Designing a website is no easy task. It takes a lot of consideration, thought and planning. We’ve been designing a huge variety of websites for as long as we can remember, so we think we know a thing or two about web design.
What are the key considerations we take into account when designing a website?
1. Know Your Target Audience
It’s vital to consider your audience’s reason for visiting your site. What’s the purpose of your website? Do you want visitors to make a purchase or sign up to your newsletter? This should be one of your first considerations when designing your website. Don’t make any big decisions about your content or design until you fully understand what your site will need to do.
2. Put Your Content First
Define your content before you design your site. You can still make changes, but it’s often better to design the site around the content than to write the content based on a set design. High quality, informative content is now a top priority for any business that wants their website to appear highly in organic search rankings.
3. Think Responsive
It’s likely that a large portion of your website’s visitors will be using tablets or mobile devices. A responsive design will mean your website looks good on everything from a huge desktop screen to an iPhone. Tablets and mobiles really are taking over, so there’s no excuse not to consider a fully responsive website design.
4. Simple Navigation
There’s a reason why many websites are built in a similar way, particularly ecommerce stores. Don’t confuse users by laying out your site in an unfamiliar format. Any elements you’re unsure of can always be split tested later. Make it as simple as possible for your website visitors to find what they’re looking for, with a reliable search function and clear categories.
5. De-Clutter
Simplicity is key. Don’t overload your website with information, images, buttons, or anything else for that matter. Remember that white space is good and can help visitors to digest information more easily. Make it easy for visitors to see a clear pathway through your page, and make sure you opt for a readable line length. Small chunks of text split into paragraphs will appeal to visitors much more than long lines of endless text.
This is a relatively brief example of some of the most important considerations in web design. Can you add any other ideas?