Web design can be tricky, which is why it is often best left to the experts. If you are looking to have a new web design created for your business website, there are certain things which you should make sure that you include and certain things which you must avoid at all costs! In this article we will share our top ‘dos’ and ‘don’ts’ for creating an effective web design.
Do
Create a Web Design with your Customers in Mind
Whilst there may be certain things that you do and don’t like about web designs, when it comes to creating a web design for your business website, it is essential that you keep your customers in mind at all times. You should be looking to design and develop a website that is tailored to meet their needs and offers them the best possible online shopping experience.
Your website must be user friendly and should have simple navigation that makes it as easy as possible for customers to access the information they require quickly. The better experience you can create through your web design, the more likely customers are to recommend your business and return to buy products from you in the future.
Use Responsive Web Design
Over the past couple of years, a growing number of people having been using their mobile phones and other portable devices like digital tablets to surf the internet. Rather than spending your budget on creating a number of different versions of your website in order to provide optimised versions for each new device that is realised, why not simply have a responsive web design created? Responsive web designs use clever CSS queries to identify what device a website is being viewed on so that it can adjust its features and layout for optimal viewing.
Don’t
Create Lengthy Intros
When a user clicks on a website with the aim of acquiring the information they need as quickly as possible, there is nothing that can be more off-putting than a lengthy flash intro. By creating an intro for your business website, you are simply wasting users’ time and preventing them from carrying out the task they need to do quickly. You also must consider the fact that not all devices are compatible with flash. Lengthy intros will simply slow down page loading times, causing further frustration for users.
Make your Web Design too Complex
Whilst you may think you are utterly amazing for creating such a complex web design for your business website, your customers may think otherwise. Rather than spending your budget on design features that your website does not necessarily need, why not work on simplifying your website’s navigation or checkout process instead? Over-complicating your web design can alienate customers. It can also cause pages to load slowly which can be extremely off-putting and is often the reason why users click off a website and look for an alternative.
Using an external company can help in this regard as they will have developed many sites before. Essex web design Company, Revive Digital Media for example are specialists in the design of simple yet compelling website designs.
Forget to Test your Website
If there is one thing we must stress, it is to test your web design and then test it again. It is absolutely essential that all of your websites features work properly. Users can become very disgruntled when they click on a link and are faced with the ‘this page cannot be found’ message. Whenever you add a new widget to your website or create a new page, it is important that you check that your website is still functioning correctly.
Conclusion
When it comes to creating a web design for your business website, professionalism, simplicity and consistency are all equally important. Whilst users want to see an aesthetically pleasing, professional website, they do not want to have to spend hours looking for the information they need because the design is so complicated. In order to achieve the right balance and create a web design you can be proud of, we highly recommend working with a professional web designer.