Did you know that nearly 50% of businesses fail within the first five years? The good news is that there are steps you can take in order to prevent this scenario.
One of the most important responsibilities that you have as a business owner is creating a high-quality website.
Not only will this provide a better customer experience, but it will also help you increase sales as time goes on. However, not everybody understands website design best practices that they need to keep in mind.
Let’s explore everything you need to know so that you can make the most of this opportunity.
1. Keep Your Branding Consistent
As you may assume, branding is one of the most important attributes of a quality website.
After all, it’s the foundation of your business and the first thing people encounter when they interact with your company. In context, the iconography and color palette should remain consistent throughout your entire site.
Put simply, the user should have the same experience in terms of aesthetics and overall feel no matter what part of your site they visit.
For example, a common mistake entrepreneurs make is creating a landing page that does not align with other branding elements. Not only can this be offputting to your audience, but it will also make the landing page seem much more salesy as opposed to an offer that they can take advantage of.
So, be sure that you keep this information in mind when moving forward.
2. Fluid Navigation
No matter how well-designed your site is aesthetically, it won’t mean much if people can’t use it easily.
Your website should be highly intuitive for new users. This means that everything on your site should be located where your audience expects it to be.
For example, people who are looking to search through your website for a specific product are not likely to scroll all the way to the bottom of the page in order to find a search bar. Important elements should always be at the top of the page instead.
Using the right language is also crucial.
If you throw too much jargon at your audience, they might not understand what you can offer them or how you can help. In some cases, they may even choose to work with a competitor instead.
So, make sure that your navigation is fluid and easy to understand.
3. Use High-Quality Visuals
In today’s digital age, people are bombarded with images and videos from all sides.
So, it’s important that you only use high-quality visuals on your website. Photos or videos should be clear and free of graininess.
In addition, they should be properly sized for your website. If you try to use an image that’s too small, it will appear pixelated and unclear. On the other hand, if you use an image that’s too large, it will make your website slower to load.
High-quality visuals Might seem difficult to incorporate at first. However, there are a number of options available.
If shooting your own content isn’t a viable choice, there are many different platforms that offer stock images. Regardless of the path you take, be sure that the photos you use meet your quality standards and are appropriate for your audience.
4. Use Negative Space
One of the best website design best practices that you can follow is to use negative space in your favor. This refers to the empty areas on your web pages.
Many people try to cram as much information as possible onto their pages, but this can actually be quite offputting to users. It can make your site seem cluttered and difficult to navigate.
Instead, you should use negative space to your advantage by including it in your design. This will help break up the different sections of your website and make it easier for people to digest the information that you’re trying to communicate.
When in doubt, less is often more. Don’t be afraid to incorporate more negative space throughout your site. It can have a strong impact on how enjoyable your site is for users to navigate.
5. Use Typography Effectively
The typography that you use on your website can either make or break your design. This is why it’s so important to choose a font that’s easy to read and easy on the eyes. You’ll also want to make sure that you’re using a large enough font size.
If people have to squint in order to read the text on your site, they’re likely to leave and find a different website that is more enjoyable to look through. In addition, you’ll want to use typography to create a hierarchy within your design. This means that you should use different font sizes and weights to emphasize certain pieces of information.
Doing so will make it easier for people to scan your website and find the information that they’re looking for.
6. Don’t Neglect Mobile Formatting
More people are using their mobile devices to access the internet than ever before. In fact, approximately 70% of all Internet traffic comes from mobile devices.
You can’t afford to neglect mobile formatting when designing your website. Your site should be just as easy to use on a mobile device as it is on a desktop computer. In practice, you’ll need to format your text and visuals in a way that’s easy to read on a smaller screen.
You should also make sure that your website loads quickly on mobile devices. People are likely to click away from a site if it takes too long to load, so this is something that you’ll need to keep in mind.
7. Take Advantage of Storytelling
Storytelling is one of the best ways to connect with your audience. People are more likely to remember a story than they are a list of facts.
