Did you know that 75% of people form an opinion of a website based on its design?

First impressions count, and nowhere is that more important than on your digital platforms. But do you know what a well-designed website actually looks like?

A number of factors come into play when designing the perfect webpage. Read on as we discuss 11 must-know website design tips from our experts. 

1. Keep It Simple

It can be enticing to fill your website with everything you have to offer a potential lead. You can have pop-ups offering sales, bold news items, banners advertising new products, and many more.

However, all this does is confuse the visitor. 

Keep your website simple and uncluttered. Make sure that when people arrive, they see what your overall mission and service are. After this, easy, well-placed navigation should drive them on instead of having everything on one page. 

2. Make It Mobile Responsive

Nearly 40% of e-commerce purchases are made on mobile phones. Just because your website is easy to navigate on a desktop does not mean it will be on the screen of a cell phone.

That is why you need to be responsive when designing a website.

Mobile responsive websites adapt to fit the screen they are viewed on. They may change button sizes, or resize text and pictures. This enhances the user experience and is a sought after SEO factor by Google. 

3. Use a Visual Hierarchy

Have you ever noticed how all the boring information, like legal information and contact details, are at the bottom of a webpage in small text?

This is because most websites employ a visual hierarchy to draw the eye down the webpage. It involves putting the largest items at the top and making them smaller the further down the page you go. 

For example, your large images and most important headers should be at the top of the page. This should be followed by less important headers and images, in smaller proportions.

4. Use Colour Theory

There are numerous papers and studies on the impact of colour and how it is perceived. There have been even more studies on how this works in a marketing context. The bottom line is that the colours you choose to have on your website can have a huge impact on the image visitors get of your company. 

For example, red signals energy, urgency and excitement. Blue induces feelings of trust and security. 

You may have explored some of this when you did your company branding. However, if not, you should speak about it with a web design agency that can decide the best course of action. 

5. Text

The text design not only says a lot about your business but should increase readability. If you pick fonts that don’t work well together or background and text colours that clash, it can start to look very messy.

Start by limiting yourself to two fonts. One should be for headings and one for the body. Ideally, choose serif and sans serif fonts that work well together. 

You also need a reasonably sized font for readability. 14 is the standard measure for a webpage body. Over 16 should be reserved for headers only. 

6. Showcase Products and Services Well

When selling a product or service, you have less than a few seconds until people decide if they will buy. You need to do everything you can to make it easy for them to see and want the product. 

Make sure you have great images. If you have to pay to have them done professionally, they’ll be worth the return on investment. 

Ensure the heading description or each product has everything the customer needs to know. After this, bullet point key features to make each page easy to skim. 

7. Make It Fast

A speedy website is important for two reasons. The first is that many people will look elsewhere if your website loads slowly. They will also be unlikely to return to your page for future transactions. 

Second, the amount of time people stay on your site and look around is the bounce rate. This is a measurement used by Google for SEO purposes, as is the site loading time. A high bounce rate equals bad news for your SEO.

8. Visible Contact Details

For any product or service, make sure people can contact you easily.

Display emails, direct numbers and addresses all within easy reach of the visitor. You can enhance this with modern chatbots and FAQ sections to aid customer queries. 

9. Use a Call to Action

A call to action (CTA) is an instruction to a reader or website visitor on what they should do next.

It can be as simple as telling them to call a number for services or inviting them to read an article to find out more information. It stops the visitor from getting lost and going elsewhere.

Very often, buttons are a great way to make a CTA stand out. Use language that tells them about the benefit of following the action, such as providing discounts or giving them more information. You should also use standout colours for the buttons. 

10. Add Testimonials

Testimonials are a great way to build trust with visitors.

However, the trick is to use them sparingly and not fill a whole page or section with them. Instead, spread customer testimonials throughout your website so people get a small taste wherever they go. 

11. Use the Rule of Three Clicks

The rule of three clicks is a secret used by the best business websites. Any visitor to your website should be able to find any information, product or service within three clicks on the page.

If something takes four clicks to reach, then a redesign is in order. 

Implementing Website Design Tips

Despite an understanding of these website design tips, it can be tough to put them into practice. While it may be worth trying on your own, the expertise of an experienced web design agency is invaluable. 

Your first stop should be Market Your Biz. We have solutions for all of your digital marketing needs. Click here to see our excellent range of web design services and let us help build your online business.