Website design has evolved from inserting tens of images and text clumsily on a single page to minimalist patterns with a single image or bold text dominating the entire screen. While web designers have evolved with the advancing expectations, behavior, and requirements of the web users, some website design principles have remained intact. Before getting into the designing of any website, all get started with Accelerated Mobile Pages or web developers need to know these basic design principles for a flawless design and development. These are as follow:
Device : Mobile-First
When it comes to device usage, more than 90% of the present online population is using smartphones to access information online. Having a website that is optimized for the mobile devices is imperative to have a strong first impression on the visitors. You would definitely not want your site to be a desktop-optimized design that either cuts out or is too minute to be readable on mobile devices. One can also get started with Accelerated Mobile Pages to engage and impress the mobile visitors.
Navigation : Effortlessly Smooth
The navigation of a website is the most important element that makes the users engage and stay longer on a particular site. The site should be designed in such a way that the users feel it easy to take any type of action and move to the desired pages within a few clicks. Offering site maps, breadcrumb navigation, clickable buttons, page hierarchy in URL, etc., could be a great way to boost the navigation and make it flawless.
Speed : Instant Loading
With users leaving a site if it takes more than 3 seconds to load, speed has become the indispensable element in website designing. The elements added to beautify the design should be optimized well to ensure that the site does not start lagging. 46% of the internet population opined that waiting for pages to load as the most disliked thing. There are a number of tricks and tips to boost their website speed. Whether it is by optimizing the data, using CDN, limiting unnecessary plugins or any other, many things can help boost your website speed.
Content : Optimized
When it comes to website, content plays an imperative role in engaging and converting the visitors. So, not only is quality content important on the website, it should also be optimized in design and SEO. The website should be designed such that the content on the site is easily comprehensible and readable. And here content is not limited to words, it is also the images, videos, cinemagraphs, etc., that you might want to use for offering information. A scannable layout with heading, sub-headings, titles, bolds, bullets, etc., can also be a great way to optimize the content for the visitors.
CMS : Enabled
When it comes to creating a site for publishing content and sharing information, utilizing a good content management system is a must. Content Management Systems like WordPress not just enable you to post search engine optimized content easily but also edit it if and when required. Having a website that is CMS-enabled would ensure that information in the form of blog posts is shared with the info-hungry audience at scheduled time.
Whitespace : Balanced
When it comes to website designing, many designers seek to fill in each and every space available on the page. However, this creates a cluster and even distracts the visitors from the normal path guiding them towards the CTA. Having the perfect blend of whitespace would offer breathing space to the visitors and help them scan and concentrate more on the main component. Not just that, reducing the excessive elements and making way for whitespace would help in decreasing overall load on the site and help it load faster. A sense of visual hierarchy should be maintained while designing the website for whitespace.
CTA : Guided Design
Connected to the previous topic, the CTA or call-to-action buttons on any website should be such that the visual hierarchy leads the visitors to them. It should be in a guided format that makes the audience want to click on it to move to the next step. CTAs are important element to boost conversions from a website and placing them at the right places within the direct visual range of the visitors is a must.
Security : Unbreachable
Security has become one of the biggest concerns of the website owners and the design plays a crucial role in data protection. It is important for the website owners to promise security to their users. Whether it is an e-commerce website or any other site, the design should reflect elements of security. These could be from crucial ones like security stamp, trusted payment gateways, SSL certificate, etc., to the less crucial ones like social sharing, client testimonials, etc.
Pattern : F
When it comes to creating a pattern on the website, it should always be an F pattern as it is known for the highest engagement and conversion. Various eye-tracking studies have confirmed that viewers always go through a page in an F pattern. It starts from the top left, goes to the right, then the eyes move to the center left and then to the right of the screen and finally the bottom. The website should be created in such a way that the viewers eyes naturally follow the information in this pattern. Placing the important elements of the page in these specific places in accordance with the Fpattern should be kept in mind by the designers and developers.
Website designing is one of the most basic yet the most crucial tasks for establishing, promoting, and growing any online business. The developers, creating a website, should keep these basic design principles in mind to ensure that their development process does not hinder the elements, processes, and techniques undertaken by the designing team.