5 Principles of Good Web Design That Drives Sales

Before diving in, take a moment to think about this, “What do I consider good website design?” Write your answer down, and we’ll get back to it by the end of this article.

From the title, it’s clear that we are talking about websites tailored to sell, which is the main principle of good website design. First, to ensure your website “works” and meets its objective, you need to outline the goal and communicate it clearly to your team. It can be selling products or services, showcasing a company, winning awards, and so on.

This may seem obvious, but trust us, it’s a common mistake with serious consequences:

• Delays in timelines;
• Increased development costs;
• Compromised quality of the final product.

Why website design matters for sales

According to a survey, 61.5% of users leave a site due to poor navigation, and 38.5% bounce because of outdated design. If you want to avoid the same consequences, there are two principles of web design to keep in mind.

First impressions

A modern, appealing design is crucial for 83% of respondents, which is supported by our own experience — the first few seconds on your site are make-or-break. At that moment, a visitor subconsciously decides whether to trust your business and continue exploring. It doesn’t matter how amazing your product or service is, how optimized your SEO is, or how well-written your content is; it will all go unnoticed if visitors abandon your site due to outdated design, cluttered layouts, poor navigation, mismatched visuals and business niche. On the flip side, if you know how to design a good website with professional, modern design, it will create a positive impression and keep visitors engaged.

Keep in mind that first impressions happen on the page a visitor lands on, which is not always the homepage. If your blog post or product/service page generates traffic but doesn’t resonate with your audience, it won’t convert.

User experience (UX)

94% of respondents emphasized the importance of seamless navigation. Good UX is the backbone of user satisfaction. It ensures visitors can navigate logically and intuitively from their first click to completing a purchase. If it’s easy to find what they need and the checkout process is smooth, the likelihood of conversion skyrockets.

Here are some design tips for meeting visitor needs:

• Simple navigation. Help users quickly navigate the site and find what they need with minimal clicks.
• Less distractions. Too many animations or complex order (or feedback) forms can drive users away.
• Mobile-friendly design. Your site should be adapted to all devices for a seamless experience.

So, first impressions and top-notch UX are key to turning visitors into buyers. But how to make a good website design that drives conversions?

5 key principles of effective web design

As we mentioned earlier, an effective website design fulfills its purpose. At our marketing agency, we specialize in designing sites that generate leads and drive sales. Here are five principles of good website design to guide you, based on our experience:

1. Collaborate with your team from the start

Imagine finalizing your website’s design, only to hear from your marketing, SEO, or PPC team that it needs a complete overhaul. This happens more often than you’d think. And not because of color or font choices but because the site doesn’t meet essential requirements. Without fixing these issues, your site won’t deliver results. In this case, you will have to redesign the site or seek the advice of other specialists and redesign the site anyway. Either way, this leads to large financial expenses.

To avoid this costly mistake, consult the professionals who will work on your site right from the start. The next 2 principles of website design will be related to involving all parties.

2. Gather requirements and align vision

Designing a good website usually involves many people or teams with their own goals and requirements. Business owners want a modern site that showcases their brand. SEO experts need a clear structure and content-ready sections. Marketers look for strong CTAs (calls to action) on pages. Developers prefer simple designs with manageable animations. Therefore, it’s essential not only to convey the website development goal but also to gather clear requirements and recommendations, discuss them, and reach a unified vision of the website within the team.

3. Foster direct communication among specialists

Be prepared for numerous Zoom calls, meetings, and chat messages because it’s impossible to gather all requirements and achieve a truly shared vision during the initial stage. Website design is a creative process, so new ideas may not align with certain requirements, there may be misunderstandings about the importance of specific recommendations, or other challenges may arise. The best way to address these issues is direct communication among the specialists involved.

If you don’t have a personal assistant or your website isn’t designed by an agency that provides a dedicated project manager, you will likely find yourself sitting silently through calls where an SEO expert spends 40 minutes explaining why “this page must be 1,500 words or more”, or a developer explains for the tenth time why adding a new filter will take two weeks. But don’t get discouraged in such moments. The fact that different specialists are communicating and not afraid to ask questions is undoubtedly a positive sign.

4. Build structure and content first, then design

Some might think this advice could negatively impact design timelines and prolong the process, but this approach actually saves time and speeds up development. To avoid rework and endless revision cycles, break down the page creation process into clear steps:

• Build the page structure;
• Review the structure;
• Add content;
• Review the content;
• Design the page;
• Review the final page.

This method prevents situations where you must rewrite content because it doesn’t fit the page layout or add new sections to an already designed and coded page. The importance of this principle might not be obvious if you haven’t encountered this issue before.

5. Repeat key sections strategically

How much of a webpage do most users view — 90%, 80%, or 50%? If you have a website and a Heat Map tool installed, we highly recommend checking your average scroll depth. Most users typically view the first 50% of a page (on average), and only about 10% of total traffic reaches 70–90% of the page.

The thing is, a user who only scans the first two or three screens and one who reads nearly the entire page have different behavior patterns and goals. That’s why it’s essential to repeat critical sections, such as calls to action, your company’s or service’s benefits, case studies, and testimonials. However, these repetitions shouldn’t be identical. Adjust the message, visual design, or even the examples. Skillfully repeating a section with the right message for that specific spot on the page is a hallmark of effective web design.

Wrapping up

At the beginning of the article, we asked you to write down the answer to “What do I think is a good website design?” so that you can capture the difference before and after these tips. Has your opinion and understanding of good design changed?

This article is aimed to broaden your perspective on website design, which is more than just the result of a designer’s work. Marketers, project managers, SEO and PPC specialists, copywriters, and developers — all these professionals must be involved in the process and contribute to the final result. After all, the user perceives design as a whole. The quality of text, ease of navigation, page load speed, and content accessibility are all viewed as parts of a unified picture. These factors collectively determine whether a user will stay on the page or leave.

So, what makes a good web design? Effective teamwork, where every area of responsibility is handled by the right specialist! Where can you find such a team? You have already found it. Livepage is a partner that can help you create a website design, develop the site, and promote it through SEO, PPC, and other digital channels. We have a well-coordinated team and streamlined, proven processes across numerous projects, so you can trust us to bring your vision to life.