When it comes to website design, users want two things above all else: simplicity and clarity. These principles will help you create a site that effectively conveys your information and looks great at the same time. We’ll use these principles to create a simple website for the Oregon Zoo that clearly conveys information about the zoo’s animals and exhibits.
With so many design principles and guidelines to follow, it’s no surprise that online business owners have many questions about website design best practices. In this post, we’ll cover some of the core website design principles that should be followed to build a successful site.
There are many different things to pay attention to and today we are going to focus on website design principles. These principles will help you create a website that is effective and beautiful.
Websites Need To Have A Purpose-Based Design
Designing a website with a specific purpose in mind is essential to its success. Many purpose-driven organizations view their website as a digital brochure and one-stop shop. Though information about an organization is important, this approach often misses an opportunity to deeply engage an audience and inspire meaningful action.
This is why you should create a website with a purpose and use this as your guide when creating content and designing your website. User experience design (also known as UX design) is the process of creating websites with the user in mind rather than the designer or business owner.
When creating a website, it’s important to think about who will be using it and what their needs are. Some websites focus on creating a clean and simple interface while others focus on creating beautiful layouts and graphics. It’s important to know your target audience and what their needs are in order to design the most effective website possible
The main purpose of a website varies from person to person. It could be for business purposes, educational purposes, personal, divisive, or any other purpose. If you are building a travel blog, you could have a purpose as wide-ranging as spreading information about travel destinations or building awareness for a specific service or product. You can change the purpose of your website later if your business goals change.
A Website Design Needs To Be Consistent
Visual and functional consistency refers to the ways in which the elements of a website appear the same throughout. These elements include fonts, buttons, photos, layout, and interactions. Having a consistent layout and style can increase your website’s speed and make navigation easier for your visitors.
It’s also a good idea to use the same font, colors, and icon family throughout your website. Here are some tips to make your website look consistent:
First, keep in mind that you won’t be as familiar with your site as your users are, so it’s essential to look at your design elements from a third-party perspective. The same rule applies to font size. Another important aspect of your website’s design is the graphics.
Graphics define how your site looks and feels, and are therefore one of the most crucial elements in creating a coherent website design. Adding additional graphics should match the original design, but not be added on top.
Another aspect of design consistency is functionality. Consistency means that similar objects behave the same way. A typical example of this is a website that uses its logo in the top-left corner of its header. By clicking the logo, users are taken to the home page. In the same way, a click on the name of a publication will take them back to the home page. Most users expect the same behavior from websites.
Simple And Intuitive Website Navigation
If you have a complicated site, you may want to consider incorporating simple and intuitive website navigation to make it easier for users to find information. This type of navigation allows your website visitors to skip over the information they don’t need, allowing them to consume what they need and skip the rest.
While this type of website navigation may take a little extra work, the benefits far outweigh the effort. A site that is easy to navigate can encourage return visits and become the go-to resource for a particular topic. It is important to remember that people tend to make a judgment about a site’s navigation within a matter of seconds.
Making your site easy to use increases the likelihood that people will return. In addition to being more likely to be used to navigating through a website, an intuitive design is more likely to be used to gain trust. People are far more likely to stick around a website that is easy to use and provides what they want without much thought.
Good Website Design Follows A Visual Hierarchy
A good website design follows a visual hierarchy. A good visual hierarchy reflects the importance of the content on the page. It incorporates important keys and changes in color, scaling, and grouping. It also considers how the user intends to read the content. For this purpose, testing your website design with a user group will be helpful. A good visual hierarchy will help your visitors complete their tasks and build trust in your brand.
It is also important to understand that good website design does not just focus on aesthetics. Navigation and usability should be placed at the top of the hierarchy. Having clear navigation and product pages is essential for good website design.
Without clear navigation, a website will not be able to achieve its full potential. In fact, the right website design should be intuitive. Here are some of the key principles of good website design:
Typography: The size and weight of elements in a design can establish a hierarchy. It can be achieved by pairing heavy and thin typefaces. A combination of thick and thin text will add visual hierarchy while maintaining balance and harmony. Visual hierarchy design on mobile and desktop tends to be the same.
The main difference is in the screen space between the two. A user’s attention span and screen resolution will influence their reading habits, so keeping the right balance is essential.
A Website Needs To Be Responsive
The term responsive design refers to the ability of a website to respond to changes in the user’s environment and behavior. A responsive website needs to be built with a fluid grid foundation, a framework that adapts to varying screen sizes. This foundation determines the behavior of content on the site, such as rearranging the columns, hiding some sections, or swapping some to make them more visible.
In the majority of cases, this foundation is based on the common sizes of computers and mobile devices. Having a responsive layout is vital for a number of reasons. First and foremost, it allows your site to provide the same, consistent experience across various devices.
Today’s multi-screen society means consumers are using multiple devices to access content, and they want to be able to seamlessly move from one device to the next. As a result, a responsive website will increase your site’s appeal and keep visitors on your site longer.
Use A Good Amount Of White Space
Using a good amount of white space when designing a site is a proven way to make the most of the overall design. Not only does this create harmony across the web, but it can also help you communicate your brand’s tone and personality through the design. A well-designed site will feature plenty of white space to keep things organized and focused.
Using negative space also improves the usability of your site and makes it easier to navigate. Use a good amount of white space on your site to draw attention to important call-to-actions. Using a good amount of white space around important content elements can increase comprehension and prominence by 20%.
This is why many high-end brands use generous amounts of white space on their websites. They can easily exude class and sophistication to visitors by creating a sense of luxury. For example, you can use a large margin around your CTA, which will make it stand out. The principle of proximity has been practiced by designers for centuries and is a proven way to make your content more appealing to readers.
Offer Relevant Content
Users will lose interest quickly if a website offers them information that is irrelevant to them and their interests. They might visit a site to learn about a new movie coming out and then leave after finding no relevant information about the film on the site.
To avoid this, make sure visitors to your site find information that’s relevant to their interests and needs on your website page. You can do this by including relevant content in your website’s content. You can also include links to other pages on your site that offer more relevant content to users when they find this information to be missing or insufficient.
Consumers visit your website to find information and answers to their questions. They do not want to be bombarded with useless information. Secondly, avoid using jargon and use words that any reader can understand. Finally, make sure that your website is easy to navigate. Offer relevant content to increase the chances that your customers will return to your site.
Conclusion
As you can see, the principles outlined above can help you create a website that is both informative and easy to navigate. Think about these principles when redesigning your own site or creating a website for a client so that you can help them achieve their goals.
When designing a website, it’s important to follow the principles of simplicity and clarity in order to make your website as effective as possible. By following these principles, you can create a site that effectively conveys your information and looks great at the same time!
Users want two things above all else: simplicity and clarity. These principles will help you create a site that effectively conveys your information and looks great at the same time.
When it comes to website design, users want two things above all else: simplicity and clarity. These principles will help you create a site that effectively conveys your information and looks great at the same time.
