These 6 web design tips will help you stand out from the crowd. The web is a busy place with tons of websites. Doing these simple tips will help differentiate your site from the crowd.
Ever get the feeling that too many websites are alike? You are browsing the web, looking for answers to your burning questions or trying to find a certain piece of information and everything seems to look the same?
When you are designing a website, you need to think like the customer. People are on the web so frequently that they do not like to take the time to read huge articles and spend too much time trying to find what they’re looking for. If you cannot demonstrate to viewers that you have what they are looking for within a few short seconds, you could potentially lose their business.
So, how do you go about making them stay? How do you show them that your website is better than the others and that you are worthy of their time? You need to stand out. Give them something they haven’t seen before.
Check Out Websites Related to Yours For Inspiration
In order to give your visitors something unique, you must first know your competition. See what their websites look like. What colors are they using? What styles of font, background images and layouts are they using? Which ones stand out to you? Take your time on various websites and get a feel for what seems to be most popular but also what you think is the easiest to navigate and most appealing visually. Take these ideas to your website and tweak them to make them your own.
Pictures are Worth 1,000 Words
Having a website with only text is definitely going to make your visitors yawn. Have pictures to help capture the meaning of your website because they make your words more appealing. It is tiring to stare at a page for too long if all you are seeing is black and white.
Make sure to create headings, use bullet points and add other organization tools that make skimming your site easy. Oftentimes, people are stopping by to find something while in a hurry. If it seems as though the information may not be there for them, they may quickly move on. Change text colors, sizes and other features in order to grab and keep people’s attention.
Do Not Overload Your Pages
While being unique means standing out from the crowd, you don’t want to go overboard with it. Do not cram your pages full of too much information, too many links or too many photos. Take your time with each aspect of your website and your visitors are going to take notice.
Sometimes simplicity is the key. It truly is amazing how a site like Facebook for example could become so popular. There are not a ton of varying colors or ‘exciting’ visual aspects but customers come and they never seem to want to leave. Analyze what they’ve done and use it to inspire you to create a visually appealing website that functions quickly and simply.
Do not spend too much time placing flashy items on your pages. This is going to overload your viewer. You want their attention to be directed to the areas of your website that it counts most and keep them there.
Use Trends Sparingly
There are always going to be website development trends, and they are always going to be changing. If you want to use some of today’s most popular forms of font, navigation or photo placement; be our guest but do not overuse them. Find ways to incorporate them into your website without allowing them to take the focus off of your website’s purpose and what you are trying to convey to visitors.
Be Easy to Contact
Too many websites these days do not have an easy way to contact the admin and this can prove to be quite annoying. If customers have a question or would like to submit feedback, make sure they can easily do so. Do not make them work for it.
A lot of the times the best pieces of advice you are ever going to get as a web designer come from your visitors. It’s amazing how a simple comment can cause the spark necessary for an amazing idea that can change your website forever.
Creativity is Forever
Times are always changing. Trends come and go. However, creativity is what keeps websites current. Sometimes you must take a chance and do something that may seem off the wall in order to get the attention you desire. Risks can prove to get you far, but they can be quite intimidating.
By mixing up functionality, organization and creativity, you are going to have a website that is truly amazing. Of course, the quality of your content is important as well and over time, your site traffic is going to increase. Keep up the constant maintenance and you never know what you website could turn out to be in the future!
Did I miss anything? Shout out in the comments and let us know what you do to improve your website design.