We may be biased, but website design is one of our most favorite subjects to talk about—and we know we’re not the only ones.

Whenever anyone thinks about creating a new website, the first thing they think about is always the website’s design. 

And rightfully so, because it’s also the first thing that website viewers notice when they first come into contact with your brand online.

We’ve spent Part 4 (SEO) and Part 5 (Copywriting) of our Website Health Series sharing our best content tips with you. Why? Because those two elements of website creation technically should come before design when you’re approaching your project strategically. Now it’s time to talk about the fun part:

Making sure everything looks beautiful and performs well.

In this post, we’re sharing why great website design is so important, giving you our best tips for choosing a website design that works for you, and which common website design mistakes to avoid if you’re DIYing your site’s design. You ready?!

Why website design matters (almost more than anything else! ) and why it has the power to make or break your site 

Website design matters because first impressions matter. 

When a new person lands on your website for the first time, they’re inevitably going to make assumptions about you and your brand, based on very little information.

Whatever the aesthetic of your website is will greatly impact their opinion of you, before they even take a moment to read what your copy says, learn what you have to offer, or get to know you as a person behind the brand. 

It’s no secret that website viewers are impatient—and we can’t blame ‘em. There are SO many websites available for people to browse, that if yours doesn’t immediately capture their attention, they won’t even think twice about moving on to the next one.

And it’s your website design’s job to make a good enough first impression that compels your reader to stop, scroll, and stay a while. 

Now, of course, ALL of the elements of your website come together as a team to influence your readers’ decision to stay—your design, your copy, your images, your branding—but it’s the design piece that, more often than not, they’ll notice FIRST.

Your website design has a significant impact on the perception a user has of your brand, holding the power to attract your ideal clients, increase your engagement, and lead to more conversions, sales, and connections.

And poor website design? Well, that has the power to turn off visitors, decrease your engagement, and lead to lost opportunities. 

How to choose the website design solution that works for you

The way we see it, you’ve got 3 options:

1. Completely DIY your website design, either from scratch or with the help of a website design template. (Psstt…check out our template shop—we’ve got TONS of options for you!)
2. Choose a website template, and work with a website designer to customize it. (Psstt again… check out our Showit design partners; they’re amazing at template customizations!) 
3. Hire a website designer to design a custom website for you. (Those design partners? Yeah, they offer custom Showit website design, too!)

No matter which option you choose, you’ll need to consider a few key elements of what makes a design work for YOU (and resonate with your audience).

→ Does it visually represent who you are as a brand?

→ Does it have the capabilities you need in order to communicate all of the necessary information you want to share with your readers?

→ Is it aesthetically pleasing, compelling, and scroll-stopping?

→ Does it allow you enough space to show off your copy? What about your images? Your testimonials?

→ Is it easy for your users to effortlessly navigate, without having questions about where to find certain info or how to take the next step? (More on this coming in our next post in this series!)

→ Does it have a clear structure, created to intuitively lead your website visitors on a strategic journey from interest to inquiry? 

→ Is it compatible with SEO settings? 

→ And please let it be mobile-ready!

Once you’ve made sure your design ticks all of the above boxes, you’re free to customize, tweak, and adjust it to your heart’s content—as long as you’re conscious of ensuring the design will resonate with your audience. 

Website Design Non-Negotiables

While of course, the beauty of design is that what’s considered good is often subjective, you still need to consider strategy. 

There are some elements of website design that all sites should have because they’re a) what users are expecting, b) what search engines are prioritizing, and c) what makes up your website’s recipe for success.

These website design non-negotiables are:

Mobile responsiveness.

Visual appeal, to keep readers engaged throughout their entire visit.

Fast page load speeds.

Clear calls to action. 

User-friendly navigation.

Enough white space, to help readers avoid overwhelm.

The combination of headings, subheadings, small paragraphs, and varying sections to create a visual hierarchy.

Easy-to-read fonts, paired appropriately.

Accessible to everyone.

Why you need a website builder that gives you the most creative freedom 

The website builder you choose is the most important decision you make in terms of creating your website because it determines the design capabilities. Your website builder can make or break you when it comes to standing out in a sea of websites.

Here’s what our designers & design partners say to look for in a website-building platform:  

#1 – FULL DESIGN AUTONOMY

Christina, owner and lead designer at The Buffalo Collective, says that “Showit is hands down the most versatile, customizable, and user-friendly platform for creative entrepreneurs” because, with other website builders, you don’t have as much wiggle room for making changes to your page structures and layouts. 

Full autonomy is KEY according to Christina, because “if you don’t have full control over the functionality and appearance of your site, as well as the ability to update it however you want, whenever you want, you could be missing out on some serious leads and revenue.”

