Website design has come a long way since the inception of the web both in simplicity and attractiveness. Here we discuss effective website design tips for beginners.
Long gone are the days of having to have at least a basic understanding of hypertext markup language, commonly referred to as HTLM coding.
Now software programs, commonly referred to as “website builders,” basically drag and drop editors that virtually anyone can learn to use and create a website.
In today’s digital world, a website is one of the most important tools a business can have.
If a business does not have an online presence, customers will often pass you by in favour of a company that does.
As the average person spends around seven seconds on a website that does not immediately capture their attention, you must know the difference between a bad website, a good one and a great one.
To help you get started, here are some top website design tips for beginners:
Beginning Steps in Creating a Website
1) Web Design Process
The most important part of the web design process is knowing the purpose of your website as this will determine the type of site you need to create. The three basic types of websites are:
• Sites that are meant only to make people aware of your business.
• Sites that are online stores used to sell merchandise.
• Sites that are a combination of the two.
2) Understand Your Target Market
As everything revolves around identifying who your customers are, your target market must be clearly identified. This is because knowing your market will have an impact on all aspects of the design process that includes your theme, content, networking efforts and being listed in search engine results.
3) Perform Research
Spend some time looking at other websites that are in your business sector. When you find well-designed sites that capture your attention, take notes on the style, layout and design features that work as well as the ones that don’t.
4) Selecting a Domain Name
As this is how you will come to be known on the web, your domain name should incorporate your business name. If this is not possible for some reason, try to pick a name that reflects the nature of your site. Also, try to keep your domain name a short as possible.
Vital Elements to Include in any Website
- Contact Information
- Business Name
- Business Address
- Business Phone Number
- Business Email
- Business Hours
- Services or Products Offered
- General Company Overview
- Company Logo
- Navigation (Site Menu)
- Content
Middle Steps in the Web Design Process
1) Decide on the Content Voice and Style
Any website should contain high-quality and SEO optimized content to attract more readers. Whether that’s a blog relevant to the company’s industry, detailed information on products or services, or brief company history, having content will provide customers with more information on the company, and the content will improve the website’s rankings on search engines.
2) Think about the Web Design’s Visuals
From header photos to incorporating the company’s logo, it’s important to think about the visuals of a website design. You can use stock photos or take photos yourself. You should make sure the images used match the web design’s overall aesthetics and are not copyright protected.
Website Design Tips
1) White Space
Don’t get so caught up with colour and photos that you forget to leave white space around each element. Like rooms in a house with neutral-coloured walls, white space on a website gives it a clean and crisp look and keeps visitors from becoming overwhelmed with too many busy details. You should check the latest graphic design trends for your website design.
2) Fewer Fonts are Best
Just like not having enough white space, a website with a lot of different fonts will look messy and unorganized. The rule of thumb is one font for headings and another for the text body in the 12-to-16-pixel range.
3) Selecting Colours
Decide on a cohesive colour scheme for your site and stick to two or three complementary colours. Use these same colours on any buttons and make all buttons on the site the same colour. A good rule is to use the same colours in your logo if you have one.
Final Things to Add to Any Website
1) Search Engine Optimization
Optimizing your site for search results will help you get more traffic to your site. Most website editors will have at least basic keyword optimization or SEO tools and if you register and host your domain with seekahost.app you can access Google Analytics and Clicky inside the SeekaPanel to monitor all your website traffic data.
2) Interaction and Conversion Call to Action
A truly effective website will engage visitors as soon as they hit your landing page and influences their decision on whether to contact you. This is referred to as “conversion” and is your website’s entire reason for being. A “call-to-action,” or CTA, is a message that compels your visitors to act. This can be a simple as a single line that encourages customers to contact you or an enticing special offer or promotion.
Author Profile
- Taylor McKnight is a Digital PR Specialist representing clients across all business niches who enjoys content writing and marketing among other PR activities.
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