It doesn’t matter what kind of website you own; whether you are selling products, generating new leads or getting users to sign up to a newsletter, there are some basic principles that your website should always follow.
These best practices will make your website engaging and efficient, which will help to draw lots of new users in. This is very important if you want to grow and expand your brand.
Here are two basic principles that every website should follow:
Go for a simple, optimised website design
It can be tempting to add lots of features to your website, such as Flash videos, complex web design and lots of colours, but in reality this is off-putting to users. This is because complex features slow your website down, so it will take longer for each page to load – and users don’t have the patience to wait around, so if your web pages load slowly it is likely they will leave your website and visit a competitor’s page. It is also important to make sure that your website design is optimised for mobiles, as the majority of internet users are on their phone.
For this reason it is essential to make sure that your website is simple and efficient, rather than slow and complex. If you don’t know anything about web design, don’t worry; you can hire someone to do the job for you. This tends to be much quicker; web design specialists http://digi-tel.co.uk/gloucestershire-website-design/wordpress-web-design/ say that it is possible to create a website in a matter of weeks or months.
Make sure your website is consistent
Your website should be visually consistent throughout. Every page should use the same colours and a similar design, and the tone of voice should also be similar. This may sound like a difficult task, but in reality it is fairly easy to find a Gloucester website design agency that has experience creating consistent websites.
It is also essential to make sure that the mobile version of the website is consistent with the desktop browser version. After all, lots of customers will check out your website on both their mobile and their computer, so if the website looks different on their mobile they might think that it belongs to a different company and leave the website.
Space, readability and familiar navigation
Good content and up to date design are not enough on their own. A professional website needs a clear idea of what visitors are supposed to do, and every element should help them do it. Keep the homepage uncluttered, as first impressions form quickly and plenty of white space helps people focus on what matters.
Use design to shape the journey rather than just to decorate. Strips, larger headers and a consistent grid show people where to look and help them find content on every page. Writing should be clear and get to the point fast, because most people skim online and many never finish an article.
Stick to the conventions users expect. The logo should sit in the same place on every page and take visitors back to the homepage when clicked, and links should not open new browser windows without a very good reason. Web design keeps evolving, so treat the site as something to keep improving rather than a finished job.