When it comes to website design, just the visual elements are not good enough to keep it together and function effectively. A website’s usability and utility are what determines whether it is a good or a bad website. For example, having an attractively designed element on the web with no functionality is useless, and you might as well have not had it and used the space for something that adds value to your brand. Your website represents who you are as a business and what you stand for. From your logo to the style of design you choose, everything is of utmost importance as every element you decide upon will have a specific effect on the consumer. Using it for your benefit is what you need to understand to succeed and scale up online.
Here are the top 10 principles of a good website design:
1. Always have an objective
One of the best places to start is by defining things. What you want consumers to know you for, what you’d like them to remember you by, and what you stand for – everything needs to be crystal clear before you start designing your website; having an aim or a purpose helps not lose sight and stay on track to establish yourself as a brand and achieve online success. Every web page must have a clearly defined purpose. For example, providing some additional information about your business would help build brand loyalty and trust as the consumer knows something about you and would want to continue doing business with you.
2. Versatile compatibility
While designing a website, it must be compatible with the user’s behavior and environment. Apart from having an attractive UI, the design should be such that it is responsive and interactive to fit every screen size and platform. Be it a browser on PC or an app on your phone; the web design should be effective with every orientation. It should automatically adapt to the environment without affecting the interface.
3. Navigate through, seamlessly
One of the crucial aspects of website design is navigation. If a website is too hard to understand and is not user-friendly, the consumer will not stay on it for long. Inculcating certain components like clickable icons and organizing the website in a particular way can help the user understand and navigate through your platform better. Another important point to be kept in mind is the load time. If your website takes too long to load, the user will move onto another portal, and you’ll lose business. Having a short load time is crucial to the experience you are offering, and if your designer is not vigilant, it may affect your business.
4. Quality of Image
As opposed to traditional text-only photos, images have a higher impact on the audience. A high-quality image not only helps you position yourself as a brand but also helps create a sense of trust, especially if you are an online store selling commodities. If not, consider using infographics and other design elements to make your website look interesting and reliable. This helps the business have a better reach and enables effective communication to its target audience.
5.Colour Palette Selection
Every aspect of design involves and mentions the attention that needs to be given to choosing a color. Your brand will be known and connoted to the color you choose and how it makes your consumer feel. Choose a mix of complementary colors and contrasting (wherever needed) to create an efficient and appealing website.
6. Lay it all out
The layout used is also important to understand how the website functions. Using grids is effective as the content is placed systematically and hence, is easier to understand. Understanding the viewer flow and placing content on the screen’s top and left side is better than placing content all across the screen and urging the viewer to see it.
7. From Arial to Helvetica – what’s your call?
The font you use is equally important to the overall website design. The font sets the tone of the website, and apart from just being aesthetically pleasing, the readability of the same on multiple screens also needs to be considered. Continuity in patterns and paragraphs also makes a difference in how a user perceives your business and brand.
8. Got a blank space? Good!
Use the white space to your benefit. Most web designers make the mistake of filling up every inch of space, leading to the end product being cramped up and unattractive. Use the white space creatively to design the website and play with the user’s attention span. The recent trends depict that white space gives the website a neat look and a classy approach.
9. Focus!
The attention of a user on your website can be manipulated by designing effectively. Adding motion onto your website is one way to grab attention to some important information as the brain does not read everything but scans the website as a whole. Any element of movement helps make the website more immersive.
10. Know what you write
Having an effective copy for every small detail on your website will help you, as a brand and business, be transparent and communicative with your audience. Copies need to be short and crisp and, when coupled with specific placing in a specific font, will create a good impression. The moment a user lands on your website, the content needs to grab their attention to retain them. This is called the “above the fold” phenomenon inspired by newspapers having important stories placed on the top half of the page with big headlines to catch their eye. Once this is done, the content must have a CTA subtly incorporated within the copy to persuade the user to subscribe and buy your product.
Author Bio
Belinda Mathew is a passionate blogger and content writer for Designpluz Web Design Agency, mainly interested in Web Design, Branding, SEO, and social media campaigns. She is an expert in providing recommendations for a new company website, wrote new content, Also Developed user guides, newsletters, and various online promotional pieces.
