Website design is an essential aspect of any online presence, and it plays a crucial role in both user experience and search engine optimisation. In this blog post, we will be discussing the 10 best practices that you should keep in mind when designing a website.
Keep it simple: A clean and uncluttered design is crucial for a great user experience. Avoid using too many colours, fonts, and images that can make the website look overwhelming and confusing. Stick to a simple colour scheme and use a limited number of fonts to create a consistent and cohesive look. By keeping it simple, you can ensure that your website is easy to navigate and that the focus remains on the content.
- Keep it simple: A clean and uncluttered design is crucial for a great user experience. Avoid using too many colours, fonts, and images that can make the website look overwhelming and confusing. Stick to a simple colour scheme and use a limited number of fonts to create a consistent and cohesive look. By keeping it simple, you can ensure that your website is easy to navigate and that the focus remains on the content
- Make navigation easy: A website’s navigation is the backbone of its design. It should be intuitive and easy to use. Make sure that the main navigation menu is prominently placed and that links are clearly labelled. Also, consider adding a search bar to make it easy for users to find what they’re looking for. A clear and easy-to-use navigation structure will help visitors to find the information they need quickly and easily, which will improve their overall experience on the site.
- Use high-quality images and videos: High-quality images and videos can make a website stand out and attract more visitors. Use images and videos that are relevant to the content of the website and make sure they are properly optimised for the web. This means compressing them to reduce their file size without sacrificing quality, and using appropriate file types. High-quality images and videos can create a more engaging and visually appealing experience for visitors, which can help to keep them on the site for longer and increase the chances of them taking a desired action.
- Optimise for mobile: With the increasing number of people accessing the internet through mobile devices, it’s essential to make sure your website is mobile-friendly. This means ensuring that the website layout and design adjust to different screen sizes and that all the content is easily readable and accessible on a mobile device. With the majority of web traffic now coming from mobile devices, it’s crucial that your website is optimised for mobile to provide the best possible user experience.
- Pay attention to typography: Typography plays a crucial role in website design. It can affect readability and the overall aesthetic of a website. Use easy-to-read fonts and make sure that the font size is large enough for users to read comfortably. Experiment with different font styles and sizes to find the perfect balance between readability and visual appeal. It’s also important to ensure that your website is accessible to users with visual impairments by using a suitable font size and providing alternative text for images.
- Optimise for Search Engine: Search engine optimisation (SEO) is the process of making your website more visible on search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo. This means using relevant keywords in your website’s content, meta tags, and images, as well as creating quality backlinks to your site. When you optimise your website for search engines, you can help more people find your website through organic search results, which can lead to more traffic and more business.
- Incorporate social media: Social media is an important part of online marketing and can be a great way to promote your website and engage with your audience. Make it easy for visitors to find and follow your social media profiles by adding social media icons to your website’s footer or sidebar. You can also include social media share buttons on your website’s pages, so visitors can easily share your content on their own social media profiles.
- Add a call-to-action: A website’s main goal is to convert visitors into customers. A call-to-action (CTA) is a button or link that prompts visitors to take a specific action, such as making a purchase, signing up for a newsletter, or filling out a contact form. Make sure your CTAs are prominently placed and clearly labeled, so visitors know exactly what they should do next. Use action-oriented language and make the CTA button stand out visually, so it’s easy to find. Also, consider testing different CTA placement and wording to see which performs best.
- Use whitespace effectively: Whitespace, also known as negative space, is the area around and between elements on a webpage. It helps to create a sense of balance and hierarchy, and it makes the content on the page more legible. Use whitespace effectively by giving elements on the page room to breathe, and by using it to create visual interest and separate different sections of the page.
- Test and refine: Website design is an ongoing process, and it’s important to continually test and refine your design. Use tools like Google Analytics to track user behavior on your website and see where visitors are dropping off or getting stuck. Use this information to make changes to the design and improve the user experience. You can also conduct user testing to get feedback directly from your target audience, and make changes based on their feedback.
By following these best practices, you can create a website that is visually appealing, easy to navigate, and optimised for both mobile and desktop devices. This will help to ensure that your website provides the best possible user experience and can attract more visitors. Remember, a good website design is crucial for the success of your online presence, so make sure to invest the time and effort necessary to create a website that meets the needs of your target audience and effectively communicates your brand message. Additionally, it’s important to keep in mind that website design is constantly evolving, so make sure to stay up-to-date with the latest trends and best practices, and keep testing and refining your design to ensure that it continues to meet the needs of your visitors.