Setting up a website is pretty accessible these days, but optimising your web design, now that’s another story.
Good design is deceptively simple. A well-designed website often looks and functions so well that you hardly notice the design choices. But jump onto a poorly designed website, and you can really notice the flaws.
Whether you’re setting up a website for the first time or have been in the game for a while, design really matters. It affects your conversion rates, your credibility, and your customer loyalty.
At its core, web design is about improving user experience – how someone feels when they interact with your website. Are you leaving them with a positive experience that will bring them back again?
The good news is web design doesn’t have to be a guessing game. There are a number of web design principles that have been proven to get good results. We’re going to share with you 8 of the most important.
They are:
- Break up text
- Show, don’t tell
- Lead your users
- Consider your colours
- Embrace white space
- Aim for familiarity
- Make it mobile-friendly
- Speed things up
1. Break up text
You’ve got to have text on your website, but the way you go about it can put people off or encourage them to stick around.
There’s nothing that says “don’t read me” like a big block of text.
If you don’t have to say something, don’t. Keep your text to a minimum where appropriate, use shorter paragraphs and break up your content with headings. Try out lists and dot points.
The key is to create scannable content so that your visitors can find what they need, fast.
2. Show, don’t tell
It’s an old cliche, but it still stands. Visual content is much quicker for your website users to absorb than text.
So if you can explain something with an infographic or communicate a message with a photograph – do it.
Think of the visual content and the text working hand in hand. How can you use them both to say things faster and more effectively?
3. Lead your users
Ever heard of choice fatigue? The more choices your website visitors have to make, the less likely they are to stick around.
Instead, you want to make it a breeze for them. Take them by the hand, so to speak, and lead them exactly where you want them to go.
This means reducing the number of items on your menu. It means sticking to standard formats like having your logo in the top left and your menu in the top right.
Don’t go over the top with navigation. Simple and intuitive is best.
4. Consider your colours
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This article was written by Editorial Staff and originally published on WP Pluginsify.