35+ Website Design Industry Statistics: All You Need to Know in 2023

Can you imagine what’s inside a lava cake?

There’s a liquid chocolate center that is so yummy and hot! But you need to eat the outside first. It’s the most pleasant obstacle in the world, don’t you think?

I imagine that every subject in life is like a lava cake - there are some barriers to overcome and then you get to enjoy the center.

Now:

Before we get to the sweet core of website design industry statistics - let’s have a look around and get to know the outer shape first.

Eye-Opening Web Design Industry Statistics

• There are only about 200 million active websites in 2022.
• As of April 2022, there are over 5 billion internet users worldwide.
• Two out of three people prefer to read beautifully designed content.
• 90% of people use multiple screens sequentially.
• Mobile devices account for nearly 70% of all internet traffic.
• Design has a 75% influence on a website's credibility.

We all know for a fact that website design can impact a user’s opinion of the company or product.

In every aspect of our lives, we seek looks that sell.

Latest-model smartphone, best car money can buy, that smartwatch you liked so much in the store yesterday...

Good news is:

The internet is a relatively safe space when it comes to good looks!

If you want your website to be gorgeous, it doesn’t need to get a nose job or one of those savage diets. (Nope!)

All it needs are a couple of well-selected ingredients to put in the magic cauldron, and:

Bippity boppity boo!

Your website is fabulous!

If that’s what you want, there are a couple of simple questions to start with:

What are the latest website design industry statistics?

And to take this further, why is website design so important?

On your journey toward an elegant and efficient website, you need to know your web design statistics. They’ll provide you with a roadmap to where you want to go with your design!

Before we start, let’s make a couple of things clear first:

What exactly is web design?

Industrial website design is everything about your website - its content, the way it looks, and the way it works. All this is determined by website design. It is the whole process of creating a website - from the first steps of planning and developing the layout - to picking the colors, graphics, and interactive images.

One more thing:

What kind of industry is web development?

Nowadays the web design industry is one of the most lucrative in our modern society. It made information abundant and available to all users everywhere. Customers around the world depend on its services every day.

Web development includes web design, web content development, web server, and network security configuration, and of course - ecommerce development.

Nowadays design means business.

What works in website design constantly changes. If you want to stay competitive, the web development statistics of 2022 can provide some insight.

Let’s get started:

Website Design Industry Statistics for 2023

Here are some interesting and carefully selected website design industry statistics for 2022.

1. Design has a 75% influence on a website's credibility.

(Source: Web FX)

Web design stats for 2022 indicate that many customers are skeptical about a website with poor design. Website design is so robust that customers can conclude on a business’s legitimacy just by glancing over its website.

2. Slow-loading websites lead to sales losses of up to $2.6 billion annually.

(Source: Clique)

Poor loading speeds are not only unpleasant for your visitors but can also cost you money. Website design industry stats for 2022 reveal that 53% of mobile users will leave a page if it takes more than three seconds to load.

3. Users spend an average of 5.94 seconds looking at a website's main image.

(Source: SWEOR)

To make a lasting impression on a customer, a company's website needs to have a beautiful, simple, yet well-detailed main image that communicates the brand effectively at just one glance. And branding is more crucial than ever.

4. 88% of online consumers will not return to a website following a bad experience.

(Source: SWEOR)

An unattractive website, at first sight, is bad business. Website facts for 2022 show that even for well-designed websites, only a very few visitors are patient enough to give their content a chance.

5. About 92.4% of internet users prefer using their phones.

(Source: Data Reportal)

As of 2022, there are 5 billion internet users globally. According to mobile-friendly website statistics, 92.4% of them are using their phones to access the web.

6. On average, users spend 5.59 seconds on a website's written content.

(Source: SWEOR)

This is just enough to convey a brand’s positive image. Web design facts for 2022 show that revealing content in a step-by-step approach is more effective than flooding people with content. A step-by-step approach means that the user can find more useful material by exploring more of the website if need be.

7. Pages with videos keep users on them for 88% longer.

(Source: Web FX)

Videos have been proven to get people's attention better than images and texts. Animated videos are viral among both users and designers because of their attractiveness and liveliness. Overall, videos increase the engagement of customers with a website page and can influence purchasing decisions. 

8. 85% of shoppers say that color is a primary factor that affects their purchasing decisions.

(Source: Crazy Egg)

Reports go further to tell us that 66% of customers claim that they won’t buy products that do not come in their color of interest. People are naturally sentimental about colors. It is, therefore, essential that a website has the perfect colors to suit different images on a page. 

9. 54% of users prefer personal online experiences.

