Good web design is more than just making the website look good. The visual design is very important, but it needs to fit appropriately with the theme of your content. It also has to be easy to use and intuitive to understand. The following are some of the most important web design elements.
Research and Testing
Good web design is always backed up with good research and testing. This means researching other websites in the same niche, as well as research into the niche industry as a whole. Design is also best when testing has been undertaken during the design phase. User testing can be a very strong form of testing because feedback from real people is more likely to provide the best guidance for the most important areas to improve the design. Other examples of testing can be surveys, focus groups or user testing with paper prototyping.
Usability and User Experience
Usability is often a neglected aspect of web design. More and more web design agencies have a UX or a user experience department. This area of design improves how usable the website is, and looks at the website interaction from the point of view of an experience. It is a complete analysis of many aspects of this experience. It involves creating the information architecture, which involves determining how the information is to be arranged. It also involves ensuring that it is easy to use and that it behaves as it is expected. It should also have a consistent design, it should respond quickly and the language of the content should match what users are familiar with in the real world.
Content
Business owners starting their own websites tend to focus on the look and feel of their website and only consider the content at a later stage. Their attitude is often to consider the content to be a secondary concern. The reality is the content can be just as important as the design. This is because without good content, users will not stay on the website, and will not return. Information about your goods and services should appear professional, with the goal of being helpful and informing users with your knowledge. A blog should convey that you are a resource and your expertise should be evident, to the point where your
audience is compelled to continue returning.
SEO
More now than ever before, businesses are starting to understand the importance of search engine optimization. This process involves modifying certain elements of your website, so that it ranks well on the search engines. It is important to think about this in the design phase because design influences the search engines. The search engines are becoming better and better at recognizing good design. In fact we are now at the stage where the better your design is, the SEO can only improve. Design is important because great design attracts a large audience. When users keep returning, they are more likely to
share, participate and link to you, and these activities directly increase your SEO rankings.
Keep it Simple
Users have a short attention span. Visitors to your website don’t want to wade through vast amounts of information to get to the information they are trying to find. They also don’t want spend time figuring out how to use a complex function. Information about products or services should be concise and presented clearly. Having fancy and impressive design is great, but at the same time, the information should be presented in a clear and simple fashion.
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