Well, we would say that, wouldn’t we? But here’s why. Because it takes the average site user less than 50 milliseconds to form an opinion on the quality of your site.

50 milliseconds… Good news if your site’s looking good: not so good if it’s not, as the user is then likely to transfer that opinion of your site to its content. It’s known as the ‘halo effect’, where the ripples of positivity you created with a beautifully designed website are transferred to all of your content and your competency; in fact, by now, you’d have to go out of your way to put them off.

Even Professor Gitte Lindgaard, who led the study at Ottawa University, was surprised by the results: ‘My colleagues believed it would be impossible to really see anything in less than 500 milliseconds,’ she said.

So, how does that translate to your website? How subjective is good design, and how do you make sure you’re pressing the right buttons to get your customers to press the ‘buy’ button? Well of course, we’ll start with the basics, part of our blueprint for your success is constructing a ‘task analysis’ system to find out what you want your customers to do; those findings translate into the site’s design.

Good web design is built from imagery, colour and typography

1. Bespoke IMAGERY shows your customers that you are professional, and believe in your business; it’s also a big part of your personality and branding AND good product shots – and we’re talking 3-5 here, from different angles – are invaluable in helping them make buying decisions

2. COLOUR has an emotional effect on you. It’s inescapable. Classic examples are red and black in horror movies, pastel baby products, and technology signalled by electric blues and greens or black and grey. You can read our full guide to what each colour means here. But part of your brand development is making sure that you choose the right colours to give your target audience the emotional prompt they need to buy from you.

3. And then there’s the TYPOGRAPHY. People don’t read pages and pages of info online – you never know when you’re battling against old monitors, headaches, or people who just haven’t got time to read everything you want to tell them. It provides the strongest visual cues for what’s important info. LOOK AT THIS FIRST. This bit’s less important…

And, just for the purposes of reassurance, here’s one of our clients – Matt Wilson, Chief Executive Officer at Crosby Systems – who we’ve just gone through the whole process with, telling you how well it’s worked for them:

We like Nick and the team, and the designs, creativity and innovation they bring, but the personal service they give us really adds value to what we do. In the past we’ve both employed an in-house design team, and used bigger agencies, who’re happy to take your money, but you know you’re just one of the crowd, he says. The extra time and attention we get from e-blueprint means they understand us, so they get results more quickly, which is more cost effective. It gives us the flexibility of having an out-sourced service, which is close by and attentive. We’re using that quality and resource to roll out another five to eight sites over the next six months…

So, if you want to have a chat about branding, or creating a bespoke site, you know where we are. And, in the meantime, here are our golden rules of web design.

To read more download our PDF by clicking here.