(Source: SocialMediaToday, Website Builder Expert)

Website design statistics 2022 have shown that consumers prefer tailored online experiences. 

Website design industry stats have also shown that 93% of companies have seen a boost in conversion after applying personalization. 

Here’s a tip for you:

If you want to personalize your customer’s online experience, you can tailor your content to individuals based on their location, birthday, and browsing history!

General Website Design Statistics

Representation is super important when discussing website design.

Here are the most important website design facts for 2022 you need to be aware of.

10. 48% of people cited a website’s design as the number one factor in deciding the credibility of a business.

(Source: Blue Corona)

That’s almost half of all users!

Your website will reflect the impact on your target audience. It is the image you project for all to see. People will know you through it and will judge your company by the quality of your website.

11. 8 out of 10 consumers would stop engaging with content that doesn’t display well on their device.

(Source: Ironpaper)

Now that’s good news!

There are so many reasons to invest in your website. And now you have added one more in your basket of muffins - content formatting that looks good on every device will be highly appreciated by 80% of users.

Told you - good news!

12. 85% of customers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations.

(Source: Web Alive)

Translation - reviews possess a great power to persuade people about product quality.

Everybody consults ratings and reviews before investing money. The opportunities here are countless.

A good reputation comes with good reviews!

13. 68% of the companies that developed a mobile-first website saw a rise in sales.

(Source: SAG ipl)

Google enabled mobile-first indexing in 2016.

The virtual “lives” of websites have never been the same since. Those that are ready and quick to adapt, receive the high honors of the day.

Every day, with every search.

We will talk more about responsive design in a moment.

14. There are only about 200 million active websites in 2022. 

(Source: Siteefy)

And 43.2% of all websites worldwide are running on WordPress. Speaking of website builders: 

• In 2022, there are 5.3 billion unique mobile users in the world.
• The smartphone penetration rate will be 85% by 2023. 

67.9% of digital ad spending in 2022 comes from mobile.

15. Do-it-yourself platforms for web development in the cloud are currently worth $24 billion in the US. They also experience a 4.9% annual growth.

(Source: Ibis World)

Website builder platforms are a great way to start afresh. You can invest your personal time and save some money. Prices vary greatly depending on certain features, though everyone can have a great website for their budget.

16. 62% of companies increased their sales by designing responsive mobile platforms for their websites.

(Source: SAG ipl)

Google evaluates the quality of your responsive design before deciding where to rank your website. It is one of the most important web development elements on your to-do list.

17. Mobile ad spending will amount to $240 billion by 2022.

(Source: Statista, Influencer Marketing Hub)

2020 was the year website designers focused on perfecting the art of creating a more mobile-friendly website design. This is what enables mobile marketing as well. 

That same year, 55% of website traffic came from mobile.

That's not all:

Mobile ads accounted for 70% of all digital ad revenue in 2020. More than that, mobile ad spending worldwide amounted to $199 billion. This value is set to increase by $41 billion in 2022.

18. 73% of companies are investing in design to differentiate their brands.

(Source: Blue Corona)

Personalization is a must. If you wish to be unique and attract a vast audience, pay attention to the importance of website design, and create your own personal miracle.

19. 94% of people say bad design is the main reason they don’t trust certain websites.

(Source: Social Media Today)

Fair enough. Pretty things have always attracted lots of people. It’s only natural.

20. 85% of users trust online reviews as if they were personal recommendations.

(Source: Web Alive)

It is a great idea to include customers’ opinions on your homepage. That way you will brag about the excellent quality of your product or service, and you will attract even more attention to it.

Two birds with one stone.

21. 36% of website visitors click on your logo to reach your homepage from other pages.

(Source: Web Alive)

Everything that has to do with website development deserves our attention. According to the convention, the company’s logo goes at the top left corner - that’s where your visitors will look for it. No detail is small enough.

22. 68% of consumers say they have higher expectations for businesses’ digital capabilities since COVID-19.

(Source: Salesforce)

This means that this is the time for businesses to experiment with new and interactive technologies that will keep consumers engaged. 

However, it is still important to nail the basics first - a solid website foundation and a mobile-friendly website design.

23. 82% of customers trust a company after reading customer content.

(Source: SAG ipl)

People almost always need a second opinion before making a purchase. Nowadays they use their smartphones to search for items and the best prices, even while shopping in a physical store! Conducting research before purchasing has become a modern necessity.

Now:

I’m sure you have many questions.

Here, I will help you with the first one.

Can we start with first impression statistics?

Follow me:

Speed and Mobile

Creativity is paramount if we need our clients to remain on our website. It needs to look sophisticated enough so the audience will respect our business and keep coming back for more.

Yes, I know this might seem like mission impossible.

