Is your website design scaring away potential customers?

New research says that when it comes to parting with our hard earned cash on the internet – looks do matter!

According to a survey of 300 businesses from around the world, 84% said they wouldn’t buy from a business that has an outdated or unprofessional looking website.

The survey conducted by DesignCrowd – an online marketplace providing logo, website, print and graphic design services to more than a million businesses globally – also found that 1 in 5 businesses hadn’t updated their website in more than a year, with a small but significant number of businesses admitting they have never updated their website.

Commenting on the survey, DesignCrowd said it was surprising that such a large number of businesses had outdated websites, when you consider 84% agreed website design was an important factor when deciding who to do business with.

In Australia, the ABS reported in 2013 that less than half of all Australian businesses had a web presence. Astounding when you consider that global e-commerce sales are tipped to hit US$2.3 trillion by 2017 and 3 out of every 4 (76%) Australian Internet users purchased or ordered goods or services online in 2012-13.