Poor website design can be a dealbreaker for potential customers

In a recent survey by whose results were presented at the National Association of Women Business Owners 2010 convention, 75% of people surveyed admitted to making judgment about a business based on the businesses website.  And while the survey was directed a business websites in general, veterinary and pet health businesses have sometimes felt they were not as affected by how pretty their website was because their other factors, i.e. proximity and services, were more important than having a website.

That was then.

This is now.

In today’s tougher economic climate and a population that is embracing technology, especially the internet, and letting their fingers do the research before they get in their car or pick up their phone, the face you present online continues to increase in business value to your bottom line.  If your online presence is poor or non-existent, it’s easy to go to the next person down the line.

Very easy.  And 75% of those surveyed said that is just what they do if they don’t like a company website.

Here’s an excerpt and link to the whole article:

Small businesses are notoriously stingy in their use of online ad and marketing technologies – oftentimes for the very practical reason that they have limited resources to invest. One area where they shouldn’t hold back, however, is in their ultimate landing page: their website.

‘A recent survey showed how quickly visitors judge a site’s creditability based on its design, writes Brooke Howell, SmartBrief’s small-business editor, in a blog post. According to comments made by Tiffany Jonas, president of Aio Design, during a presentation at the National Association of Women Business Owners’ 2010 Women’s Business Conference, 75% of web users admit to making such judgments, with some researchers finding that 50 milliseconds is the average amount of time spent to render a decision about the visual design.

Tips she offers for sites to look legitimate and customer-friendly include shying away from pay-for-click ads as well as unprofessional or clichéd images. It is also important to have a site that is intuitive to navigate as well as easy-to-find privacy policies and general corporate information.

• Poor Website Design a Deal Breaker for Small Business Customers (marketingvox.com)