Written by Craig Fearn
Founder & Strategic Advisor
📚 Part of Complete Guide
Digital Marketing Cornwall: Complete Guide for Local Businesses
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A beautiful website that doesn't convert is just expensive wallpaper. Your Cornwall business needs a site that works twice as hard—catching tourists who decide in seconds and locals who research for weeks.
This guide covers modern design principles, mobile optimisation, and features that actually convert visitors into customers.
What Are Modern Website Design Principles?
Clean layouts, readable typography, and intuitive navigation form the foundation.
White space isn't wasted space—it makes content easier to read and helps important elements stand out. Cramming everything above the fold creates cluttered, overwhelming designs that drive visitors away.
Readable typography matters more than fancy fonts. Your body text needs sufficient size (minimum 16px), adequate line spacing, and good contrast against backgrounds. Headings should clearly differentiate from body text.
Intuitive navigation means visitors find what they need without thinking. Main menu should contain 5-7 items maximum. If you need more pages, use dropdown menus or footer links. Every page should clearly indicate where visitors are and how to get elsewhere.
Why Is Mobile Optimisation Critical?
Over 60% of web traffic comes from mobile devices, and Google prioritises mobile-friendly sites.
Responsive design adapts to any screen size. Your site needs to work on everything from massive desktop monitors to small smartphone screens. This isn't just shrinking everything down—it's restructuring layouts to work effectively on smaller displays.
Touch targets need adequate size. Buttons and links must be large enough for fingers to tap accurately. Small text links clustered together frustrate mobile users and lead to accidental clicks.
Loading speed becomes even more critical on mobile. Many visitors browse on cellular data with variable connection speeds. Optimised images, minimal scripts, and efficient code all contribute to fast mobile performance.
What Features Convert Visitors into Customers?
Clear value propositions, prominent contact options, and social proof all drive conversions.
Value proposition should be immediately obvious. What do you do? For whom? Why should they choose you? Answer these within the first screen of content. Vague statements like "providing quality service" don't differentiate you from competitors.
Contact options need prominence. Click-to-call phone numbers work brilliantly on mobile. Contact forms should be visible and simple—three fields maximum. Live chat can help, but only if someone actually responds quickly.
Social proof builds trust. Customer testimonials, review ratings, case studies, and client logos all demonstrate that real people trust you. Specific testimonials ("Increased our bookings by 40%") work better than generic praise ("Great service!").
How Does Good Design Support SEO?
Design and SEO work together—neither succeeds alone.
Site structure affects how Google understands your content. Logical hierarchy, clear navigation, and proper use of headings all help search engines categorise your pages. Clean URL structures and breadcrumb navigation improve both user experience and SEO.
Page speed directly affects rankings. Google's algorithm considers loading speed as a ranking factor. Fast sites also retain visitors better—people leave slow sites, which Google notices and penalises.
What Content Should Your Website Include?
Focus on content that answers customer questions and demonstrates expertise.
Service descriptions need to explain what you do in terms customers understand. Avoid industry jargon unless your audience uses it. Focus on problems you solve and results customers achieve.
About page should explain who you are, why you do this work, and why customers should trust you. Personal stories and genuine passion matter more than corporate statements about "excellence" and "commitment to quality."
Ready to Build an Effective Website?
Good website design balances aesthetics with functionality. Your site needs to look professional, load quickly, work perfectly on mobile, and convert visitors into customers. Focus on these fundamentals before worrying about advanced features.
At Outcome Digital Marketing, we build websites that work. Mobile-optimised, fast-loading, and focused on converting visitors into customers. Our web design services deliver results without unnecessary complexity.
Craig Fearn
Founder & Strategic Advisor
Craig brings strategic business advisory experience to digital marketing, having spent over a decade advising C-suite executives and boards on organizational strategy. As a Fellow of the Royal Society for Public Health (FRSPH) and Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute (FCMI), he applies evidence-based thinking to marketing strategy—helping Cornwall businesses make informed decisions backed by research, not hype.