#2 – SEEING THE VISION WITH NO RESTRAINTS

Showit's Creative Director, Ary, says that “it’s helpful to have access to a website builder that allows me to see the vision through with little to no mistakes. To be able to get the functionality we strive for with zero code or back-end know-how is a game changer. It’s a whole new ballgame when using Showit.”

#3 – NOT HAVING TO SACRIFICE ANY DESIGN CHOICES

Kat, Showit's Art Director, believes that “never having to sacrifice anything in layout, spacing, or typography choices or having any coding barriers to what’s envisioned for the design” is so essential. 

“I want my branding and designs to be cohesive across all mediums and platforms,” she says, “and as a designer, the ability to have a website builder that you can do anything in is so crucial.”

What makes the best website design?

The most important thing that earns a website’s design the ultimate trophy is embodying the perfect marriage between form and function. 

Long-time Showit Design Partner, Jen from Tonic Site Shop always says that “people are drawn to beautiful things.” People are drawn to beautiful things; that’s why your website design matters so much for making the initial first encounter count. 

But people are also drawn to experiences that feel effortless and easy for them, which is where function comes into play. 

Your website could exist in its most beautiful form, but if it doesn’t function in the way that it should, you’ll miss out on a world of opportunity due to confusion, frustration, and lack of action on your audience’s part. 

Remember: Your Website Design Directly Impacts Your Brand’s Reputation. 

A well-designed website can enhance your brand image and credibility, while a poorly designed website can detract from it. 

A website that looks subpar (or outdated, or unprofessional, or messy, or irrelevant to the message your brand is trying to convey…you get the idea) can give the impression that your business is not trustworthy or competent. 

The design of your website can play a significant role in shaping how customers perceive your brand—and a significant role in whether or not they choose to take action while on your site—making it essential to invest in a high-quality website design, whether that means spending time on a DIY, purchasing a template, or hiring a website designer to create a custom website design for you.

Point of the story? Website design is a critical aspect of creating a successful website. 

Website design is about more than just aesthetics, though—it’s also about providing your users with the best possible experience.

…which is why, in our next post in Showit’s Website Health Series, we’re telling you all about why UX matters, and 6 ways you can improve your user experience to encourage your readers to take action. See you there! 

While you're using this time to make the most of your business, we want to support you however we can, so here are some amazing free education from our good friend Davey Jones of Davey & Krista.
Davey is an expert in all things design, Showit, SEO, and so much more! In this free training he'll teach you:
How to Run a Highly Effective Lead Generation CampaignEver wondered where your next client or sale will come from? Davey will be teaching a free online training on how to generate qualified leads effectively. He's going to cover…

→ 3 elements of a sales-generating lead magnet
→ The exact framework for a high-converting landing page
→ How to amplify your lead gen results

You've probably heard that “the money is in the email list.” This training covers EXACTLY how to start building that list! We hope to see you there!

We are excited to be able to share this fantastic resource with you to help you market yourself offline. We know that we are all working so hard to market ourselves and our small businesses online – on Pinterest, Instagram, and now on TikTok too! It's a lot! But it doesn't have to feel overwhelming. And our sweet friend, Quianna Marie is here to walk us through all of this! Quianna is a successful wedding photographer and creative entrepreneur. She is also a major cheerleader of her fellow creative entrepreneurs, which is why she put this great presentation together for you!

Learn how to market yourself offline:

• How a good ole fashioned handwritten letter will blow a potential client away
• The pros/cons of promotion and how most of us are doing it wrong
• Feel confident to easily talk about your business in person without feeling salesy
• How to reach people out in real life outside of your friends and family

Learn More!

To learn more about Quianna, check out this awesome feature we did on her and how she started her business. You can also connect with her on her awesome Showit website or on Instagram!

And if you enjoyed this webinar, here are some more! You will love this one about using Pinterest to further expand your website's reach! And check out this one about how to make your brand more authoritative. You know what? We actually have a lot of amazing video content on our YouTube page. You can most likely run a thriving business just from the content you will find there!

You can connect with us on the Gram, through Support, or just sign-up today!

If you are looking for ways to have a stress-free brand photoshoot, look no further! We are delighted to have Erica and Jon Hayes, amazing brand photographers, teaching us how to achieve this!

You need to know how to create a simplified brand strategy. You've been spinning your wheels, and something has to change. We've got you! The lovely Kaitlin Fontenot has 5 steps you can take to create a simplified brand strategy. This includes SEO, and automating your systems!

Kait Fontenot is the Founder + Lead Designer & Developer at Kait Studio where she works with women from all over the world to launch + scale their digital brands. Over the last 12 years, she and her team have launched over 100 websites on Shopify, Showit. As well as numerous courses for clients on Kajabi. Their client roster includes working with creatives from the US, UK, Nigeria, and even Greece. They work with top 1% podcasters, 6 & 7 figure e-commerce masterminds, New York Times best-selling authors, course creators, and some of the most amazing digital gurus they could have ever dreamed of.

