Graphic Design vs Content – What’s more important?

Finding the perfect balance between engaging content and eye-catching design may seem an impossible task, particularly if you tend to favour one over the other.

But, did you know that 70% of consumers learn about a company through their blog rather than their ads?

Sales are driven by your website’s ability to teach consumers about your business in the most user-friendly way possible. So which method offers this to your business?

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This post will explore the three key elements that contribute to website success and how they impact user experience.

Your website is your business tour guide

When a customer finds your website, they have arrived with a question. This question may be ‘who is the best accountant for my small business?’ or ‘which hiking boot will be best for tramping in the snow?’ When a customer arrives with this question, it is likely that they believe your business has the answer.

How quickly they arrive at this answer depends widely on your website, the way it is laid out and the content it contains. Answering this question as fast as possible is the easiest way to offer quality UX or User Experience for your customer.

Think of your website as the tour guide of your business. At the most basic level, it should guide your customers to the answers they are seeking. They find this in your content.

There is no use having a stunning looking website that fails to answer your customer’s questions.

You may be wondering how customers arrive to your site in the first place, rather than someone else’s? This is largely to do with Search Engine Optimization or SEO, the second important element to a successful website.

SEO is how customers arrive at your online doorstep

But what is it exactly?

SEO is the use of keywords to help search engines such as Google, Bing and Yahoo list your site. When a consumer asks a question on Google, like ‘How do I install a VPN,? the likelihood that they will find your site is greatly improved by how well Google thinks your content answers this question.

Well-executed SEO ensures your content is the most accessible. The more visitors it helps, the higher it is ranked in Google searches.

Here is where it could be argued that content and SEO are the ultimate considerations for a successful website. After all, securing a sale is all about your message. If your message is wrong, no amount of design can save you. Pretty design does not equal sales.

This is true to the extent that your design does not improve your customer’s user experience.

Think about it, if your site contains the answers to your customer’s question but they have no chance of finding it in your mess of a website, you are equally likely to lose the sale.

This is why good design is also vitally important.

The UX designer of your website should:

1. Establish your goals. How will content be displayed? How will you best analyse the performance of a blog post? What is your marketing plan? What are your shareholder’s concerns? These questions can help you layout your content in a way that best positions your content for users to find. Generating quantitative data to measure the success of your content means you can better leverage what is working and understand why.
2. Target your audience. Designing your website for user experience means that your target audience is more likely to find what they are looking for.
3. Influence content. Backend analytics can tell you what visitors are looking for when they come to your site. You can then create content to address these search queries.
4. Save you money. Ideally, this planning will be done as part of your website design process, saving you money in having to make constant changes to your established site. If you are considering a website redesign, ensure your chosen designer is researching your business in detail to create the best user experience possible.

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Content and design are both important when it comes to your website. Harness your content potential by providing customers with answers to their questions, guide them to this content with quality SEO practices and with a design that helps them these answers as easily as possible.