Welcome back! You have reached the third and final installment in our series on Effective Dealership Website Design. So far, we have covered intuitive and responsive design in parts one and two, which you can review here on the fusionZONE Blog.
Today, we’re finishing up our principles of great website design series with one final topic: simplicity.
Why a Simple Design for Your Car Dealership Website is Best
In website design, it is always better to strive for simplicity over complexity. While a flashy website with thousands of features, links and pop-ups may seem more impressive to some, it often results in a clunky or downright frustrating user experience.
With a car dealership website, you are designing the site for ease of use of your customers. While you certainly want your site to be attractive and professional, going overboard with features, plug-ins and navigation menus can negatively affect the user experience.
Users who visit your website are likely not there to simply admire the design elements and advanced features of your site: they are there to achieve a goal. Help them reach their goal of buying a new or used car, appraising their trade or scheduling service with a simple and uncluttered layout.
In this screenshot, we see the schedule appointment section of the dealership’s service department page. There is a prominent ‘schedule appointment’ button plus simple steps listed to complete this goal.
Most users don’t read, they scan. If your site is cluttered, it can be overwhelming, and the user will go elsewhere. Make scanning your homepage, navigation menu and all other pages easier with a clear and simple layout. This lets users control how they interact with your site, which could lead to decreased bounce rates and increased engagement and conversions.
A simple yet attractive layout with ample white space, clean graphics and effective writing can provide a better user experience — and help improve conversion rates!
In this next example, the dealer displays some of its most popular new models on the homepage with links to its inventory. This simple, clean layout makes it easy for the many users visiting the site to shop for a new CR-V or Civic.
While trends in website design seem to change regularly, one constant going forward is that simplicity tops complexity every time.
We hope that you have enjoyed our series on Effective Dealership Website Design. If you have any questions about your current dealership website or what our team can do for you, reach out to us today.