A website can have the absolute greatest content and value on the internet, but it won’t succeed if it is poorly designed. Web design is an often-overlooked factor in the success of any business and having a great looking and intuitive website can give you a leg up on your competition.
There are thousands and thousands of websites out there, so standing out in the crowd can prove to be quite difficult. With that in mind, this article will take a look at some helpful tips to design a website that looks great, while still being functionally sound.
Site Navigation Should Be Simple
When it comes to creating your website, simplicity is key. No one wants to have to navigate a confusing site. If someone wants to see anything from your history, to your services, or your contact information, it should all be quick and easy to find.
The harder a site is to navigate and maneuver, the quicker that people will look elsewhere. You should have a clearly marked menu or bar at the top of your home page that makes it easy for people to select where they want to go.
Make Sure Your Site is Mobile-Friendly
Nowadays, seemingly everyone has and uses a mobile phone. In fact, well over half of the entire population of the Earth has a mobile phone connection. This amount is only expected to grow in the coming years as well.
As a result, there are many people using their phones as their primary means of browsing the internet. If you website isn’t optimized for mobile devices, you will lose a lot of visitors and potential customers.
Pick Your Colors and Stick With Them
Colors play a very important role in web design and can make or break the success of your website. The most important thing here is to be consistent with whichever colors you decide to pick.
If you are constantly changing the look and color of your website in a major way with every different page, it can look sloppy As for what colors you should choose, that is up to you, and depends on the sort of message or feeling you want to convey with your website.
Font is Crucial
While font selection might be the last thing on your mind when designing a website, it shouldn’t be. The font can not only dictate how your site and content look, but also how easy they are to read. Generally, there are two font families you can choose from: Serif vs. Sans Serif.
Serif are those little lines or extensions some letters will have (such as in Times New Roman). Sans Serif means that the font won’t have those projecting points (such as Arial). Generally, Sans Serif fonts are easier to read on a screen, so your website should have a font from that family.
However, don’t be afraid to experiment with different fonts for different pages or uses, but try not to use more than three different fonts on your site.
Enlist the Help of a Professional
Learning about web design and its various intricacies and nuances can be a difficult and painstaking process. While there are many guides out there, sometimes it isn’t worth you time to learn and oftentimes going with a professional is the right thing to do to make sure your site shines.
Using a website or service like the The Web Shop can be a great way to ensure your website is built and designed by people who know web design best and have your best interests in mind. These services can often be a one-stop-shop for web design, SEO and web hosting, so everything will be done for you.