When you’re designing your website, you should think about ways that you can incorporate storytelling into your design. This could be in the form of customer testimonials, case studies, or even just a blog post. Whatever form it takes, storytelling will help you connect with your audience on a deeper level.
This will serve as one of the most effective ways you can increase engagement with your audience.
8. Use Strong Calls to Action
Your website should have a clear purpose. For example, you may want somebody to sign up for a newsletter. You may also want them to take advantage of a promotional offer for one of your products.
Whatever your goal may be, make sure that it’s clear in your design. One of the best ways to do this is to use strong calls to action.
These are elements on your website that encourage people to take a specific action. They could be in the form of a button that says “Click Here” or a sign-up form for your newsletter.
Make sure that your CTAs are prominent and easy to find in every circumstance.
9. Keep Track of Your Site Speed
Site speed is one of the most important ranking factors for search engines. It’s also something that your website’s design will substantially influence.
If your site takes too long to load, people are likely to click away before they even have a chance to see your design. This is why it’s so important to keep track of your site speed and to make sure that it’s as fast as possible.
There are a few different ways that you can improve your site speed, such as optimizing your images and using a content delivery network.
10. Optimize For Search Engines
If nobody can find your site, then it doesn’t matter how good your design is.
This is why it’s so important to optimize your site for search engines. There are a few different ways that you can do this, such as using the right keywords and creating high-quality content.
You’ll also want to make sure that your website is easy to navigate and that all of your pages are accessible from the home page. Otherwise, you won’t be able to achieve the search ranking you’re after. This could cause you to fall behind your competition.
11. Simplicity Is Key
When it comes to website design, simplicity is will go a lot further than most people think.
You don’t want to overwhelm your visitors with too much information or too many visuals. It’s important to find a balance between the two.
Too much information can make your site seem cluttered and overwhelming, while too few visuals can make it seem boring. Find a middle ground that you’re comfortable with and stick to it.
12. Incorporate A/B Testing
A/B testing is a great way to figure out what’s working and what’s not on your website. This involves creating two different versions of your site and then seeing which one performs better.
You can test things like your call to action, your headline, or even your color scheme. A/B testing can be a great way to fine-tune your website and make sure that it’s as effective as possible.
These are just a few of the many website design best practices that you should keep in mind for 2022.
By following these tips, you can ensure that your site is up-to-date and that it performs well. If you’re not sure where to start, consider hiring a professional web designer.
They can help you create a site that looks great and functions properly.
13. Leverage Heatmaps
Heatmaps are one of the most important tools that you can use to improve your website design. They allow you to see how people are interacting with your site and what areas they’re spending the most time on. This information can be invaluable when it comes to making changes to your design.
If you notice that people are spending a lot of time on a specific area of your site, you can make changes to that area to improve its effectiveness. Heatmaps are available as both free and paid services.
14. Work With a Professional
Many business owners don’t have the resources or the knowledge to design a high-quality website on their own. If this is the case for you, consider working with a professional web designer.
They can help you create a site that looks great and functions properly. Professional web designers have the experience and the skills necessary to create a site that’s both visually appealing and easy to use.
When searching for a website designer to hire, be sure to ask for samples of their work.
This will give you a good idea of their skill level and help you determine whether or not they’re the right fit for your needs. It’s also essential for you to keep an eye out for feedback that might be genuine. Be sure you know how to recognize fake reviews so that you can avoid working with someone who can’t meet your needs.
15. Fix Broken Pages as Soon as Possible
If you notice that there are some pages on your site that aren’t loading properly, it’s important to fix them as soon as possible.
Broken pages can cause a number of problems for your business, including decreased traffic and lower search engine rankings. The good news is that this often only takes a bit of reconfiguration to resolve.
These Website Design Best Practices Are Crucial
Although incorporating website design best practices might seem daunting at first, it’s much more straightforward than many people believe. Keep these tips in mind and you’ll be well on your way to improving your website design.
Want to learn more about what we can do? Be sure to reach out to us today and see how we can help you.
