In our previous article, we explained why having a website for your website is key. This article is about web design and why a well-designed website is vital.
Web design is an essential aspect of every business’s marketing strategy. The design you have on your site will determine how many people will actually visit your site and what they might do there. If your design is not user-friendly or not truly reflective of your brand, then you’re not doing your company any favours.
Your website is your business card. Potential clients get the first impression of your brand and services when they visit your website. To improve the user experience and get more people to visit your site, you need to design it strategically.
It doesn’t matter what type of business you have or what niche market you’re targeting. A few fundamental principles of website design will help you create a modern, user-friendly design that quickly catches a reader’s attention.
In this article, we will explore what makes a good website, why it matters, and how websites have changed over the years. We will also provide some examples of excellent websites for inspiration.
What Makes a Good Website?
A good website is designed for the reader rather than the designer. The design should be easy to navigate, load quickly, look good, and be intuitive and consistent with your branding. All these factors are crucial for a good user experience.
However, it’s important to note that design is not solely about aesthetics. Good website design is about making it easy for visitors to find what they’re looking for and navigate the site without getting lost.
To make this happen, you need to consider these key factors:
- What are your visitors looking for?
- How are your visitors likely to interact with your site?
- What actions do they want or need to take?
Creating a business website is no easy feat. The same goes for an online presence that shoppers and potential customers will take notice of. But don’t worry, we got you covered!
8 Website Design Principles
Whether you’re redesigning an existing website or launching a new one, it’s essential to keep in mind these web design principles when planning your new site. They will help you create a website that is modern, intuitive, and easy to navigate.
1. Simple is best
The principle of simplicity is an integral part of any good website design. It is key to both the readability and usability of your website.
The latest trends in website design aren’t always the best ones. If you’re trying to stand out from the crowd, you’ll see people using many complicated elements and templates that are difficult to navigate.
You need to keep your designs simple so they’re clear and easy to use. Don’t use unnecessary details or elements and keep your website clean and clutter-free.
2. Consistency
Good design is consistent in every way. This means using the same fonts, colors, styles, and layouts throughout your website.
Consistency helps create a cohesive and professional look that reinforces your brand identity and message. It also makes it easier for visitors to recognize and remember your site.
3. Typography and readability
You can’t expect people to read your content if it doesn’t look appealing. Typography is the art of arranging text in a way that makes it legible, attractive, and engaging.
You need to choose fonts that are web-safe, meaning they are compatible across different devices and browsers. You also need to select appropriate font sizes and proper spacing to improve readability and make the text more visually striking.
4. Responsive and mobile friendly
More than half of all web traffic comes from mobile devices. This means that your website needs to adapt to different screen sizes and resolutions without compromising the quality or functionality of your site.
Responsive web design is a technique that allows your website to adjust its layout and content according to the device it’s viewed on. This ensures that your site looks good and works well on any device, whether it’s a desktop, laptop, tablet, or smartphone.
5. Color palette and imagery
Color is one of the most powerful tools in web design. It creates visual interest, conveys emotions, and captures visitors’ attention.
You need to choose colours that match your brand’s personality and goals. You also need to use colours strategically to create contrast, highlight important elements, or evoke certain moods.
Imagery is another essential element of web design. Images can help illustrate your points, showcase your products or services, or tell a story. You need to use high-quality images that are relevant, engaging, and optimised for web performance.
6. Fast loading
No one likes waiting for a website to load. In fact, 40% of people abandon a website that takes more than 3 seconds to load.
A slow-loading website can hurt your SEO ranking, reduce your conversions, and increase your bounce rate. That’s why you need to optimise your website for speed and performance.
Some ways to improve your website loading time are:
- Compressing your images and files
- Minifying your code
- Using a content delivery network (CDN)
- Enabling caching
- Reducing the number of HTTP requests
7. Easy navigation
Navigation is how visitors move around your website and find what they’re looking for. A good navigation system should be clear, intuitive, and consistent.
You need to organise your content into logical categories and subcategories and use descriptive labels for your menus and links. You also need to provide a search function, a sitemap, and breadcrumbs to help visitors find their way around your site.
8. Communication
The main purpose of your website is to communicate with your visitors and persuade them to take action. Whether you want them to buy your products, subscribe to your newsletter, or contact you for a quote, you need to make it easy and compelling for them to do so.
You need to use clear and concise language that speaks to your target audience and addresses their needs and pain points. You also need to use effective call-to-action (CTA) buttons that tell visitors what to do next and why they should do it.
This can all seem very daunting and takes a lot of time, time that could be better spent on your products and customers. At Sea Brand, we specialise in developing modern, user-orientated websites that make your business stand out online. Request a free, no-obligation quote today.