Why Web Design is Important for Your Car Dealership
Most modern automotive dealerships understand that digital marketing is now crucial to achieving success as a dealership–especially considering that almost 30% of new vehicle sales are now completed digitally rather than in person.
Running digital marketing campaigns on a regular basis is not enough to be successful as a car dealership, however. It is very important to start with a solid foundation–and that means top-quality web design. The design of your dealership’s website can make or break your dealership’s success on the digital auto market, so web design is definitely something you need to pay attention to when it comes to your auto dealership’s digital presence.
If you’re looking for motivation to make your auto dealership’s website the best it can be, keep reading to learn five reasons why web design is important for your car dealership.
- Make a Good First Impression
Because so many prospective car buyers now begin their process of shopping for a new or used vehicle online, automotive dealerships now have to consider what type of first impression their dealership makes not only in person but also online. If your dealership’s website is lacking in quality design, many prospective car buyers may write off your dealership before ever setting foot on your lot or even before making contact with your dealership by phone.
Therefore, it is extremely important to make the best possible first digital impression on potential customers–which can be achieved through quality web design. If your dealership’s website is confusing, difficult to navigate, lacks important information, looks outdated, or is otherwise unappealing, you can expect to lose out on a good amount of sales from car shoppers who are in search of a better online experience from a car dealership.
- Set Your Dealership Apart
Despite the crucial importance of web design for successful car dealerships, many car dealerships get so caught up in in-person marketing for their dealership that their web design for their dealership’s website falls behind.
Therefore, if your dealership’s website is designed well, that design will set your dealership apart from and above other dealerships with less thoughtful and functional web designs.
- Improve Functionality
Web design is not all about the appearance of a website. Improving the design of your dealership’s website also involves improving the functionality of your site. Due to the high percentage of vehicle sales that are now completed online–and the even higher percentage of car shoppers who at least begin the process of buying their next vehicle by browsing online inventories–it is very important that your dealership’s website is designed in a way that improves the functionality as well as the aesthetics of the site.
Prospective car buyers who visit your website should find an up-to-date vehicle inventory with appealing and dynamic visuals, options for pre-financing, a clear FAQ section that provides thorough answers to a variety of commonly asked questions, and more. Your dealership’s website should also be extremely easy to navigate. Visitors to your site should not have to search for information they want; it should be readily available to them in an easy-to-find location.
- Build Trust
Trust and loyalty are key when it comes to building relationships with potential customers and encouraging them to actually make their next vehicle purchase from your dealership.
A well-designed website can be a key player in building trust between your dealership and prospective car buyers. If visitors to your dealership’s site are attracted to the visuals on your site and are able to easily find all of the information they need there without having to search too hard, they will put more trust in your dealership–which will in turn make them more likely to make their next purchase from your dealership instead of looking elsewhere.
- Increase Conversion Rates
High-quality web design improves the appearance and functionality of your car dealership’s website, which means that it also naturally increases your conversion rates. A prospective car buyer who navigates to a poorly-designed car dealership website is likely to click away from that site almost immediately–so you might be noticing a very high bounce rate if your dealership’s website is currently lacking in the area of quality web design.
Upon coming across a dealership website that appears to be designed well, on the other hand, a prospective car buyer in the market for their next vehicle is much more likely to stick around long enough to realize that the well-designed website is extremely functional and easy to navigate as well as aesthetically pleasing. If your dealership’s website checks all of those boxes, the car shoppers behind the traffic that is driven to your site are much more likely to transform from digital traffic to real customers–which will lead to a higher conversion rate, more customers, and maximized profits for your dealership.
