10 Tips for Effective Web Design

10 Tips for Effective Web Design

It\' said, \'beauty is in the eye of the beholder.\' Likewise effective web design is determined by the users of the website and not the website owners. There are many variables that affect the usability of a website, and it is not just about how good it looks, but also how easy is it to use it. 

Websites that are not designed well tend to have a poor performance and have low stats on Google Analytics metrics. So what goes into a good web design? Let\'s explore the top 10 web design principles that make a website aesthetically pleasing, easy to use, engaging, and effective.

1. Purpose

Good web design is always tailored to address 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 focus on a clear purpose and fulfill a specific need for your website users in the best way possible.

2. Communication

People on the web want information quickly, so it is important to communicate prompt and clearly. Make your information easy to read and digest. Some effective tactics to include in your web design include: organizing information using headlines, sub headlines and bullet points instead of long windy sentences.

3. Typefaces

In general, Sans Serif fonts such as Arial and Verdana are easier to read online. 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 uniform.

4. Colors

A well thought out color palette can go a long way to enhance the user experience. Complementary colors create balance and harmony. Using contrasting colors for the text and background will make reading easier on the eye. Vibrant colors create emotion and should be used sparingly for call to actions or buttons. White space is a very effective way to give your website a modern and organized 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 enhance 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 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 behavior 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 optimizing image sizes (size and scale), combining code into a central CSS or JavaScript file and minify HTML, CSS, JavaScript.

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 that will adjust to different screen widths or you can build a dedicated mobile site, a separate website optimized specifically for mobile users.

Conclusion

It is easy to create a beautiful and functional website, simply by keeping these design elements in mind. Have you got a website design that needs reviewing or optimizing? Or perhaps, you are planning a website and you are looking to get the design right from the ground up. Either way, these principles of effective web design can help your website be more engaging, useful, and memorable for visitors.

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