But trust me, it is much easier than it looks.

Ready?

Let’s talk SEO.

How Essential is Speed?

That’s a big one!

24. Google has indicated that website speed is one of the signals used by its algorithms to rank pages.

(Source: MOZ)

Speeding up our websites is especially important! Faster sites make users happy.

If you are a website owner, here are a couple of free tools to help you analyze speed:

• Page Speed - here you can analyze and optimize your website speed.
• Web Page Test - a different platform with the same goal - some users prefer this.
• Yslow - this is a Yahoo web page analyzer that can help with suggestions for improving your website’s performance.

If there isn't any particular problem, but your website is slow you might consider changing your hosting provider or website building platform.

Now, according to design statistics:

25. 47% of people expect websites to load in 2 seconds or less.

(Source: Blue Corona)

Wow! The more time it takes to load a website - the higher its bounce rate.

A website that loads in less than 2 seconds is a winner. And users are going to show their appreciation, as you’ll see.

You may already know this, but:

The human attention span is now shorter than that of a goldfish. In 2000, the average human attention span was 12 seconds. Then, smartphones came along. And guess what? In 2015 the average human attention span has dropped to 8.5 seconds. The hilarious thing is that a goldfish has an attention span of 9 seconds. Oh, well.

26. Your website has 10 or fewer seconds to leave an impression on users.

(Source: RED)

Indeed. If you think about it, even that sounds a bit too long. Sometimes we just click on a website, our brain scans the design, and then we leave.

I am sure you have had that experience…

Click and leave.  

And then there are those “celebrity” websites we just can’t take our eyes off. They are everything we wish for in a website - fast, fabulous, and fashionable. Their content seems perfectly organized, not to mention the pictures load fast and are just gorgeous.

I am certain you have had that experience as well (not necessarily on that kind of website, but still).

Yes, yes, design sells.

And that’s a good thing!

27. Users spend an average of 0.05 seconds on deciding whether to stay on your site or leave.

(Source: SWEOR)

Ouch! (I am thinking about the attention span of goldfish again…)

28. Cutting down your website load speed from 8 to 2 seconds can boost your conversion rate by up to 74%.

(Source: SAG ipl)

There it is, as clear as day - the faster your website loads, the more customers you’ll have. Keep in mind that a one-second delay in page load leads to a 7% decrease in CR.

29. 38% of users will not visit your website again if it takes too much time to load.

(Source: Web Alive, Statista)

People will love your website if it loads quickly and your content is on the short side.

That’s not too much to ask, right?

How about mobile? Why is there such a fuss around it?

In the past several years we saw the rise of mobile internet, and it changed everything.

Let’s see:

• In January 2021, there were 4.66 billion unique active mobile internet users.
• Mobile phone penetration worldwide reached 46.45% in 2020.
• Mobile ads account for 70% of all digital ad revenue in 2020.
• In 2020, mobile ad spend worldwide amounted to $199 billion and is expected to surpass 240 billion by 2022.

Mobile marketing is on the red carpet and this baby is making it rain.

That’s why every dollar invested in responsive design is money well spent.

30. Mobile will account for about 44.2% of US retail ecommerce sales in 2025.

(Source: Insider Intelligence)

Website design stats for 2022 show that in the next three years, about 44% of retail ecommerce sales will come from mobile. Between 2020 and 2021, mcommerce sales increased by around 15.2% to $359.32 billion. Predictions estimate a climb to $728.28 billion by 2025!

31. 94% of people judge websites on responsive design.

(Source: Infront Webworks)

In 2022 a responsive website means a responsible business!

You simply can’t go without it.

Key Website Trends

Aiming for the best mobile website design will help you score big with your audience.

No user will ever complain that the website looks too pretty. On the contrary - the less attractive the website is, the less audience it will attain.

Video Background

It is almost impossible to ignore a video background. It’s moving and there is something so irresistible about it.

Our subconscious is designed to pay special attention to anything in motion.

Think about those first short motion pictures that paved the way for today’s movie industry.

Everybody wanted to go see the moving pictures. People couldn’t resist them in those days. And we still can’t!

Back to our video background agenda:

According to website design and the impact it has on sales:

32. When you switch to a video background, there is a 138% improvement in conversion rate.

(Source: Website Builder Expert, Sprout Social)

Regardless of the type of business you promote, you can’t go wrong with a video background.

Speaking of moving images that attract attention: CSS3 Animation.

We need a great presentation, right?

Animation breathes life into every website. It is attractive, extremely popular among both designers and users. 

With CSS3 animation, your website will pop up and seem cool and trendy.

Whether there are going to be videos, pictures and/or interactive content – you need visualizations.  

