Designing a standout website that meets all your needs and still gives a good user experience can be challenging. With so many different tools and techniques, it can be difficult to wrap your head around just what is considered best practice.
To make life easier, we have pulled together some of the do’s and don’ts of successful website design.
Do:
Be consistent
No one likes a brand or website that is not coherent; therefore, it is important to ensure that your website is consistent from the overall appearance to the content you are producing. Clear and consistent branding is essential for every company so you should ensure that your website aligns with what customers expect from you.
Make it easy to use
It is important to remember that what makes sense to you in the design process might not translate easily to the user.
Try and ensure that headings, navigation and calls to action are clear to make the user experience as seamless as possible. The last thing you want is to put huge efforts into your marketing, only to deter people when they make it to your website because it is overly complicated, and they cannot find what they are looking for.
Check your grammar
Having good grammar on your website makes sense as it will improve the overall readability of your content. It can also impact the trust a customer has for you as poor grammar does not come across as professional.
Have someone else read your content before publishing to make sure there is not a grammar mistake you have missed. If this is not an option, some online apps and extensions can do this for you, such as Grammarly or Writer.
Don’t:
Make it too busy
There is nothing worse than a website that has too much going on, causing the user to not know where to look or what to click. This does not just relate to being busy content-wise; it can be an overuse of colour and fonts as well, making it difficult to read or focus on. Utilise white space to give the user a break from content and allow them to be directed to what matters.
Add unnecessary features
It might be tempting to add music or voice-over features to your website to stand out from the crowd. However, the reality is not going to add anything positive to the user experience and will slow down the load speed of a page which will only deter users.
Instead, have a video that the user can choose to play if they want to or just put what you want to say in the content which allows the user to pick out the parts of it that are relevant to them.
Use unrelated images or video
Just because a picture is nice does, not mean it belongs on your website.
Videos and pictures should enhance the content and can be an effective way to catch the attention of the user. Therefore, it is important to ensure that the images and videos featured on your website relate to the content and the message you are trying to convey.
Not sure about how to make your website design right for your business? We can help! Check out our portfolio and get in touch to see how our team can bring your project to life.