What makes a good web design? A great website is well-designed and functional at the same time. Great design is often clean and straightforward and allows the users to find the information they’re looking for quickly and if they desire to buy the product or hire the service. So, to achieve this in your own site, there are some web design rules you may want to follow. Keep reading!
DO’S
Optimize for smartphones
Nowadays, a website that only looks good on a desktop computer is incomplete. The majority of consumers use their smartphones to navigate through the internet and look for products and services. To not lose customers, you have to make sure your site works perfectly on those little screens.
Create an intuitive layout
It’s not enough for your website to look good on every screen; you have to create an easy-to-follow path. Think about your target audience, define what exactly it is they will look for on your website and make it easy to find. Use design in your favor. The fewer the clicks, the better. Make your product or service as fast to buy as it’s in person.
Follow a brand image
A brand image isn’t only to brag or to stand out. By using a specific visual style, with certain colors, fonts, and images, you’ll make your brand look more trustworthy, professional, and easy to understand. Avoid using a heavy mix of all your graphic elements; instead, define a use for each one and keep your design as clean as possible.
Take content seriously
Content is what keeps your website moving and getting views. Well-thought content and proper optimization will attract the right kind of users. But, if you make a hollow or poorly cured content strategy, your visitors won’t transform into leads. The key to success is to make useful and engageable content for your future customers to fall in love with.
Check your website for errors
There’s nothing more unfortunate than a functional and attractive site being tarnished by a small error. Schedule some routine checkups to avoid these kinds of problems. Look out for dead links that can frustrate your users, re-read your content to make sure you don’t have any typos, and reload all the images and videos that aren’t showing correctly.
DON’TS
Put too many choices
It’s a fact that the number of options themselves affects people’s decisions. The more choices we have, the less action we take. This probably sounds harsh, but it could make the difference between a visitor and a sale. Don’t let your visitors think too much and present them the right amount of options for them to take action without hesitation.
Make users wait
Every second counts. On the internet, a website that takes three seconds or more to load each page is sentenced to oblivion. If your site is slow, check your plug-ins and files, also avoid gifs and auto-play videos. Sometimes you can free space to make it faster. In other cases, you can apply some tests on other websites or contact your web hosting server directly.
Show automatic pop-ups right away
Few things can be more annoying than a website that strikes you with multiple pop-ups as soon as you enter. Although this won’t make your visitors close your page, surely they will close the pop-up box without reading the content. This kind of ad is intrusive by nature, so a good tip is to make a time gap before showing them.
Fill the page with long paragraphs
Avoid long columns of text. You don’t want your beautiful website to be cluttered by a wall of unreadable sentences. Perhaps your text is quality content, but there are better ways to show it. Divide your content into little and readable chunks, and use white space to make your design breathe so users don’t get intimidated
Forget about your target market
And the most critical point of all: always write and design for your market. Many businesses forget about the interests and motivations of their clients and write content that doesn’t speak to them. Remember to check your marketing plan now and then to keep following the right path.
And this is the end of the list. Ready to design a winner website? Remember, you can always ask for a consultation with us. Contact Web Launch Local.