How to create a simplified brand strategy: webinar

Check out this incredible webinar where Kait empowers us all to simplify our brand strategies:

We are so very thankful for Kait! She is absolutely passionate about helping business owners SIMPLIFY ALL THE THINGS! If you want to connect with her, you can find her at KaitStudios.com. And as promised, you can sign up for the freebie that she mentioned during the webinar, right here.

More next steps for your brand

If your brand is feeling just right, and you need a website that reflects that brand, check out our design market! All of these designs are completely customizable and ready for you and your beautiful and unique brand.

You’ve been working on your website but you need to know how to plan a successful website launch for your Showit site. Obviously you want to make a big splash about it, and we want to help you do that!

If you are one of our amazing Type A friends who like to have a plan for everything under the sun, and you haven’t actually started your Showit site yet, then this website checklist is for you! You can also watch this great webinar we did with Jeff, from the Showit team. He walks you through launching your site in about a day!

Create a timeline from the date you want to launch and work backwards.

Some people like to launch their sites on their birthday, or their business’ birthday, or on a plain ol' Tuesday. None of those dates actually matter to anyone else but you. But pick the date you want to launch because that sets up an automatic deadline for you, and helps you to create a timeline. 

Two simple things you need in order to launch are a DOMAIN NAME (yourcompany.com or something like that) and a Showit subscription. If you have a website and blog with a different host, we cannot begin the migration process until you are paying for your hosting with Showit. 

Once you have your launch date set, you want to consider some of Showit’s timelines:

• To launch a Showit Site with no blog: Self-connected by user via DNS* (can take up to 24 hours for DNS changes to propagate). If you have no idea what a DNS is, don’t worry about it! This article will help you.
• Launch Showit Site + New Blog Setup (no migration): 1 – 3 Business Days
• Launch Showit Site + Blog Migration** : 2 – 4 Business Days
• Domain Name Change: 2 – 5 Business Days depending on if you have a blog or not

If you are a designer submitting your clients’ website to go live, then check out this great article to make sure you are following the right steps.

How to avoid website launch delays.

Wrong information is the #1 reason for launch delays. Always double-check your domain registrar login details by actually logging in to that account. It is best that your website be live and up and running BEFORE you announce your launch. We understand you want a dramatic entrance for your website, but it’s better to have everything up and running properly and to fix up any errors before you announce it to the world. 

Have 2-3 friends check out your website for your soft-launch. Have them click all the buttons! Have them check it out on mobile and desktop. On Androids and Apple phones. On tablets. On Chrome and Safari. The whole shabang. Showit sites are all optimized for desktop and mobile and are visible on all website browsers. But if you have forgotten to move a certain element that was only meant for your desktop site off of your mobile view, you want to catch that before the masses see it! This is a big step that people overlook in how to plan a successful website.

Create a Coming Soon page.

You can create a custom coming soon page. Or simply purchase one in our design market! This is another great tool to help you while you are getting ready to launch your site. You can have your site be live, and still capture people’s emails, and let them fill out your contact form, while you are working on your site behind the scenes. 

This template is available in the Showit Design Market 

Create hype!

This piece is a fun one and can be as crazy as you want it to be. Some people like to tell their audience that a fun surprise is coming soon. And then they do a countdown. Just make sure your site is already live and ready before the date that you have chosen as your announcement date. 

We often get customers coming into our emergency queue that are angry that their site isn’t ready to launch the second that they want it to. If you have a blog that needs to be migrated, that takes time. If your DNS isn’t connected, or the wrong information was provided, that will slow down/halt our ability to help you launch your site! 

Showit is here for YOU!

At Showit, we are nerds so you don’t have to be!

We want your site to be live and bring in all the clients you want. So at any point that you need help, we are ready to jump in! If you are ready to launch right now, let us know! 

We want to celebrate your launch with you as well. You can fill out this form and we will celebrate your launched site with you! We won’t be able to accommodate posting about your site the day you are launching, but tag us in stories and we will try our best to share that! 

Don’t forget that launched is always better than perfect. So don’t be intimidated by the PUBLISH button. Consider that as your portal to booking your dream clients, not as an opening for people to come and judge you and the things you didn’t add to your website. Your Showit site will grow with you, so release it into the wild, and keep pruning it and adding to it as you see fit. 

We hope this has helped you to plan a successful website launch, and we cannot wait to see what you create, friend!

We are here cheering you on!

*What is DNS: The Domain Name System (DNS) is the phonebook of the Internet. Humans access information online through domain names, like nytimes.com or espn.com. Web browsers interact through Internet Protocol (IP) addresses. DNS translates domain names to IP addresses so browsers can load Internet resources. Thanks, Cloudflare for this simplified explanation!

**To learn more about blog migration, check out this handy article