In recent years, we have witnessed a surge in popularity of responsive web design, as more and more websites have finally embraced mobile responsiveness. However, mobile responsiveness is not everything. Savvy marketers and entrepreneurs know that things like speed, Call-to-Action buttons, number of web pages and the general appearance of the site are critical if one wants to improve traffic and sales. Here are five notable—and important—components of web design that you should never forget.

Web Design Usability Statistics

Infographic source

Have a clear Call-to-Action

A CTA is your final instruction to the site visitor. It asks the visitor to take action; therefore, every business website will have one form of CTA or another. Unfortunately, most small business websites lack clear CTAs like Subscribe Buttons, Demos, Freebies, Guides, and Interactive Tools in their Home Pages. This is a grave mistake as it means that they are losing a big opportunity to convert their visitors. Ensure your CTA buttons are prominent, clear and provocative. Also, use action-packed text, choose the right color and shape of buttons and create a sense of urgency.

Ensure your overall design is beautiful

There is usually a fine balance between visual appeal and functionality. Visual design encompasses the text colors, fonts, images, background colors or white space. Apart from the content, web visitors also appreciate an aesthetically-conscious website. The first impression is important. If you think having a mobile-friendly site is all, regardless of how it looks, you are wrong. Designing a beautiful website that will appeal to the eyeballs is the best way to capture your customers’ attention.

According to Go-Globe, 85% of website visitors expect your mobile version to be just as good, if not better, as your desktop version. In other words, people would rather consume a beautifully designed website rather than a plain one.

Internet users hate slow websites

Everyone loves a website that loads within a twinkle of an eye. According to Crazy egg, improving your website speed can improve conversion by 7%. If your website is slow, you are losing almost 47% of our visitors. In today’s world of instant gratification, no one wants to wait for more than a few seconds for a website to load. Speed is paramount. If images aren’t loading fast, 38% of your visitors will stop engaging with your website. In order to increase your site’s speed, you should do the following:

Ensure your visitors can reach you

Why would anyone not want their customers to call them or know their address? Even if your business is entirely online, you should at least display your phone number, address and email. It makes it easy for your customers and potential customers to easily find you in case of problem. 44% of visitors will abandon your website if it has no contact information. Lack of contact information could actually ruin your reputation.

The more pages the better

Visitors want to get as much information about your company as possible. Do not hold back on the amount of information and data you are giving out. Get into your customers’ shoes. What information are they likely to desire? Do you think you would do with more explanation? Website with only a couple of pages could erode the customers’ trust. According to Wordstream, websites with more pages attract more traffic than websites with relatively less pages. Most visitors want to see the following in your website: Home Page, About Us, Contact Us, Social Media buttons, Testimonials, Pricing, Blog and Marketing Collateral.

You could be losing a lot of opportunities because your web design is not up to the mark. Having great product or service is important but having a great web design is just as important.