as competitive as today, which is why good web design is a must for a number of reasons.

Keeping It Simple

Good web design is mainly about keeping the users happy and comfortable. One of the marks of good UX is users spending more time on the site, browsing through articles or completing other actions in a fluid and enjoyable way. Good web design is how you deliver that level of UX.

Ask any web design agency and they will tell you how important it is to keep the site simple and easy to use. It is all part of creating a pleasant UX and putting your content first. The better the site, the longer users will spend on it.

All About Visuals

Content is important, but you can’t neglect how you deliver your content either. Users are more likely to stop and pay attention – be engaged – when a site has great visuals. Good web design incorporates graphic design elements as a way to keep users engaged for a longer period of time.

When you work with a good web design agency, you will notice that there are graphic designers or UI designers in the team. These are the people responsible for creating great, engaging visuals for your site.

Performance-Driven

Another great reason why good web design matters more in 2018 is performance; performance is also an important metric that can make or break your site’s UX. The average attention span of users is no more than seven to eight seconds; a slow-loading site will lose visitors instantly.

While visuals are important, a web design team must also optimize visual elements to maintain a high level of performance. Images must be formatted for the web and the way visual elements load must be adjusted accordingly to achieve that ideal site performance.

Content is King

As mentioned earlier, content is an important part of your website; so is its delivery. Delivering the type of content you offer requires immense attention to details. Is the font readable enough for long-form articles? Do videos appear correctly on mobile devices?

Good web design has the power to transform the valuable content you already have – and will have in the future – into content that users want to consume. The more users love your content and its delivery, the more they will interact with your site.

Designed for Mobile Devices

Incorporating a mobile-first approach is now a necessity rather than an option. Over 70% of internet users rely on their smartphones and mobile devices to access your content. Once again, it is up to the design of your site and how mobile-friendly the site is to determine the number of mobile visitors you get and retain.

Google and other search engines even take it a step further and prioritise mobile-friendly sites in their mobile search results. By making your site mobile-friendly, you’re not only offering great UX, but also boosting the effectiveness of your website in general.

It Matters to Your Brand

Last but certainly not least, your website is the face of your brand. Branding is always an important element of your online presence, whether you are a business or an individual. Good web design incorporates key elements of your brand and conveys the right messages – feel – to the audience.It is also worth noting that your website is the anchor of your entire online presence. No matter how successful you are on social media or other platforms, it is still important to maintain a consistent branding across all pages, starting from your main site.

In fact, branding is what ties everything together. The experts at Pelling for example, a leading marketing and branding agency based in Surrey, put an emphasis on consistency, as in their branding process, they explain how they offer "logo design, print, and point of sale material," on top of the general web design services, in order to maintain a consistent visual scheme.

Invest in Good Web Design

There is no doubt that good web design is even more important in 2018. By delivering great UX and maintaining a consistent branding, you are setting yourself apart from your competitors. Users will recognise the way you make them feel while they’re browsing through your site. 
This, in turn, will drive more user engagement, boost conversion rate, and allow you to develop a loyal audience more effectively. That’s how powerful good web design can be in 2018.