Good design is good business.

From dating apps to online shopping, we choose products, services and people based on beauty.

Successful business owners know this well.

According to Adobe, companies with a strong design outperform companies with a weak design by 219% on the S&P Index (a stock market index) over the span of 10 years.

In fact, 48% of people said that the website design of a business was their number one factor in determining the credibility of that business.

So not only is good design directly tied to success, it’s also tied to trust.

Here are 7 proven reasons why good design is good business (and how you can use design to increase your small business revenues).

1. Good design makes a strong first impression.

Good design is about using colors, shapes, textures, space, forms, images, and content in a harmonious, balanced way.

Good design starts with a strong brand.

A well-designed logo is an important part of a company’s brand.

In the digital age, companies only have a matter of seconds before a customer makes up their mind.

Those few seconds are crucial because they can make or break a sale – and design plays a huge role in the deciding factor.

For example, it only takes people 10 seconds to form a first impression of a brand’s logo, but it takes 5-7 impressions for consumers to recognize the logo.

Design is a signal to customers that they should buy from you.

This is true not only online, but also for physical products.

Packaging design, for example, can alter the perception of your product.

2. Design helps your business stand out.

If you thought you had no competition, think again.

Every company, no matter the industry, faces a hefty amount of competition.

Design can make or break your business.

3. Builds customer relationships.

Since relationships are based on emotion, customers are often emotionally connected to a company.

Design is not only a reason why your customers become customers – it’s also why they stay.

4. Keeps your website easy to use.

Design is not just what looks good.

To be effective, design needs to perform a specific function.

Its about how something looks and works.

A well-designed website, for example, helps convert visitors into customers.

When people have attention spans that are shorter than that of a goldfish, you know you don’t have a lot of time before someone gives up.

Today, that attention span is 8 seconds, while a goldfish clocks in at 9 seconds.

While the difference seems small at first, it’s actually a pretty big deal.

With design, websites and online products are easier to navigate and bounce rates are usually lower.

When people encounter poorly designed sites, they are more likely to give up because they can’t find what they are looking for or it takes too long to find the information they seek.

Signs that a website is easy to use includes a simple display of information, no middle-man steps, and no bells or whistles.

Design and good usability aren’t about information overload or tons of animations – it’s about giving the customer the bare minimum that they need while still expressing your brand.

If your website isn’t intuitive, it’s hurting your business.

5. Promotes brand consistentcy.

It would be strange if Google suddenly started displaying search results in a cursive font. Or if McDonald’s decided to change up their logo depending on the day.

If you’re cringing, it’s probably because you’ve never tried to imagine a purple McDonald’s logo or a script Google search results page.

We don’t blame you.

The layout of Google’s search results and the McDonald’s logo are more than just design elements for the companies, they’re a part of their brand.

Because those designs are so memorable, it’s hard to imagine them changing, and that’s a really good thing.

Consistency is key when it comes to creating a cohesive brand.

6. The key to social media success.

If you thought you only needed a well-designed website to succeed, think again.

Many of today’s marketing efforts are done on social media platforms.

Whether it’s Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, or any other platform, social media is one of the best ways to connect to customers, go viral, and make a name for your company.

But in the age of aesthetics, you won’t get far with your social media strategy with poor designs.

Customers aren’t the only ones that agree good design helps companies on social media platforms. 60.8% of marketers said that in 2017, design was essential to their marketing strategies. And 93% agreed that it was very important.

Without design, marketing messages boil down to plain text and this approach rarely catches people’s attention.

7. Good design makes you money.

We pointed out that good design is good business and hopefully, you’re beginning to understand why that’s true.

Ultimately, it increases your company’s value, boosts sales, and puts your business in a better financial situation.

Through building trust, making strong first impressions, building customer relationships, and even executing successful campaigns, good design helps make your business more profitable.

At the end of the day, the technology or the differentiating factor in your business can only take you so far.

Take Facebook and MySpace as an example. Both platforms set out to do the same thing: connect people to one another. At one point, it was significantly more popular to have a MySpace account than it was to have a Facebook account.

Today, a MySpace account is the equivalent of a flip phone. It’s Facebook’s clunky, uglier relative.

Facebook’s sleeker, more intuitive design helped Facebook become the dominant social network in the U.S.  Facebook is now valued at over $440 billion, while MySpace is valued at around $35 million.

Let that sink in for a moment.

Even though your business is small today, it can help it be big tomorrow.