A poorly designed website can leave your visitors and frustrated. The user experience should be a driving force behind all design decisions. You don’t have to be a professional designer with an eye for the exquisite to build a stunning site. Keep things simple, intuitive, and with the end user in mind. Take advantage of website builders to speed up the process and these few rules in mind:
The Right Fonts
Avoid using more than three fonts. Too many fonts can make a site look messy and unprofessional. You should have a separate font for headers, content body, and one other element like calls-to-action or your logo. If your brand demands only one font, that is fine, too. Also, pay attention to font size. It should be legible without being overbearing.
Check out article about Modern FONTs for UI Designs
Colors
You should always select a color scheme for your website that is one brand. It needs to have a cohesive color tone that is pleasant to look at. Just like fonts, too many different colors is off-putting. All call-to-action buttons should be the same color and should pop on the page. The should not be gaudy, but they should draw attention.
A good starting place is your logo. If it has a primary color, use a color palette to select two to three complementary colors. There are even online tools that can help with this.
White Space
Don’t be afraid of white space. Crazy colors all over the place are distracting. Bold, busy colors draw people’s attention away from what you really want them to see. Use the white space to guide your visitors to focus on what you want them to focus on. It also gives your site a cleaner overall appearance.
The Grid
Grid systems are leaning towards intermediate knowledge, but they make a big difference when it comes to website design. You want every text box, image, button, and section to be aligned perfectly.
Mobile-Friendly
It is imperative that your website is mobile-friendly. This is where responsive design comes into play. A grid system is important for responsive design. This system allows sites to adjust to any screen size.
Content Hierarchies
Subhead hierarchies help break up text into digestible pieces. Pages full of text can appear overwhelming to visitors. Content is easier to scan if headers and bullets are used appropriately.
Navigation
Navigation should be simple and easy to find on every page. Your logo should provide an easy way to click back to your homepage. If visitors have trouble getting around, they are unlikely to find what they are looking for and won’t come back. Keep things simple and intuitive.
Professional Photos
Don’t skimp when it comes to photography on your site. It looks unprofessional when you use free stock photos that everyone else is using. Pay the extra money for professional stock photographs that set your site apart from the competition. You can create your visual content. Make sure that all your images stay true to your brand.
Website Builder
There are many website builders that make designing a website easy. They incorporate many of these design tips so you get a good-looking website with simple drag and drop features. They typically apply content management system principles to create a clear distinction between design and content. Most platforms don’t require any coding skills. They can be time-efficient and cost-effective. One drawback is you are limited when it comes to some design elements.
Designing a website doesn’t have to be hard. Keep things simple and avoid overuse of fonts and colors. Use your brand and logo as a template. Always keep users in mind. If your site is hard to navigate, illegible, or too busy, visitors may leave before they even know what you have to offer. If web design seems like more than you wish to take on at this time, consider using a website builder to simplify the process.
