When it comes to effective website design, there are certain dos and don’ts that can help you create a user-friendly and visually appealing website. Let’s start with the positives! There are a couple of key characteristics you should incorporate into your website. These features will be not only appreciated, but expected by your website visitors.

Simple Website Navigation:

Site navigation is an integral pillar of excellent web design. Visitors who can’t easily find the information they need are more likely to click off quickly. As a rule, designers should ensure visitors can assess any page or CTA in three clicks or less. Your product or service listing, email signup page, pricing, and blog should be accessible from every page on your site. Use well-established labels for site navigation. Using unfamiliar words and phrases will slow down your visitors and negatively impact their user experience.

Make Your Site Responsive:

Your goal should be to provide an amazing customer experience for your visitors across all devices. Your content should look great on all screens and be easy to read and navigate.

Do Focus On Readability in web design:

Written content makes up 95% of information on the web, so the content you create will play an essential role in keeping your visitors’ attention. Use legible fonts, appropriate font sizes, and sufficient contrast between text and background to ensure readability. Pay attention to line spacing, paragraph lengths, and use headings and subheadings to improve content scanability.

Do optimize page loading speed:

Speed is crucial for a positive user experience. Optimize images and code, minimize server requests, and leverage caching techniques to improve page loading times. A faster website encourages visitors to stay longer and reduces bounce rates.

Do use high-quality images and media:

Use high-resolution images that are relevant to your content and optimize them for web use. Incorporate videos and other media when appropriate to enhance engagement, but ensure they don’t slow down the website.

Here are some of the most common mistakes made in web design:

Don’t overload with content:

Avoid overwhelming visitors with excessive content or information on a single page. Focus on providing concise and valuable information. Use visual elements to break up text and make it more digestible.

Don’t overboard with colors and fonts:

If you go overboard with colors and fonts, you’ll create a site that is hard to look at and complicated to navigate. Visitors should be able to navigate around your site and follow CTAs without jumping through hoops. Choose a typeface and color scheme and stick to it.

Don’t overuse pop-ups:

Pop-ups can be a valuable marketing tool for your website. You can use pop-ups to inform your website visitors of a sale or discount or prompt them to subscribe to your newsletter. Pop-ups can help to engage your audience, but if you overdo them, they can be annoying or disruptive.

Don’t follow every trend:

If you’re looking to build a sustainable brand, basing your whole website or visual identity around a passing trend can be a big mistake. Consider current trends, but create a site design that’s still authentic to you and your audience.

Don’t use unclear or ambiguous labels:

Avoid using vague or confusing labels for navigation menus, buttons, or forms. Use clear and descriptive language so that visitors can easily understand and know what to expect.

Do SEO in web design:

Incorporate basic search engine optimization (SEO) principles into your website design. Optimize page titles, meta descriptions, header tags, and URL structures to improve search engine visibility and organic traffic. Original content and SEO work hand in hand; by creating helpful content for visitors, including text, images and videos, your site will rank better in search results.

Conclusion:

By following these dos and don’ts, you can create a website that is visually appealing, user-friendly, and aligned with best practices in web design. Remember to consider your target audience, their needs, and the overall goals of your website to create a tailored and effective user experience.