A website is made up of several different components, but the one thing that brings it all together is website design. Websites first started with plain pages of text with hardly any design elements on them and simple fonts.
Today, it has grown much more complex with different animations, layouts, and typography used on a single page. Website design has become a more integral part of the development process. In fact, with improper website design, there is a chance it can even affect your website rankings.
Let’s take a look at an exhaustive list of website design elements and strategies that you should be aware of for making your very own website.
16 Key Components of Effective Website Design
1. Simplify Website Navigation
The most obvious part of website design is the navigation. It is the first thing the user experiences, and it can make or break their experience. Website navigation should be as simple as possible without overwhelming the users. Starting right from the top, have as few distinct items as possible.
The goal is to get the user to experience more of the website before they have to make a choice. Ensure that there is a logical and intuitive structure for the website. The placement of each element on the website needs to have a purpose rather than just putting something there.
Having a sticky header at the top is a good idea because it saves the trouble of scrolling back up to access it.
2. Ensure Quick Loading Speeds
If you were to ask us for one thing that you could do which would make a huge difference, it would be loading speeds. How quickly your website loads from the first click is incredibly important. It is so important that search engines like Google prioritize this as an important ranking signal. There are more than a few ways you can achieve better loading speeds.
The first thing you need to do is compress all high-bandwidth assets on your website. In most cases, these are images and videos. Minify all your backend code (CSS, JavaScript, and HTML) to ensure a compact footprint.
If your website is heavy on content, it makes sense to opt for a Content Delivery Network close to user access locations.
3. Aim for Clear Design Layouts
As the years have rolled on, we observe that more websites today have a much better layout than before. Earlier, websites were all about cramming as much information into a page as possible. Today, that kind of thinking has changed, and the focus is on making existing content clearer and easier for the reader to follow.
Ensure there is ample white space on your website to have enough visual “room” for the user. It is a good idea to have a consistent grid system, which means no misaligned text or graphics. Aim for clear visual groupings of content so users have better readability.
There should be minimal distractions on the page so users can get the most out of the experience. Keep the page free from clutter like elaborate visual designs or animations.
4. Follow Proper Visual Hierarchy
While visual hierarchy is not new, it has not been used as much as we thought. Visual hierarchy has to do with using size and scale to present information in the best way possible. For a website, this means having the most important elements right at the top and then others following it as users scroll down.
This type of visual hierarchy can also be established with typography – the headings H1, H2, and so on descend in size. Using whitespace is a vital part of enforcing visual hierarchy. Separate sections and create groups with whitespace to not overwhelm the user with graphical elements.
Also include arrows, lines, and other directional cues to help users navigate more easily through the page.
5. Opt for Mobile-First Design
With mobile traffic far outperforming other sources, more brands are opting for a mobile-first design approach. The main component of mobile design is that the website should be responsive. This means it should adapt to different screen sizes and remain consistent across them.
Having buttons and links that are touch-friendly is a great way to ensure easier navigation, even on the smallest screens. Most websites today include the hamburger menu without opting for a header menu bar, so it makes the website look more streamlined.
Typography also needs to be large to compensate for smaller screens. Something that you also need to avoid are popups, which are archaic and detract from the experience.
6. Be Upfront About Your Value Proposition
When designing a website, it is important to set expectations right at the start. Remember that a user has several options to choose from these days. If they are not impressed with a website in the first 10 seconds, they are more likely to click away.
Everything starts with a prominent and clear headline placement right at the top. It should convey the exact message of your brand and how the customer can benefit. Keep the headline concise and punchy – verbose headings just don’t attract users.
When creating a supporting headline, ensure that it explains the main heading. If required, you can also add bullet points to make it clearer. The phrasing for all headings should be action-oriented.
7. Choose the Right Typography
An area where many brands make mistakes when it comes to website design is choosing the right typography. It is important that you have a limited number of fonts throughout the website. The ideal number of font families in a website is 3, but ideally just two.
Another thing to keep in mind is to never mix two wildly different types of fonts. If your website is content-heavy, then sans-serif fonts are better because they are “lighter” on the eye. Ensure that you maintain a clear visual hierarchy with your choice of fonts.
It can happen that some fonts are smaller than others for the same font size. Don’t be afraid to use bold and italics where necessary, but take care you don’t overdo them.
8. Use Proper Color Choice and Contrast
Color and contrast are integral parts of the website design strategy. The choice of color is vital because it has the power to direct the user’s gaze to certain areas of the website. For example, using a brighter color is useful for highlighting a specific heading or bullet points on the page.
