Website Design 101
For those who are just starting out on the internet, welcome to an exciting world where anything is possible. However, it will require some smart choices if you want to create opportunities, and the design aspect of your site will be included. That’s right, your choices of how the site ultimately looks and functions can dictate whether users are going to like it or not, and here are some considerations to keep in mind. More specifically, here is what you need to know about web design.
The Website Design Needs To Be Functional
Initially, you might think that you should prioritize the visual appeal above everything else. And why shouldn’t you? Ugly websites don’t usually do well. But when the visual appeal is taking away from the functionality of the site, you are looking at definite problems.
For example, it doesn’t help to have a site that looks stunning, but it’s impossible to navigate. When users can’t easily browse between the pages, they are going to get frustrated and leave, seeing as the design itself will only entertain them for so long. The point is you shouldn’t just focus on making the site look good. Of course, you want users to talk about it and share links, but it might even be more important to present users with a fun and functional site.
The Responsiveness Of The Site
Everyone understands the concept that different devices are used to access the internet. From Apple phones to laptops and tablets, all these devices run on different systems and screen dimensions. And that means the user experience for searching the net will be different for everyone using a different device.
It is up to you to ensure the design or theme for your site is able to adapt to these platforms. Mainly, you want to tap into as many traffic sources as possible. But it’s also about giving the user the best possible experience. And if you don’t cater to mobile users, for example, chances are they will leave you out of search results. And it will just be based on the responsiveness of the design.
SEO Elements
The responsiveness of the design is just one of the search engine visibility aspects you need to remember. In fact, several of the things that have already been mentioned can be associated with search ranking purposes. Do yourself a big favour and get familiar with the connection. Understand how web design is going to influence your ranking and try to address every challenge that comes your way.
Because you always want the site to be geared and optimized for visibility, and the design is no small matter. A good example would be the loading speed of the site. Users don’t really like to wait anything more than two seconds for a page to load, and when it takes longer they tend to abandon the site altogether. The result is a high bounce rate and a lower ranking, just because the loading speed of the site is slow.
Address this problem by checking how many plugins you have running and whether they are all updated. Also, check if you have pop-ups or ads that might slow down the speed. Either way, don’t use anything in the design that can slow it down.
Visually Appealing Web Designs
Earlier it was said that a site should be functional. When users land, they shouldn’t feel overwhelmed or confused. Instead, they should feel excited about what they see and experience. And while it is important to maintain functionality, you want to stand out from the competition.
A very popular trend these days is the minimalist approach. Only adding the necessary visual elements to motivate user engagement is all you need. In other words, instead of trying to be extravagant and slow down the site, be effective and keep the loading speed high. Make everything easy find, but make it look good because even your colour choices are going to be important.
If you are really serious about your website, you should consider hiring a professional designer. They already know about all of the above, and a lot more. Plus, they stay up to date with the latest trends, so advice from them can prove to be invaluable.
SOURCE: Web Design NI design and build beautiful websites in Northern Ireland. If you need a new website, or even just a 2nd opinion you can visit their site – http://niwebdesign.net