Creating a website is definitely a must these days if you want to succeed in business. However, just coming up with a website is not enough. People are picky when it comes to the websites they access and will connect the appearance and functionality of a site with the business it represents.
Thus, if a website has a poor design and works badly, people will think that the quality of the provided services and products is the same. So, invest time and effort in designing a website that actually works and you’ll soon reap the benefits of doing so. Also, choose the right team for this project and it will be money well spent. You have options with your design team. For example, you can choose graphic design services, marketplaces, or design contest platforms similar to 99designs.
Take care of the web pages’ visual hierarchy
While it is recommended to personalize your website and make it representative for your business and activity, you should do this while keeping visual hierarchy rules in mind. In case you’re not familiar with the term, you will have to know all about it if you’re interested in designing a proper website. So, what is visual hierarchy all about? This hierarchy comprises all the visual elements of a web page, including color schemes, contrasts, size, and arrangements of each element. The hierarchy will separate all of these into two categories, and that is prominent and less prominent elements and will dictate the way the human eye sees them.
Thus, after mentioning all these, the elements with high visual prominence will have a large size, will be positioned at the top of the page, will feature unique colors and contrast, will be surrounded by white space, and will be in a video format or one that involves movement.
On the contrary, those with a low visual prominence will have a small size, will be placed at the bottom of the page, will have colors with low contrast, will be surrounded by other visual elements, and will have a text format. Visual elements like icons and images are somewhere in the middle and will be used accordingly. To compose the best visual hierarchy for your website, get in touch with a team of web designers in Bellingham and create the ideal strategy together.
Not all call-to-actions should be placed at the top
A proper website needs call-to-actions, without a doubt, but you will need to use them in a balanced manner. Most use call-to-action at the top of the page, as visitors usually spend more time exploring this part of a web page. However, even if this is true, this doesn’t mean that visitors are ready to take any action. So, don’t use call-to-action at the top of the page only.
While top page call-to-actions are indeed visible, most of the persuasion is more effective below the fold of a web page. This is when visitors are starting to feel ready, as they managed to find out more about what the site is offering. Thus, make sure you have call-to-actions further down the page, especially in areas where the interest of visitors is likely to be high.
The page containing answers should be a tall one
Those visiting your website will certainly have a lot of questions for you, so make sure you provide all the answers they may be looking for. This means to make a tall page to serve this purpose. Don’t be afraid that people will be intimidated by a tall page. They will continue reading until they find all the answers they need. Once this happens, they will simply stop reading. Believe it or not, a tall page translates into better conversion rates, as visitors are more satisfied with the offered information. So, just like you answer all the questions your team has during a meeting, you should do the same for your site’s visitors.
But, in order to offer relevant answers, you will need to unroll surveys that will help you better understand your target audience. Find out the concerns and questions they may have regarding your business, then come up with a tall page that will answer all of them.
Go for a simple and clean design
The temptation to impress visitors with a spectacular design is rather large, but it is worth mentioning that people enjoy simplicity and minimalism.
They enjoy a web page with a low number of visual elements and a lot of white space. This helps them navigate better around the web page and find what interests them faster. Thus, a web page of low visual complexity is much more effective than a page with many visual elements, which appears cluttered and crowded.
Would you like an example of a highly appreciated website that adopted a clean design? Just visit Apple’s website and you’ll understand what this is all about. The site feels airy and allows you to find information fast and effectively, giving you the chance to understand what the site offers in a matter of seconds. So, before investing in complex web designs, bear this in mind.
Make sure not to have a “false bottom”
A “false bottom” is a section of a web page that features a high contrast than the rest, without actually being positioned at the bottom of the page. Unfortunately, if you use such sections on your web pages, visitors will be tempted to believe that they reached the bottom of the page and will no longer scroll further down the page.
So, the strong recommendation is to use slight color variations along with a web page, going for darker shades at the bottom of the page only. This will remove any trace of confusion and will encourage people to scroll all the way to the real bottom.
Choose images well
Images have a significant impact on the visitors that access your website. Of course, that is only if you choose images that transmit a message in a subliminal manner. So, not all images will have the desired effect. For example, images featuring people are quite powerful, as visitors tend to relate to the persons depicted by the image.
If you choose to use people’s faces on a testimonial page, the reputation of your business and website will increase significantly. However, it is recommended to avoid stock photos, as they don’t feel genuine. They prefer seeing reality, even if the quality is not always the same as the case of stock photos. Do so and you’ll see that your website will be much more appreciated.
Besides faces, make sure to use proper colors to guide visitors throughout the website. In other words, you can suggest buttons and parts of a web page with the help of contrasts and colors. For instance, using colors for important buttons or sections of the page will make people click exactly where you want them to click.
