Principles of a good website design

Think of the last time you walked into a store to purchase an item. What would you say was the motivation to patronize the shop? If you didn't buy from them, what turned you away from doing so?

Imagine that you want to purchase a stylish pink dress for your birthday party, and you are looking for a place to get quality at an affordable price.

When you walk into the first store, you scan through the pile of dresses, and you see other colors but pink. You search for 30 minutes, and you do not see what you need. On the other hand, you walk into another store and you are greeted with a pink and stylish gown – exactly your spec. Now tell me, isn't it evident that you would buy from the second store? After thirty minutes, you are likely to get out of the unorganized store and never return because they do not have a solution.

Before you think of designing your web, you need to understand website users. They prefer quality to quantity. It is not the length of your article that matters but the depth.

This article takes a look at some principles in website design that would help your website reach its fullest potential. Let us get to some of those principles.

1. Your website should be self-explanatory.

This point explains all I would say in this article. When people visit your site, they should be able to get answers to their questions without having to rack their heads for hours.

Get rid of the question marks on your website because your visitors need solutions and not something to compound their problems. If navigating your site is made difficult, your users would be confused about how to move from one point to another.

Easily recognizable links and moderate visual clues can be a guide to users of your site. With a simple design, visitors come in and leave enriched and not more confused as they came. Ensure that the number of questions is close to zero.

2. It should engage their attention for longer.

It is not enough to have visitors on your site; you need to keep them engaged. What aspects of your design keeps them glued for longer? Your content should be a blend of dynamic and static content to attract people from both ends.

Images are catchy and attractive, and they are an excellent way to grab attention. Sentences written in bold are also more captivating than plain text. Simple words like "free" can be used on your site to keep users engaged. The word "free" makes them curious and moves them to take action or read more.

3. Make your site colorful

Adding colors to your website enhances user experience. A colorful site creates harmony and balance. When you use dull colors, visitors would find your content boring regardless of how rich it is. It is better to use contrasting tints for your background and text to make it easier to read.

Explore vibrant glow in your design because they create emotions in the mind of readers. White space should not be shoved to the corner because it makes your website orderly.

You cannot keep committing color blunders and expect an influx of committed visitors to your site. If you are guilty of the wrong color combination, this is the perfect time to review your website and cross your t's.

4. Use effective writing

You need first to understand your audience and your message concerning the written content on your website. The content should be tailored to suit your target audience's demands, except you intentionally want to piss them off.

Do not underestimate the use of keywords, and exaggeration should be avoided, especially if you are promoting a product. Forget jargon and convey your message in simple English.

Don't try to sound too professional while passing your message because you could get audiences from various spheres of life.

5. Stick to conventions

Maybe conventions do not work all the time, but they certainly are worth trying. Imagine that every time we visit a site, we spend over thirty minutes trying to understand the user interface and navigate it.

If all websites had different representations of RSS-feeds, it would have been disastrous. As I said, humans have a short attention span and would not devout time to learning how your website works. When your website is designed according to conventions, you can gain the user's trust and confidence.

There is no need to be innovative if the previous idea is better than yours. Forget what people say about conventions; they help you avoid avoidable mistakes.

6. Keep it simple

Visitors to your site enjoy the beautiful designs, but the truth is that the information on your site is more important. Instead of creating a sophisticated design, focus on creating a simple and user-friendly interface.

A website filled with ads can be annoying and frustrating, and users avoid visiting such sites. So, disregard irrelevant content and go straight to the point. Your visitors will appreciate your effort at keeping it simple by staying glued to your site.

7. Test! Test! Test!

What is a website without regular testing? Usability tests give the web designer an idea of the kind of problems prospective users face. It helps you discover new issues, and then you fix it. After fixing it, it is advisable to check again.

Asides from getting pointers to the likely problems of your website, testing also identifies flaws in your design, which, if not corrected, could cost you a lot. What is the most effective way to test your website after designing it?

Employ the services of a third eye. He/she is an independent tester who is likely to view the site from another perspective than yours. Their feedback would go a long way to create a flawless website design.

Success starts with applying simple principles like the ones I just shared. Why have a website and not make the best out of it? Apply these principles in your website design and watch your site grow.