The first impression is what counts and when it comes to designing or redesigning your website, aesthetics is one of the most important aspects. If you have recently thought about redesigning your company's website and questions such as: Does the blue tone look good? Why don't I place the logo on the right side of the page instead? What if I put an animated GIF in the center? Then you are in the right place.
In case you are trying to make an impact with your website, you need to focus more on how it looks. The reason? There is no other reason than the fact that we are in a world where people have a billion websites to navigate, therefore you need to make sure that your page layout is optimized for the use and experience of the user friendly.
Next, we explain 3 golden rules to design or redesign your website and not die trying:
Design or redesign your website in three steps
1) Simplicity
Appearance is very important, but most of the people who come to your website do not do it to evaluate how well or badly it is designed. On the contrary, they are there to complete an action, find information or better yet, hire your services.
Adding unnecessary elements without any functional purpose just to improve the design will only make it more difficult for your visitors to navigate and find what they are looking for.
You can use simplicity in different ways and here are some of them:
Colors
Don't use too many. It is recommended to use a maximum of five different colors for the design of a web page.
Typefaces
The fonts you choose for the design of your website must be at least legible. And when it comes to colors, you shouldn't use too many.
A very common recommendation is to use a maximum of three different fonts and a maximum of three different sizes.
Graphics
Add graphics to your web page only when they fulfill a specific function: help users to perform an action, explain information in detail, and so on. Avoid placing them just because.
2) Visual Hierarchy
The visual hierarchy is closely linked to simplicity, since it involves the placement and organization of the elements of the website in such a way that visitors are able to look at the most important aspects first.
Remember that the goal is to get your visitors to complete an action in a natural and enjoyable way. Therefore, it adjusts the position, color, or size of certain elements.
3) Navigability
Intuitive navigation on your website is crucial to ensure that visitors can find what they are looking for. Ideally, the user should be able to get where they want without having to think too much about where to click.
Some tips to optimize navigation on your website are:
- Keep the structure of your navigation simple (and near the top of the page).
- Include a navigation bar in the footer of the site.
- Use navigation trees on each page (except the home page) so that people know where they are at all times.
- Includes a search box at the top of the web page so that visitors can search by keywords.
- Include links within the pages and make it clear where these links redirect.
- Do not offer too many navigation options on the same page.
An aspect that should not be left out and that should also be part of the golden rules of your website is the consistency, which allows you not only to offer consistent browsing, but also integrate the general appearance of the site on all pages. Thus, the backgrounds, the color scheme, the fonts and even the writing style must be consistent for your page to have a positive impact.
That is not to say that every page on the site should have the same layout. Unlike, it is advisable to create different designs for each type of page, for example, a layout for landing pages, another for the blog, another for the online store, and so on.
As we said at the beginning of this article, the first impression is what counts and providing your potential clients with a friendly, attractive and easy-to-use website are fundamental aspects to achieve success.
If you have thought design or redesign your website and you don't know where to start, the Syncromind team of professionals is willing to advise you to make your expectations come true.