Keep these web design tips in mind when you’re creating your first website.

 

So you finally decided to build your own website. Congratulations! You’ve made an excellent decision! Let’s get going straight away. 


Here are some simple tips that will set you on the path to creating that stellar website you’ve always wanted, without all the unnecessary fluff that often slows you down.

1. Flat Design

 

Time and time again, experience shows us that people prefer simple websites. Who wants things to be complicated? In life, the simpler something is, the easier it is for people to understand and interact with it. That principle also applies to website design. When you think of simplicity on the web, chances are you are referring to the idea of “flat design.” 


Flat design is an approach that involves minimal two-dimensional (hence, flat) illustrations for desktop and for mobile. As such, it does not make use of elements like shadowed text, multi-colored backgrounds, different gradients, textures, and more.


Flat web design provides several advantages:

  • Improves your website’s readability
  • Minimizes distractions
  • Offers a faster loading speed
  • Good for SEO
  • Increases conversions

2. Easy Navigation and Sensible Layout

 

Users visit your website because they believe that your products, services, and offers can satisfy their needs or solve their problems. But if they can’t quickly find what they want to see or if you make them look long and hard for the information they need, they won’t hesitate to leave and look elsewhere.

 

The action of people leaving your website is called “bounce rate.” In digital marketing, having a high bounce rate means people who are visiting your website are leaving right away for one reason or another. Not great for getting new leads/clients.


It pays to make your website easy to use and navigate. Here are some tips:

  • Place the most important information in a prominent place on your website. On your homepage before the fold is a great spot!
  • Don’t force the reader to click through several pages to find what they want.
  • Don’t make your pages so long that the reader has to scroll down a lot to find what they are looking for. Keep a majority of your most relevant and important content above the fold! 
  • Make sure the header menu or page tabs are visible.- Use headings and sub-headings to divide large blocks of content.


In other words, when you build your website, make sure users can navigate through it intuitively.


Here’s a great article that provides simple tips to help you achieve a nice layout for your new website.

3. Simple, easy to read font


Nobody enjoys having to squint just to see what is written on a billboard or poster. You don’t want the same thing to happen on your own DIY website. Use a simple, easy-to-read font so your viewers don’t have a hard time reading the content you worked so hard to create. 


Simple fonts are ideal when it comes to effective website design. That’s because when viewing a web page, viewers tend to scan rather than actually read the content word for word until something catches their interest. Having large and readable fonts on your website ensures that they won’t miss important, interesting, and useful information that you want to convey.


Lastly, big fonts make it easier for readers to read your content on their phones. Obviously mobile devices have smaller screens than desktops. So having bigger fonts make it easier for the user of the device to read your content.

4. Responsive, high-quality, high-resolution images

 

According to Jessie Mawhinney of Hubspot, people are most likely to remember only 10% of the information they read or hear. But when that information is paired with a relevant image, that retention figure shoots up to 65%. 


That’s because human beings are visual creatures. We process visuals 60,000 times faster than plain text.


That is why high-quality imagery such as photos, charts, graphs, and infographics should be included when you build your website. A relevant image coupled with a few words will allow people to easily digest your content in a simple way. Complex ideas, concepts, and processes can be difficult to understand in text but can be easier to explain using imagery.


Make sure your images are mobile responsive, meaning, they automatically adjust to the screen of your users’ device.


Capitalize on beautiful images; they are an easy way to make your website look attractive, unique, and amazing!

5. Videos

 

Video is massive when it comes to marketing. Take a look for yourself. 


So, it’s pretty simple… Include videos in your website. Videos can be even more effective than still images because videos are “warm” media, which means that the viewer gets to experience movement and audio. Warm media provides a more interactive feel than stagnant images.


With those basic concepts in mind, you can start to craft an attractive and simple website that provides the right information quickly and easily for your viewers. 


Don’t wait to build your online brand. With Folio Websites builder, you can make a beautiful and effective website in just a few minutes. Get started today!