Websites that are not well designed tend to perform
poorly and have sub-optimal Google Analytics metrics (e.g. high bounce rates,
low time on site, low pages per visit and low conversions). So what makes good
web design? Below we explore the top 10 web design principles that will make
your website aesthetically pleasing, easy to use, engaging, and effective.
1. PURPOSE
Good web design always caters to the needs of the user.
Are your web visitors looking for information, entertainment, some type of
interaction, or to transact with your business? Each page of your website needs
to have a clear purpose, and to fulfill a specific need for your website users
in the most effective way possible.
2. COMMUNICATION
People on the web tend to want information quickly, so it
is important to communicate clearly, and make your information easy to read and
digest. Some effective tactics to include in your web design include:
organising information using headlines and sub headlines, using bullet points
instead of long windy sentences, and cutting the waffle.
3. TYPEFACES
In general, Sans Serif fonts such as Arial and Verdana
are easier to read online (Sans Serif fonts are contemporary looking fonts
without decorative finishes). The ideal font size for reading easily online is
16px and stick to a maximum of 3 typefaces in a maximum of 3 point sizes to
keep your design streamlined.
4. COLOURS
A well thought out colour palette can go a long way to
enhance the user experience. Complementary colours create balance and harmony.
Using contrasting colours for the text and background will make reading easier
on the eye. Vibrant colours create emotion and should be used sparingly (e.g.
for buttons and call to actions). Last but not least, white space/ negative
space is very effective at giving your website a modern and uncluttered look.
5. IMAGES
A picture can speak a thousand words, and choosing the
right images for your website can help with brand positioning and connecting
with your target audience. If you don’t have high quality professional photos
on hand, consider purchasing stock photos to lift the look of your website.
Also consider using infographics, videos and graphics as these can be much more
effective at communicating than even the most well written piece of text.
6. NAVIGATION
Navigation is about how easy it is for people to take
action and move around your website. Some tactics for effective navigation
include a logical page hierarchy, using bread crumbs, designing clickable
buttons, and following the ‘three click rule’ which means users will be able to
find the information they are looking for within three clicks.
7. GRID BASED
LAYOUTS
Placing content randomly on your web page can end up with
a haphazard appearance that is messy. Grid based layouts arrange content into
sections, columns and boxes that line up and feel balanced, which leads to a
better looking website design.
8. “F” PATTERN
DESIGN
Eye tracking studies have identified that people scan
computer screens in an “F” pattern. Most of what people see is in the top and
left of the screen and the right side of the screen is rarely seen. Rather than
trying to force the viewer’s visual flow, effectively designed websites will
work with a reader’s natural behaviour and display information in order of
importance (left to right, and top to bottom).
9. LOAD TIME
Everybody hates a website that takes ages to load. Tips to make page load times more effective
include optimising image sizes (size and scale), combining code into a central
CSS or JavaScript file (this reduces HTTP requests) and minify HTML, CSS,
JavaScript (compressed to speed up their load time).
10: MOBILE
FRIENDLY
It is now commonplace to access websites from multiple
devices with multiple screen sizes, so it is important to consider if your
website is mobile friendly. If your website is not mobile friendly, you can
either rebuild it in a responsive layout (this means your website will adjust
to different screen widths) or you can build a dedicated mobile site (a
separate website optimised specifically for mobile users).
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