Today, websites have become a commanding way to promote businesses. It can be used as a marketing tool, a way of communication, or a platform for branding. The design of your website will play a vital role in how users will perceive your brand. It is proven on researches that a well-built, informative, and organized website generates more traffic and trust from users.
While being creative plays a key role, there are basic rules in web designing to guarantee that your site will be effective and attractive as well. Below are 8 tips we’ve come up with in creating a perfect website:
Keep it Simple and Creative
The design and content of your website is the first thing that catches users’ interest and attention. It is your brand. Users are looking for components that are informative, they want to see content which are relevant to them and easy to understand. Use simple languages to describe your products or services; you can even insert a picture or two to convey your message clearly. Readers want to effectively find what they are looking for at first sight.
In designing a website, always keep in mind the principles of simplicity while being creative. It is important to consider different factors in designing a website to attract your target user base and keep them engaged. Create a simple layout first for the pages of your site. Plan the position and alignment of the content, spread of white space, font size and style, color palette, etc. Use proper white spaces to make your content look clean and words distinguished. The content should not be inept to avoid confusion from your visitors.
Integrate a Smart Choice of Colors
Color plays an important role in your website’s appearance. Choosing the right combination can make your website look professional and attractive at the same time. Researching the value and meaning of colors can help you in choosing the perfect palette for your website. Use a combination of colors that complement each other to make your content more readable and refrain from using bright or bold colors that may strain the eyes of your visitors. Always remember that the key to choosing the perfect color scheme is keeping it simple.
Whitespace
White space is often referred to as negative space. It is the portion of a page left blank or unmarked. It isn’t actually white, the space can be filled with any color you want as long it has no content. In incorporating white space in your design, think about the whole layout of your page. Putting spaces between the elements will help your page to be more readable and enhance user experience.
A white space can also make a page look professional, proficient, and elegant. It organizes the content of your page and helps in creating focus and attention. Separating the content of your page also gives the visitors’ eyes room to relax.
Mobile Compatibility
Internet users nowadays spend more time surfing the internet with their mobile device so it is very important to create a mobile-compatible website. Fortunately, there are numerous ways to make your website mobile-friendly like using a responsive web design or mobile editor applications. A responsive web design basically means your website will automatically adjust its layout and design to the size of the device your visitor is using.
Related: Adapting to the Dynamic SEO Landscape in 2017 and Beyond
Optimize Loading Time
One of the most important things that people tend to forget to consider in creating a website is its loading time. No one likes a website that takes a lot of time to load. The last thing you want is for visitors to lose interest, leave and move on to other websites that load faster. Aside from losing user engagement, a slow website can also lower its rank on search engines.
There are many things you can optimize to speed up your website. You can remove unnecessary elements, reduce image size, avoiding flash, and keeping the content of your pages minimal. You have to learn to balance the content of your website by knowing what resources you have and which ones will meet the needs and wants of your target audience. Once you’re done, you can check your website’s loading time using a site speed testing service.
Easy Navigation
Another important thing in designing a website is easy navigation. Without navigation, a website can look formless. Having an easy-to-use navigation is a way to ensure that visitors will spend more time exploring your website. While keeping it simple, navigation should also be of good quality and organize so that your visitors can navigate between pages easily. Keep in mind that having varying navigation might give your visitors an impression that they’re browsing different sites, so make sure to be consistent and use the same navigation in all the pages and subpages of your website.
Informative Content
Users visit a website for its content. It’s the first thing that will catch their attention. Consider the content of your website as a tool that will build your brand. In creating the content of your website, make sure that you have a clear purpose and objective. Online visitors are looking for significant, intriguing, and easy-to-understand information.
When planning content, it helps to think of it like an advertisement, wherein you’re sharing information in as few words as possible making your visitors interested and wanting for more. Make the objective clear. Use simple and easy-to-understand words in describing your products or services, and refrain from using too many technical terms. Having informative content that looks clean, organize, and proficient is what will make your website stand out.
Social media
Social media networking websites like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and many others play a necessary and important role in promoting a business. It has become a marketing tool and support for businesses and organizations. It is also considered as one of the most important tools in cultivating and improving a brand. With people’s insatiable appetite to share new information, including a social media badge on your website will provide an easy option for your visitors to share and even recommend your link, posts, or products without leaving your site.
These simple tips can get you started. Building an attractive website does not need to be complicated, it’s almost always about getting the basics right and the willingness to learn to be better at it. There are also numerous blogs, sites, and books about web design out there you can check that can help you.
