When you first start out with website design, there’s a lot that can go wrong. How do you even begin to know where to start, and what makes a website “great?”
There are principle guidelines every web designer should follow to produce a beautiful, simple, and interactive website that encourages visitors to stay there for as long as possible. Here are our top 6 recommendations to get you started.
Effortless Navigation
Navigating through the website should be easy for the viewer. When it becomes too difficult, you could risk them leaving the website to find a better one that helps with their needs, and you want to avoid that at all costs.
Seamless navigation from link to link and while scrolling through each page should be without fault. Even the way you position text and image elements may impact how a user interacts with your website.
Readability
If a website is too challenging to read or is over-complicated, no one will bother to stick around. Be direct with your message and tailor the content specifically to your ideal audience, so it speaks to them in their language.
This way, you can prevent them from feeling hassled by reading complex blocks of text and unnecessary filler words. Make it simple, to the point, and emphasise how you can help so that it is very clear to them.
Cohesive Display
Your branding should be cohesive and consistent across the website. Refrain from mixing colour palettes or creating a confusing message to the prospect by keeping a smooth, cohesive, and consistent selection of colours, words, and imagery.
For example, if you’re using soft, neutral tones, don’t suddenly go bold with a colour that is unnatural to the scheme. If you’re remaining professional with your text, don’t abruptly shift to a conversational tone.
Fast Loading Speeds
Websites with fast loading speeds set themselves up for immediate success. If your audience is waiting around for a page to load, they won’t waste their time on your business and will look for a quicker, more efficient alternative.
Optimising your website’s speed can include many factors, such as image sizes, unnecessary clutter, page resources, the hosting provider, and server software. It may also be affected by website traffic, so ensure your site is built to withstand high amounts of visitors.
Mobile Optimisation
Today, many consumers depend on their phones for browsing the web and accomplishing various daily tasks.
With that in mind, your website should be optimised for mobile use, including the speed, navigation, and layout. Before launching your website, confirm that it works just as effectively on mobile devices as it does on the computer!
Overall Clarity
Poor quality and clarity of a website immediately tell the visitor that you aren’t professional. You want the images, typography, and every other element to be defined.
A clean website with rich clarity and sharpness is impacted by the “pixels” on that site. Your CSS needs to be perfect to guarantee clarity, and if that has you confused, there are plenty of web design Sunshine Coast experts around to help you out with the backend side of running a website, including the CSS.
Now that you have a guide to follow, you can start making your website around these fundamental goals to ensure you have the best chance of success – whatever your intent may be.