When it comes to designing a website for our business, we have to think carefully about how our choices impact the people who visit the site.
The most important rule for more than a decade now is that your website has to be responsive.
More people are visiting websites from devices like phones and tablets. Your website has to look good on all these devices and should resize automatically to the size of their screen.
What are some other golden rules?
Create a clean layout that’s user friendly
Your website visitor should get a positive feeling when they visit your website for the first time.
They should be able to find the information they are searching for by using site navigation that makes sense.
Text should be easy to read with a larger font size, especially for mobile.
Design for everyone
People with vision impairments are navigating the web. They need to be able to interact with your content.
To make your site design as accessible as possible:
- Stick to the best reading format which is black text on a white background.
- Use a smooth sans serif font in a larger size.
All messages are honest and trustworthy
Your website is about your business, not your competitor’s, so the message needs to be uniquely yours.
- Write text that is clear, concise, and not too wordy.
- People skim through text so short and sweet sentences work best.
Your website content should always convey honest information that is never misleading.
Skip the animations
Things that blink or flash rapidly are a deterrent for today’s website visitor.
Web animation is no longer an attraction. It’s annoyance to users that also slows a website speed down.
Call to action
Make it easy for people to contact you by adding obvious “Contact Us” or “Email Us” links.
Buttons that are a little bigger will get everyone’s attention. They’re easy to see and easy to click on, especially when using a mobile device.
It’s always about the user
Your website will bring more success when the focus is on the person at the other end of the conversation.
Keep your pages simple, your design clean, and your navigation concise. Your website will be easier for your audience to use which should mean more leads!
