Today, the internet is a quintessential part of our lives, and it has become all the more important for every company to have a well-founded online presence. With more and more people switching over to an online counterpart, you need a website that communicates what you do to your audience. But that isn’t all! Your company website should be all that and much more. It should be easily navigable, quick to load, and easily readable. So how do you ensure flawless user experience and functionality in the website you design?
To answer your query, I have created the ultimate list with ten essentials that you must tick off while developing your website. Let us have a look then, shall we?
10 hacks to keep in mind while designing a website
Here is a know-it-all guide that you can keep handy to design the perfect website for your brand or your client.
1. Simplicity is the key
Did you know that 13% of the bounce rate on a website is due to high loading time and navigation problems? You need to understand that people have turned to online searching due to lack of time, and, if your customers cannot glide through different sections of your website seamlessly, they are going to leave after a few seconds.
So make sure that you choose a simple layout with minimal tones. Do not crowd the pages with distracting links or images. The content should be minimal too. Avoid heavy-weight animations that affect load speed.
2. Quality over quantity
Whether you are selling FMCG goods online or offering assignment problem solution services, your customers won’t think of buying from you if the images are blurry. So you need to use high-quality pictures to showcase your product. You can edit them to an extent but make sure they do not differ greatly from the original images.
Google often penalizes a website if you use overly-edited images. You can also integrate videos to demonstrate the product. Having said that, you must keep a check on the weight of the visuals and gif files so that they don’t impair the speed. So you need to strike a balance.
3. Seamless or nothing
Although millennials are used to handling websites, you need to consider your older customers too. If you want them to be able to navigate through the site you design easily, you need to aim for a seamless experience. Provide a navigation menu that is either horizontal or vertical, and not one that goes across in all directions.
“Top to Bottom” and “Swipe-Left” should be your ideal choice. However, you need to keep in mind that your users may be left-handed. So, do not use right-alignment on the entire website. Also, make sure that the dropdowns don’t go away owing to a slight movement of the cursor.
4. Choose your colors wisely
Just like the right colors on the right walls can make your house look more spacious, the correct color code can do the same for your website. Going overboard with colors can make your website look cluttered, whereas, using light shades can make it look dull.
So the secret here is to blend a bright color with a nude shade. This will balance out the vibrancy and make it easy on the eyes. Moreover, you need to remember that the color code you choose for your website will be a part of your logo. Select a combination that will convey the message your website is trying to deliver.
5. Fits-for-all is a must
According to a survey, the revenue earned from orders placed through mobiles in 2018 was 71.7 billion U.S. dollars. So your first preference should be a mobile version of your site followed by the desktop version. Although I suggest a separate mobile site, you can fall back on a responsive website if you do not have the budget.
Make sure that your website has a good interface when viewed on a mobile device. Also, configure the site such that it supports different languages and adapts to different screen sizes easily.
6. Go the ‘Social’ way
In this age of social networking, we all want to share the book we are reading, or the latest Marshmello number we are listening to or the series we are bingeing on Hulu. So you need to design your website so that it is compatible with all the high-performing social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, etc.
Moreover, a social media-friendly site will help you discover better options via Facebook and Instagram, thus helping you drive better conversions for your company.
7. Make it legible
As a part of designing aesthetics, you need to be very careful while choosing a font for your website. While the font should be classy and elegant, it should also be easily readable. Fonts like Calibri, Arial, and Verdana may be the perfect blend of elegance as well as legibility, whereas Corsiva and Lucida may look beautiful, but reading chunks of content may leave your users with a headache.
Make sure that the content is not concentrated in one place. Less is more – that is what your aim should be when it comes to content. To make it more readable, intersperse the content with images. Also, use white spaces to help the user focus better on what is important.
8. Show customer testimonials
Customer reviews are the best way to prove your credibility. Be it the quality of products, the after-sales services – positive feedback can influence buying decisions and drive bigger numbers. So, place all testimonials on one page called Customer Reviews and keep it tagged on every webpage of your site.
Also, do not forget to add the name and the picture of the customer who wrote the testimonial. For more credibility, you can also provide the order number so that people know that it is not a fake testimonial.
9. Implement Calls-to-Action
To provide your users with a sense of direction, include call-to-action buttons that will tell them about the next step that they should take. You need to strike the correct balance, however, between spamming your website with call-to-actions and using them to guide users through your website.
You can even put CTAs below large chunks of content so that the prerogative to read more rests with the users. Some examples of calls-to-action that you can use are: “Click Here For More Information”, “Download a Sample”, “Sign Up”, “Check Price”, etc.
10. Keep it Updated
The world of design and aesthetics is dynamic and ever-changing. You cannot sit and relax after you are done designing a website. You need to consider the tastes and preferences of your customers and incorporate changes to your site regularly. Make a serious effort to understand your users’ pain points and try to address them.
Even from a SEO point of view, do not forget to tailor the content and layout of your website according to the new rules charted out by your search engine analytics.
In the end, remember that the main purpose of websites is to make a user’s life easier. Let the site you design reflect that. Your primary focus should be to create a site that can solve user problems and serve its primary purpose. Keep it minimal and focus on utility. Unless your website is a smooth ride for users, chances are they will leave it. Keep the above hacks in mind to provide solutions for real-world problems and see your numbers multiply.
Go, break a leg!
