Fashion trends change quickly, probably more so than any generation before. When I was a kid in school, there were two types of pants that were cool for guys. There were the big baggy jeans with holes in them or those cargo pants with the zip-off legs. The really cool kids would get multiple colors of the same type, then mix and match the zip-off leg parts. That was really the pinnacle of fashion in my adolescent mind.
It seems that almost all pants manufactures collectively decided that those zip off pants were a bad idea and stopped making them. However, on rare occasions, you can catch some people still wearing old cargo shorts that are designed to have legs attached. I know this because my former roommate used to wear a pair regularly. When I would ask him about why he still wore them, his response was usually something along the lines of: “Whatever, they are comfortable and they work.” He is absolutely right, it doesn’t matter what you wear when you are grocery shopping on the weekends. However, it can be problematic when you apply the same logic to your website.
Far too many businesses are complacent about updating the look of their website. They are stuck with their old “zip-off pants” version simply because it works and they are comfortable with it. People are afraid of change and will often make the excuse that as long as it works, that is all that matters. Too bad this is not true at all.
Design and looks are one of the most important elements, even in the B2B world. Here are some statistics to back up that claim:
94% of a website user’s first impression is design related.
So what is a person to do? Where do you start when you want to update your website? Well if you have a little experience in coding, the steps are very similar when you want to update your fashion wardrobe as well.
Start small. Examine a couple websites that you like the look of. Don’t directly copy their design, but look at how the elements come together to make it work. Maybe it’s simply the way the pictures are laid out, or their use of a unique font to create an interesting branding image. All artists take inspiration from something else. Spend some time and find your inspiration.
If you don’t have any coding experience, or simply don’t feel like taking the time to update it yourself, there are always professionals that can do exactly what you want. Take a look at our portfolio, or give us a call and see if we can help design the site you have in mind.