A RECENT report by OnePoll showed that 70% of consumers will not buy from a company with a badly designed website, highlighting just how important web design is to a business.

The figures, combined with the fact websites are increasingly becoming the first point of contact a buyer has with a brand, make website design and architecture a crucial component of any marketing plan.

As more and more people migrate their purchasing power online, their web experience is playing a growing role in shaping their brand perception.

A well-designed website that is engaging, relevant and easy to navigate is important to building relationships and key to converting web traffic to sales. It is also important to continue these principles when designing for mobile.

With such a competitive and volatile marketplace, one of the biggest challenges businesses have online is building lasting relationships with consumers.

Thomas Cook took this into consideration when they restructured their website in a bid to improve their customer usability. By making their site easier to navigate, updating their design and targeting their content they increased their conversion rate by a whopping 40%.

Websites should be designed with the user in mind.

An important part of this is an ability to personalise the navigation experience.

For example, lovetheraces.com allows users to access interactive content tailored to the individual needs and also link content between their logged-in account and their Facebook account.

Investing in website design and architecture needs to be at the top of all brands’ marketing “to do” lists.

If done right, a creative site will stand out from the crowd and help provide a profit-boosting difference to a business.

INTERNET entrepreneur Ben Hatton is founder and managing director of Liverpool agency Rippleffect. Link to Rippleffect on Twitter @rippleffected