You know what they always say, “Beauty is in the eye of the mouse-holder.” I understand that different people prefer different styles, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t a few ground rules you should follow when deciding on the appearance of your website.
A website can’t simply succeed by excelling in limited aspects (such as solely design or content). There are so many key element to success; Like keeping up to date with the latest web design tips and trends from the world of online publishing and beyond.
Keeping your finger on the pulse gives you the option of becoming an early adopter of emerging design trends and styles. Having a solid arsenal of web design tips to turn to when it’s time to get down to work can also help to speed up your workflow.
Have a Plan: Know what’s Important
If you establish a clear hierarchy to your information, readers can’t help but unconsciously follow the breadcrumbs you have left for them. With a clear structure you can make use of color, contrast, size and spacing for further accentuation so that users can easily see what you’re drawing attention to on your page.
Even though it’s exciting you shouldn’t just start designing your website. To ensure that your website is effectively meeting the needs of your visitors you need to map out your clients journey from the first time they visit your website to the moment they become a customer.
Think about what pages are they going to view, what content are they going to read, and what offers are they going to convert on? Understanding this will help you design a site that helps nurture leads through the sales funnel. You want to design your website for the next step, not the final step.
Mobile Friendly = Responsive
After Google’s announcement of mobile-first index, it would be almost suicidal not to have your small business website responsive. You will need to insure that your website provides a user friendly experience across all devices.
Mobile device usage continues to grow, especially when it comes to accessing websites. This means that it’s never been more important to ensure your websites are mobile-friendly.
So one key web design tip for 2018 – and all the years to come – is to fully commit to responsive design. Think mobile optimized images, whether hamburger menus are the right choice, and much more.
We live in a mobile society, which makes it important to ask the question: What do my visitors see when they access my website on the go?
White Space is Key
Allow your website to breathe and your users to have a pleasant viewing experience. Whitespace is an essential design element that helps you break up the page and increase readability. Also called ‘negative space’, white space refers to the areas around elements on a page that are empty and lacking content or visual items.
Although extra space may seem superfluous, it’s actually responsible for readability and content prioritization. It also plays an important role in the design process and positioning website design elements.
If you know of some pages lacking white space, review the page and strip elements or content that aren’t necessary to the purpose of the page. However, you should also try creating more space in general rather than trying to include as many elements as you can on a page. Again, it helps a reader focus on what’s important while giving you the opportunity to build better-looking designs.
These are only just a few of the many design tips I would choose to offer, and if you’re interested in finding out how you can get your own custom website give me a call, or contact me today.