A functional and professional website design is critical for small and medium businesses, an expert has claimed.
Kyle Knight's comments followed a survey that claimed 70 per cent of customers did "not trust" a company with a badly-designed site; making a strong web design all the more important for companies.
The survey was conducted by OnePoll, and also found that two-thirds of business owners think that the look of a company website is more important that the actual location of the business, according to SMEweb.com.
Knight voiced his thoughts on the results, claiming that looks weren't everything: "A well-designed website it not so much about the look of a website, it's about the functionality of the site."
"If [consumers] can easily access the information they are looking for on a website then the site is already a success," he added on Biz Report.
It is this ease of access that can make or break a customers' confidence, he said: "You might have a visually good looking website but if people have a hard time accessing the information they need, then the website has failed. Look is important but functionality is more so."
The research consulted 577 UK SMEs that were surveyed between the 4th and 10th January 2011.
Chris Winstanley, the marketing expert who commissioned the independent poll, also said it has never been so important for a company to reflect themselves professionally online.