https://youtu.be/amXM_Z1tzqE Your online presence is your company’s most important presence in today’s digital economy. Customer’s first impression is now set in the first few seconds that they visit your site. Your website now sets the tone of your business. The words you use, the images you choose, the content you post, what services and products you carry, and how your customers journey through it all matters. It’s all part of the real first impression customers will make about your business. We like to think of it as the new handshake. Whether you get new business through word of mouth, social media, SEO/SEM, or digital advertising—your website is the first place people are going to go to find out more about you. Without a doubt, your website is the first impression today. Visitors to your website are almost instantly determining whether you are trustworthy, if they should do business with you, and if your solutions will work for them.

Why Is Your Website So Important?

In fact, studies show that you only have 50 milliseconds or less to catch a customer’s attention. It sounds impossible, but the brain can take in dozens of images in an extraordinary short period of time. With how quickly the human brain processes information, it’s no surprise that attractive and logical websites can make a big impact to a customer’s first impression of you. With this said, it’s unfortunate but important to note that websites are fighting an on-going bounce rate battle. The average bounce rate, or a calculation of the percentage of people who land on your website and do completely nothing on the page, is caused by many factors but a good bounce rate is anywhere between 20-65%. Meaning that up to 65% people (or more) will land on your site and not find what they’re looking for, and that is when you have done everything right! Even more interesting is how quickly website traffic is increasing vs. in-person shopping in physical stores. People no longer have the time to drop by a business to ask questions or pick up the phone. In 2020, more than 80% of all customers research products or services online first, and those numbers are growing! It makes sense that more and more people are using a businesses’ website to find more information.  But it might be interesting to note that mobile users are purchasing more than ever before. Creating a site that is mobile friendly and tested for multiple device sizes and browsers is no longer a nice-to-have feature, it’s now a must-have! Mobile responsive and secure websites are essential for the success of your business. Don’t let the facts and figures get you down. A wonderfully crafted and designed website is not impossible and you can create the perfect first impression for your target audience.

Here’s how your website can be the best first impression for your audience

Step 1: Know your why. Here at One Eighty we believe having a reason for providing your products and services can help you stay focused and deliver the quality that your customers want. It all comes down to what drives you and we believe sharing that on your site is important too. Step 2: Know your audience! Everything else you do stems from who your audience is and what they’re looking for, what drives them and how you can help them. Creating a place for your audience can take time and research. However, it’s vital to creating a message that will decrease bounce rates, increase conversions, and share your products and services with the people most likely to be interested in you. Step 3: Hire a good developer or dedicate time to an aesthetically pleasing online presence. Whatever route you take to create your site, be sure to dedicate the time, money, and resources needed.  You will want to ensure your businesses’ most important first impression (your website). The goal is for your site to be exactly what your audience would enjoy experiencing. And our suggestion is to have team members, clients, and others review it before launching. Test. Test. The test again before you launch. One Eighty Digital is here to help make your first impression exceptional and memorable to your customers. We can help make reaching your audience in the virtual frontier easier than ever before. Let’s talk!