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These days, your brand’s website is a common entry point for potential customers.

Because of this, it is important to implement great design and purposeful content to tell an effective brand story. When running a business, owners must pay attention to design and content, but what will online visitors notice more? Both play a crucial role when it comes to your company’s brand identity online, which many web experts agree that user experience is a critical component in determining the long term success of a website. This is because both content and web design contribute to the overall experience.

While there is no doubt that both design and content are meaningful, business owners must focus a lot of time and energy on the beginning stages. The reality is that web design and content are not entirely separate one from the other. Poor design can make fantastic content look unreliable, while a content piece that lacks substance can appear compelling when housed within excellent web design.

The Case for Content

Content can drive abundant traffic to a website. Generally, through SEO, the content of a website can determine its rankings and overall performance online. Great design cannot save a website populated with poor content. As shoppers are more knowledgeable and want to learn more about their options before making a purchase, content allows for nurturing leads at every step of the buying process.

In some instances, websites can perform well without putting much effort into the visual design, so long as the content presented via text, images, and videos is compelling and easy to comprehend. Factors such as target audience, industry, and user needs play a huge factor in the path to conversion.

A company website can perform well with excellent content, but it is limiting to potential customers. A business can thrive in the market with poor web design if it sells products and services in specific niches with little to no competition.

The Case for Design

The content within a website must captivate the audience upon delivery and fit with the overall navigation and user experience of the site. The trends today are incorporating different forms of media, particularly images and videos as a method of presenting content to users.

Website design is more interactive today as access to fast data speeds allow communication with your audience in relatable mediums. Studies support that video is more engaging since it can build a meaningful connection with the viewers; with users in control of the information they receive, they can pause, rewind, or stop at any moment. Engaging and intuitive web design places these forms of content in effective locations throughout the website.

Generally, design determines how different pieces of content are presented, in turn affecting how your audience digests and applies the information to their purchasing decision. While there is no tried-and-true method of presenting various pieces of content, purposeful design can help you establish a meaningful connection with your audience and provide a more impactful user experience overall.

The Verdict

While content and design are both valuable, deciding on which to lead with depends on what you aim to accomplish with your website. With both being key to creating and maintaining a successful website, they should work hand in hand to uplevel your company’s web presence. With a more thoughtful approach on how to leverage the strengths of content and design, you are more likely to create an experience that drives traffic, engagement, and conversion online. To learn more, check out our full infographic on leveraging design vs. content on your website.

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