Explore the possibilities!

Now.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. (A cliche, but still so true!)

Think about Pinterest. Good pictures sell.

The visual medium is not just a fad. It is almost as important as the content itself.

33. 78% of shoppers want e-commerce sites to include more images on their product pages.

(Source: Hootsuite)

We all know images and marketing have been close buddies since the dawn of advertising. But when was that?

Even in the early dynasties of China and later on in Ancient Rome there used to be posters with hand-painted pictures on them, showing different products. (Sometimes the pictures were less than appropriate from the 21st-century point of view…)

34. Over 95 million photos and videos are shared on Instagram daily.

(Source: Hootsuite)

It is safe to say that people want to see more pictures. AND they need them to load quickly.

Top Web Design Software

They are convenient, feature-rich, and SEO-friendly. Arguably some are way more expensive than others. It is up to you to decide what fits your ideas and your budget. 

But wait!

There are some excellent options out there for everyone!

Let’s have a quick look at the Top Web Design Software in 2022.

Adobe Dreamweaver CC - The best web design software for professionals, and it allows you to code your website design directly. 

Wix - This is the best web design and site builder for beginners. It is super affordable and requires no coding. 

WordPress - Comes with some of the best custom options for beginners. It is also easy to install and comes with pre-built templates.Weebly - Is mobile-friendly, affordable, and easy to personalize.Webflow - Web-based platform with a crisp drag-and-drop interface. It also produces very clean and well-written code.

Exciting Facts

Have you ever given any thought to the primary colors (or the age) of popular websites? Or how different cultures might have different design preferences?

To that I say:

Go Green (or Blue)

(No, I’m not saying you should recycle your website!)

It is a web design fact, that blue and green are the colors people associate with success.  

35. 57% of people associate the color blue with success.

(Source: BrandonGaille)

Not surprising. Just visualize the home pages of:

• Facebook
• Twitter
• WordPress
• Drupal
• VKontakte

All blue...

According to statistics, men and women have different opinions about the least successful colors. Turns out men dislike purple, women, in general, respond negatively to orange.

Bottom line, if you need your website to look successful - go with blue or green and stay away from orange and purple…

The Western vs Chinese Schools of Website Design

If you aim to target the Chinese market, there are a couple of things you need to know in advance.

Still, there is a big difference between those cultures and this has made its mark on the way they design their websites.

Now, can you imagine the homepage of Amazon or eBay? (Creamy colors, lots of space, easy on the eye…)

Got it? Great.

And now let me paint you a picture of a Chinese website.

Their main characteristics are:

• Tons of links! Literally. The page is usually cluttered.
• No subtle colors - everything is flashy and bright, the color red is a favorite.
• Very complicated design.
• Lots of pictures and videos everywhere.

Nowadays we are used to subtle and fancy-looking sleek designs - they are just so satisfying. Open a Chinese website and it’ll be a whole different world. Truth is, if you spend some time on their websites, you get used to it, and afterward you might even miss the bright colors and the tons of emojis.

Did you know:

36. 98% of all internet users in China are mobile.

(Source: Forbes)

Now those guys’ websites should really be mobile-friendly!

Naturally, different cultures have different expectations when it comes to design. It pays to know your target audience and to provide the experience your visitors are looking for.  

Old But Gold

Last but not least, let’s talk internet age.

Some of the world’s most popular websites were founded more than 10 years ago.

Let’s look at the timeline here:

• YouTube - launched on February 14, 2005 - 16 years old
• Gmail - launched on April 1, 2004 - 17 years old
• Facebook - launched on February 5, 2004 - 17 years old
• Wikipedia - launched on January 15, 2001 - 21 years old
• Google - launched on September 4, 1998 - 23 years old
• Amazon - launched on July 5, 1994 - 27 years old
• IMDB - launched on October 17, 1990 - 32 years old

That last one surprised me too. Well, now we know!

Summing It Up

I hope you enjoyed the web design statistics as much as we did!

Now let’s go back to our website design lava cake.

There are certain ingredients you need to have if you want an awesome website that will give users a great experience.

It’s safe to say that if you invest in mobile optimization, fast website speed, an engaging video background, and high-quality pictures - you’ll be on the safe side. Of course, we assume you already have the great content your readers need.

(And don’t forget to use a lot of blue and green!)

That way you’ll have an amazing website. It will be competitive, fast-loading and loved by the search engines. On top of that, it will provide great user experience and will keep them coming back for more.

Which is all we want anyway!

Website design industry statistics give us a roadmap to create a more powerful online presence. This inevitably translates into more sales and greater success in business.

The ball is now in your court. Good luck, guys!