How many times have you looked at a website and thought to yourself “I wish mine looked that good”?
From layout to graphic design, there are so many elements that turn a good website into a great website and that is why we are sharing these tips, tricks and techniques with you so that you too can have a website that people will want to flock to.
Website design can be intimidating, especially if you don’t know much about it but don’t worry as we are going to share some basic skills that that will have a positive impact on your website performance and help you get more sales.
Navigation
One of the most important aspects of great web design is to make it very easy for your visitors to navigate round your site. Include a navigation bar or menu system on every page as most of your visitors will expect to find these elements either across the top or down the left hand side of your web pages. It is also a good idea to include a navigational footer at the bottom of your site with all of your web pages but ensuring that it flows well with the rest of your page and doesn’t distract your visitor.
When you have a simple and easy to navigate site your visitors will be in less of a hurry to leave your site. On the other hand, if your site is difficult for them to find the information that they are looking for they will get frustrated and leave. They will make sure that they never visit your site and again and you will have lost a potential customer.
Consistent Design
Another important aspect of great web design is the visual appeal of your site. To look good you have to ensure that the site has a consistent flow through the entire site.
That means that the colors, fonts, graphics, and content must match and be consistent.
Use the Same Fonts
Nothing makes a website look more unprofessional and messy than having too many different fonts on the same site. For a professional look it is best to use basic fonts like Arial, Verdana, and Times New Roman, especially if your site is a business to business website and you are trying to present a professional corporate image.
That said, it is okay to incorporate two or three font types into your design but it is important to keep in mind that you want your visitors to be able to concentrate on the information that you want to get across and make it easy for them to read.
No Blocks of Text Please
It will be very off-putting and over-whelming if your visitors are greeted with a wall of blocks of text when they visit your site. It is a good idea to avoid long pages of text. Instead, present your content in short bite sized segments that are easy to read and break it up with bold headings (just as we have done with this article).
Optimize your Graphics
When adding graphics or photographs to your site try not to make the file size too large. If it is too large then your page will take too long to load. Your visitors are too busy. Nobody is going to hang around waiting for your site to load and they will leave. There are a number of tools that you can use to reduce the file size of your images before you upload them to your website.
Look Fantastic in Multiple Browsers
It might shock you to learn that the beautiful website that you can see at your end might look out of sync and disjointed at your visitors end. This is because not all browsers interpret the look and functions of your site exactly the same.
When designing a website it is very important to test it in multiple browsers like Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, and Firefox to ensure that it looks right and functions properly.
Another consideration to keep in mind is that your web design might look different on another operating system. What might look great on your PC in Google Chrome might not look as good on a Mac with Firefox.
An easy way to check the functionality of your site is to have as many as your friends and family test it on their systems before you start sending traffic to it. That way you can fix all of the bugs in advance before your potential customers visit the site.
Logos and Taglines
Always incorporate your logo and tagline prominently in the header of your website. A tagline is a slogan or statement that articulates what you and your website is about (e.g. FedEx – When it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight).
Using a clear tagline is important because when somebody visits your site you roughly have about 7 seconds to capture their attention and entice them to explore further.
Keep your tagline catchy, informative and offers a general summary of your site, product or service. It will give your site a professional and trustworthy look if you incorporate the logo and tagline on every page of your website.
Page Size
Keep your web pages short, sweet and to the point. Keep in mind that although most people have broadband there are still a number of households that don’t. The longer your page takes to load the more customers you will lose. Not only that but most people now view websites on their mobiles and tablets and in most cases they don’t want to scroll through reams and reams of content.
Provide Useful Resources
People love useful resources and including a page with a variety of resources that you think your target audience will find useful will be very popular.
Your resource page will not only be useful to your visitors but will attract the search engines too which will bring even more visitors to your website. As an extra way to boost your revenue you could even include in the mix some links related to affiliate products that would be of interest to your visitors.
Collecting Feedback
An excellent way to improve content on your site and to give the right service and products that your customers want is to have an option where they can leave feedback. By giving your customers a voice it will encourage them to return to your site and continue the conversation.
Make it Searchable
Include a search element that allows visitors to search within your site content. Many visitors come to your looking for something in specific and if they have a particular mission in mind the first thing they will look for is the search box.
White Space
Don’t be afraid to have lots of white space on your website. If you clutter up your web pages with too many images or too much text it will only put off your visitors and annoy them. The white space will help make the important points on your page stand out more.
Proof Read Everything
Typos can a be a real killer for any website. If your visitors and potential customers find spelling mistakes and grammatical errors on your site they will come to the conclusion that you and your website are unprofessional. It will also knock their confidence in using your services or buying from you. Always use a spell checker and have it proofread before publishing.
Mobile Friendly
Millions of people now access the Internet from their mobile devices and if you want your site to look good on them it is important to have a mobile friendly version of your website. Again, the important thing to remember when designing for mobile is to keep your website layout simple and professional.
Build Trust
Visitors want to feel safe when it comes to purchasing products online. Building trust with your customers is very important so be sure to let them know that you personally care about the product or service you are providing them. One of the ways that you can do this is to use testimonials from your happy customers.
In conclusion….
Web design doesn’t have to be complicated. Some methods might be more difficult than others but as long as you keep it simple and use the various tips and techniques mentioned in this article you will have a website that customers will want to enjoy visiting and will convert them from visitors to buyers.
Your website needs persuasive valuable content to attract visitors. It also helps to ensure that your website is indexed properly with the search engines. Most of the time visitors seek out a particular website because they are looking for information. By providing them with good content it will ensure that your visitors have a pleasant, memorable experience and will make them want to visit your site more often.
Creating and maintaining a popular website can be time consuming and we realise that many small businesses don’t have the time and resources to spend to look after their sites.
We have a number of plans available that will not only look after your website but will also help it to rank highly in the search engines. If you would like us to look at your website or help you to create one please don’t hesitate to contact us today.
