GUIDELINES FOR AN EXTRAORDINARY WEB DESIGN

When working on a website, getting anxious on the aesthetics is sometimes unavoidable. There are a lot of things to figure out and take into consideration, like the colour of your background, the font, placement of the logo, size of images etc. Keep your focus on how the website will appeal to your readers, and how easy it will be for them to navigate.

Your goal is to ensure that your website contains these two characteristics: usability and user-experience. Here are some guidelines you need to follow to achieve that goal:

• Simplicity. Though the look of your website is an important factor when getting people to visit and stay in your site, people are not there to just look at your website and evaluate its layout. People visit your site to get information about your product, your organisation, or the services you offer. Putting elements that does not provide any functional purpose in your website will only make it difficult for the visitors to use your site. Don’t use too much colours. And stick with readable typefaces.
• Visual Hierarchy. This is somehow similar with the first guideline. Visual hierarchy means arranging and sorting out the elements in your website so visitors can explore your site easily. The main goal here is to guide web visitors to pages they need to go to. Lead their eyes to wherever you want them to go, like the shop now button or download now button for example.
• Clear Navigation. Avoid complicated navigation, label them in a way that even first time visitors will figure out what it is and what it’s for. You don’t want to end up getting a high bounce rate just because your navigation are too complicated or are confusing.
• Consistency. Be consistent in making the overall look and feel of your website including the background, scheme, typefaces, color and even the way you write or the tone you use. Not only does it contribute on the usability of your site, it also helps maintain your business’s branding.
• Accessibility. Keep in mind that a large number of people are accessing websites through smart phones and tablets. And not everyone is accessing the website using the same operating system and browser as yours. Your website should be responsive so people on-the-go can access it anytime.
• Credibility. Using strategies and design elements that your visitors are already familiar with is a big plus and can help boost your site’s credibility. A way to improve your sites credibility is to be apparent and open about your site. Don’t make it difficult for the visitors to understand what your site offers. Be upfront and put effort in explaining the value of what you do.
• Test everything before going live. Test your website using different devices, operating systems, and web browsers. This way you can preview how your website will look like when accessed using different devices, operating systems, and web browsers.