The biggest tool that can be used to influence many decisions nowadays is, without a doubt, the internet, including the construction of websites. However, despite what most people may believe, designing a great website is not very difficult at all.
Many individuals such as business owners use websites to help make their businesses gain more attention. If you are a business owner yourself, your website should be as appealing as possible, especially if you want to keep your customer base intact.
Your business will obtain more credibility if the website for it is visually appealing to people. If you own a business and you do not have a website for it, any potential clients that you may wish to obtain will receive a bad impression of your business. This makes a website a basic necessity for your business to thrive.
There are many websites who have not taken the opportunity to catch up to all of the aspects of modern-day design. On the contrary, the vast majority of their time has been spent on tasks such as optimizing and marketing. However, by utilizing some great website design ideas, you will be able to use these modern-day options to your own advantage.
Here are some useful and great website design tips that you can follow and make note of in order to make your own website a success.
Set your goals
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Before beginning construction of your website, it’s essential that you determine what all of your overall goals should be. Ask yourself questions regarding what exactly it is that you wish to achieve and what the main purpose of your website is.
If you aren’t able to easily answer these, it’s important that you discuss these issues with others and work them out in order to establish a clear direction.
Websites should never be considered pieces of art. Rather, they should be considered interfaces that serve particular functions, whether that function is to provide useful information, sell a certain product, providing access to services, etc. Make sure that whatever function you wish to establish is able to be fulfilled successfully.
Start by sketching on paper
Image source: Cristina Robinson
Oftentimes, many individuals who are looking to design a website will typically jump right into editing programs such as Photoshop before taking the time to actually think about all of the issues that they are trying to resolve. Clear hierarchies and good website layouts are required in order to resolve these issues – not effects such as color gradients.
Begin by establishing a framework that is nothing short of top-level that can solve any design issues that you may be experiencing. This is something that essentially surrounds all of your content and allows for actions to be performed and areas to be navigated with bottom bars and sidebars.
Design for your audience
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The biggest and most important aspect that will determine how well your website looks and performs is your target audience. Aspects such as age, gender, and profession can be what can help to influence the overall design of your website.
For example, if you are designing a website that is centered more around a computer game, it should be designed in a manner that is less serious than that of a publication such as a business journal.
Make it goal-driven, not eye candy
Image source: Daria Nepriakhina
One of the most important questions that you can ask yourself in terms of designing your website is how you can make the most basic design decisions sync with your overall strategy. One great example of this is to make links and/or buttons stand out by making them different colors and/or contrasts, which will allow your users to find them easily. All in all, your website should be usable in such a way that virtually anyone young or old can use it whenever they want.
Color scheme
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When you begin the process of selecting typefaces for your website, it’s important that you choose the specific colors that you wish to use on various areas such as the background, user interface, and text.
Depending on the overall functionality of your website, these should be applied consistently across the user interface and, provided they do not interfere with the overall functionality of any and all components, there should be zero restrictions on colors used for graphic details and other illustrations.
Pay attention to typography
Image source: Elegant Seagulls
One of the most normal portions of the discovery phase of constructing a website is the exploration of various colors and typefaces. Generally, it is recommended that no more than two different typefaces be used on one page; however, this really depends on the preferences of the individual designing it. In the end, you will want to concentrate on selecting a typeface that is not only legible, but also one that is rather playful at the same time.
Details matter
Image source: Suthan S
Regardless of what sort of specific design project that you’ve taken on in your life, chances are you have always been told that details matter. This is a statement that most definitely applies to website design; however, it’s important to note that all details may not be very visible in the final product.
For instance, details could come in the form of small interactions, animations, or various color gradients. If you are truly enjoying what you are doing, then you can be assured that this kind of a touch is both natural and essential.
Details such as color gradients are able to add a sense of dimension without appearing to be tacky in any way. These kinds of gradients should always be subtle, and it’s important to always keep that particular word in mind, utilizing it only when it is necessary to do so.
All in all, you will want to concentrate on details as much as you possibly can, working over them until they feel right to you.
Always improve
As with any kind of creative project, you will often find the need to make improvements. This is especially no different in terms of designing a great website, where this is something that you will be able to do at virtually any time you wish as opposed to something such as a magazine publication. With websites, you will be able to identify any problem areas and correct any mistakes that you find with them right away.