6 Things Marketing Managers sometimes forget about website design

Digital Marketing

Your website is one of your most powerful marketing tools—but there’s a lot more to great web design than just making it look good.

A website that’s easy on the eyes is great, but if it doesn’t perform well, guide users effectively, or align with your marketing goals, it’s not doing its job. Sometimes, the less obvious elements of design—like user experience, technical performance, and accessibility—can have the biggest impact on your success.

In this article, you’ll discover:

• Why user experience (UX) is more than just clean layouts and pretty colours
• The hidden impact of technical performance on SEO and conversions
• How thoughtful website design supports your long-term business goals

Let’s dive into what marketing managers often overlook when it comes to website design—and how you can make your site work harder for you.

1. User Experience (UX) is more than meets the eye

When you hear “UX,” you probably think about intuitive navigation or attractive layouts. While those are important, UX is about so much more—it’s about making it effortless for visitors to find what they need and take action.

UX Essentials You Don’t Want to Miss:

• Mobile Friendliness: More than half of web traffic comes from mobile devices. If your website isn’t mobile-friendly, you’re losing potential customers.
• Simple Navigation: Users should never feel confused or frustrated. Keep menus clear and avoid clutter.
• Easy-to-Find CTAs: Want visitors to contact you, download a resource, or make a purchase? Make sure your call-to-action buttons stand out and are easy to find.

Try This: Use heatmaps (tools like Hotjar) to see how people are navigating your site. You’ll get valuable insights into what’s working—and what’s not.

2. Technical performance makes a big difference

Let’s be real: no one likes a slow website. Visitors will leave if it takes too long to load, and search engines aren’t exactly forgiving, either. A sluggish site can hurt your rankings and cost you leads.

The Tech Checklist:

• Speed Matters: A website that takes longer than 3 seconds to load? Most users won’t stick around. Use tools like Google PageSpeed Insights to fix anything slowing you down.
• Optimised Images: Large, uncompressed images might look great, but they can drag your site’s performance. Compress them without sacrificing quality. Aim for each image to be below 1 MB.
• Secure Hosting: Make sure your site is reliable and secure (an SSL certificate is a must).

A faster website doesn’t just make users happy—it also helps you rank higher on Google. Here’s a direct quote from Google’s Support services:

“Page speed is a direct ranking factor for both desktop and mobile search results. This means that faster-loading websites are generally more likely to rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs) than slower-loading websites.”

3. Design and content go hand in hand

Have you ever landed on a gorgeous website, but the content didn’t match the vibe? Maybe it was too wordy, unclear, or just didn’t speak to you. That’s a missed opportunity.

Similarly, great design doesn’t always lead to improved visibility online. If you aim to get users to visit your site, you need to ensure that your copy is optimised for search engines. Sometimes designers don’t take SEO into consideration and design pages that don’t allow for plenty of space for copy that can include keywords. 

SEOs can also be guilty of disregarding the importance of UX, recommending walls of copy that may help pages rank, but do nothing to support the user journey once the user lands on the page.

How to Marry Design and Content:

• Content First: Design should highlight your message, not overshadow it. Ultimately, content will convert users into leads, not the other way around. 
• Keep It Readable: Break up text with headings, short paragraphs, and bullet points. Nobody wants to read a wall of text.
• SEO That Feels Natural: Sprinkle in keywords, but don’t go overboard. Write for people first, not search engines.

Our content writers and designers work as a team from the start to make sure your site’s content and visuals are a perfect match.

4. Don’t forget about analytics

It’s tempting to focus on making your site live and then move on to the next thing. But without tracking how it’s performing, you’re missing a huge opportunity to improve.

Tools You’ll Want to Have:

• Google Analytics: Learn where your traffic comes from, how users behave, and what’s converting.
• Event Tracking: Measure specific actions, like form submissions or downloads.
• Heatmaps: These tools show you what people are clicking on—or ignoring—so you can make smarter changes.

Set up analytics from day one so you can measure success and make tweaks as needed. Google Analytics is a free service that allows you to track all sorts of metrics such as page views, user engagement and file downloads. Google Tag Manager is also incredibly useful, as it allows you to create custom events such as enquiries when used in conjunction with Google Analytics.

5. Accessibility matters more than you think

An accessible website isn’t just the right thing to do—it also expands your audience and avoids legal headaches. Plus, it shows that you care about creating a welcoming experience for everyone.

Quick Accessibility Wins:

• Add Alt Text for Images: This helps visually impaired users understand your content through screen readers.
• Keyboard-Friendly Navigation: Make sure people can navigate your site without a mouse.
• Readable Text: Use high-contrast colours and readable fonts to make sure your content is easy on the eyes.

Accessibility improves your site for all users—not just those with disabilities.

6. Websites aren’t set and forget it

Many marketing managers think of a website as a one-time project. Launch it, and you’re done, right? Not so fast! Websites need ongoing care to stay effective.

How to Keep Your Website Fresh:

• Update Content Regularly: Add new blog posts, update case studies, and refresh product descriptions. This will also help you rank on Google and SearchGPT – search engines and AI Search tools love to feature the freshest content.
• Test and Improve: Use analytics to spot trends and make adjustments.
• Plan for Growth: As your business grows, your website should, too. Think ahead about adding new features or scaling for more traffic.

Think of your website as a living, breathing part of your marketing strategy.

7. Consistency is key for your brand

Your website is often the first impression people have of your brand, so it needs to reflect who you are. That means everything—from the colours and fonts to the tone of your copy—should feel cohesive and authentic.

How to Nail Brand Consistency:

• Stick to Your Guidelines: Use the same colours, fonts, and logos across every page. Ensure you have brand guidelines in place and promote them to your whole team. This is particularly pertinent for large teams where lots of people are responsible for creating and updating assets. Without a guidebook, it’s easy for your brand to lose cohesion.
• Match Your Voice: The tone on your website should sound like your social media, emails, and other marketing channels. Again, create a guide where you describe and give examples of how your brand’s tone of voice should sound.
• Stay Recognisable Everywhere: Make sure the experience on your site feels connected to your overall brand identity.

Pro Tip: Regularly audit your website to make sure it’s aligned with the rest of your marketing efforts.

Website design: It’s about more than just creating a pretty site

Your website isn’t just a digital business card—it’s a tool to attract leads, tell your story, and drive conversions. While it’s easy to focus on design alone, the real magic happens when you combine great visuals with strong UX, technical performance, and strategic content.

Focus on user experience to keep visitors engaged and pay attention to technical performance so your site is fast, reliable, and SEO-friendly. We always advocate for a holistic approach to digital marketing, where design and content are aligned to create a seamless and memorable user journey.

Ready to unlock your website’s full potential? Check out our free website review to see what you’re doing well—and where you can level up.

Your website can be more than just a pretty face—it can be your most powerful marketing tool. Let’s make it happen!