It is essential to have a color palette that is standard for your brand. Ideally, it should have a limited number of colors. These are the colors that you should use consistently throughout the website.
Ensure that the usage of color stays consistent throughout the website. If you’re using a higher contrast color to highlight text, ensure it stays the same throughout.
9. Ensure Proper Image and Video Compression
One aspect of web design that is connected to loading speed is image and video compression. Compression is a tricky thing to manage – if the compression is too high, the images look low-quality. For images, it helps to choose the right format because it has inherent compression that doesn’t affect quality too much.
WebP has a much better compression ratio than JPEG or PNG. Likewise, for video, choose formats that are friendlier with compression. H.264 and H.265 are the most used video formats today for streaming video.
You can also include a link to the video from a platform like YouTube, so you don’t need to worry about compression.
10. Create Clear and Engaging CTAs
Getting CTAs right is a huge part of the user experience when it comes to web design. The key here is to use multiple elements like color, typography, and language to achieve results. All CTAs should have action-oriented language that has the best chance of engaging the user.
Something as simple as “Click For More!” improves the chances that users will interact with the element. Ensure that CTAs are visually distinct from other elements on the website and stand out.
Focus on placing these strategically on a page. For example, an optimal page for putting a sign-up button would be on the right below the main banner.
11. Build Trust With Social Proof
Social proof is vital to engage users and is part of the website design philosophy. The first few seconds are all you have to keep the user on the page. So it makes sense to include social proof in the form of client logos right above the fold.
Adding snippets of testimonials along with their names and images also helps reinforce trust in your brand. Ensure that these are clickable so users can verify these. The same goes for adding reviews from third-party websites like TrustPilot and BetterBusinessBureau – ensure users can interact with them to verify.
Choose the right trust badges and security seals to display on your website. Finally, try to feature user-generated content on your website showcase as well.
12. Focus On Form Accessibility
Forms are a part of any website, and there’s nothing more off-putting for a user than a badly designed form. Forms are integral when it comes to collecting vital information from the user, and they are important to all businesses. It is important to ensure that forms are as accessible as possible for the user.
They should have a clear visual hierarchy that people are used to. Ensure that error messages are descriptive and help the user avoid mistakes. If a lot of typing is required, ensure that navigating through the form does not require a mouse.
It is important to group related fields in forms and have multiple pages if you have a lot of information to collect. The form elements should be high contrast and easy to type in and edit.
13. Create Detailed Meta Descriptions
Meta descriptions are one of the foundational elements of SEO. From a web design perspective, it is important for brands to have descriptions that “fit” when users are browsing through their searches.
The optimal length for a description is 160 characters; any more and the excess text will be replaced with an ellipsis (…). The description should include a primary keyword, and it should be incorporated into it naturally.
Ensure that you introduce your brand’s value proposition as soon as possible. Use active voice for better clickthrough’s on your searches.
14. Give Users the Option for Keyboard Navigation
More websites are allowing users to navigate through websites from their keyboard. It is much easier to do than with the mouse, and it also comes in handy for input-heavy websites or forms. The first thing to ensure on the website is to have a logical Tab order.
Pressing the tab key should go to the next element and shift-tab to the previous one. The focus indicator should clearly highlight where the user is on the page. Incorporating this for dropdown menus is also a great idea.
Ensure that your website shortcuts don’t override other functions in the browser. Test exhaustively before you decide on shortcuts.
15. Include Vital Information on the Footer
The footer of the website is where all the vital information about the website is located. This includes contact information, links to all pages, customer service, and more. The ideal footer page also has location information that users can click to navigate to their offices.
Including social media links and other collateral helps users get more information about your brand. Make sure that you also include Privacy Policy and Terms of Service links to the page. Finally, footers should have other legal information like copyright and date.
16. Integration with Analytics
Every website needs to be tightly integrated with an analytics suite so webmasters can access as much information as possible. Google Analytics 4 implementation is vital, and it can help track a variety of metrics on a website.
These include Goal and Conversion tracking setup, along with comprehensive user behavior tracking and monitoring. Analytics can alert admins to various aspects, including website speed and performance drops.
Key Takeaways
- Simplify website navigation by limiting the top menu items and structuring the menus logically.
- Improve website loading speed through image compression and minifying web code.
- Ensure your website layout is clear and uncluttered through effective use of whitespace and grouping.
- Follow a proper visual hierarchy by using size and scale along with typography to ensure better readability.
- Focus on limiting your color choices to those in the brand palette.
- Opt for a mobile-first design strategy for a more responsive website that is more accessible to all users.
- Be upfront about your brand’s value proposition across all forms of content.
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