When it comes to your website design, it must be bespoke to you and your business to really reinforce professionalism of your brand. This is why you’ll find thousands of companies opting for a build from scratch, rather than a quick, A to B creation from sites such as Wix and GoDaddy.
From start to finish, there’s a lot more preparation to building a bespoke website, and that’s where innovative website design comes in. For any aspiring developers, designers, or any creative minds who are looking for a new route to take their craft, below we’re here to enlighten you on the top tips when it comes to website design.
Whether, it’s a banner on their landing page, or a click through to the page through their navigation bar, it’s essentially second nature to users to know where to head once they’re on the landing page of a website.
This is because of the website design itself; the framework to any build. Unfortunately, however, there are some websites out there that use no CSS on their pages, with no understanding of their users’ journeys.
The user journey is the experience of exploring a site, and should always be simple, smooth, engaging and informative. Once someone has clicked through onto your website, you want to keep them there! Your website design should seamlessly lead users towards their desired destination, and this goes hand in hand with your own objectives.
Engaging visual elements and graphics and the impactful use of typography are all factors adding to the user’s experience as they navigate their way through your website. These interesting and intriguing elements to your website should all ultimately point your users to a call to action, encouraging them to engage with your website and with your brand.
Branding elements are key to leading the direction of your website design.
If a business has got it right, they’ve got an established and recognisable brand. Recognition is key to building a sustainable and established online presence. Design elements of your brand need to be frequently featured throughout your website design. Branding colours, typography, as well as mirroring the shape and distinguishable iconographic features of the branding will all create a strong and streamlined online presence for your business.
When you’re designing a website, always have some form of branding guidelines to inform each visual element to your website design. Users will relate these first impressions to how a business operates and that is why design is extremely important to attain a remarkable first impression of your organisation as a whole.
Finally, keep written content to a minimum as this will allow for more interesting and engaging design choices to help the site flow and overall aesthetics.
Many users actually spend an incredibly short amount of time on each page, so grabbing their attention immediately is key. Users often scan website pages, to find the information they’re looking for. In website design, the written content is there to give people exactly what they want to know: who, what, where, and how.
In website design, the written content is there to give people exactly what they want to know: who, what, where, and how. People will scan read until they find the information they want and need, so it’s essential that your website copy is clear and concise, as well as easy to understand.
Easy to read, bitesize informative displays is the best way to display the copy on your website. This can be done by utilising more visual elements to represent information such as infographics, illustrations, and even short-form animations. Easing the consumption of information for site users in this way allows for more information to be digested quickly and efficiently. This, in turn, will encourage users to stay on and explore the site further, reducing bounce rates and increasing conversions.
Following these tips for wonderful website design will ensure your users enjoy an engaging and seamless journey through your website, ultimately encouraging them to take action by following your calls to action.
Website design and development are two entirely different tasks, but both go hand in hand for the winning recipe to a brilliantly designed, bespoke build.
Here at Mantra, our design team are experts in their craft of website design and development. Get in touch with us through any of our social media channels or email hello@mantrahq.com for a website design that’ll work wonders for your business!