Did you know that there are almost 2 billion websites operating all over the world today?

It can be tough to make your website stand out in this ocean of competition.

It’s challenging enough to attract visitors to your site, let alone make them stay and engage in any action. 

A well-designed website can play a huge role in gaining a new customer and losing a potential one.

It allows users to learn about your company and its products and services.

But what makes a website design effective? 

This post will provide 10 guiding principles that help improve your website design and attract more customers. But before that, let’s get into how the user sees your website. 

User’s Thinking Process

Web users are not that different from people shopping in offline stores. They like to quickly scan each new page, read just a little portion of the content, and then choose the first link that seems interesting or remotely related to what they’re seeking.

In a nutshell, if they like the look and feel of the website, they skim to get to the information that is relevant to them.

Furthermore, users like to feel in charge. They want their data to be consistent and tailored to their usage, whether it’s on a mobile device, laptop or PC.

Now that you know what the user thinks while going through a website, let’s learn how to enhance the design for your site.

• Make It Credible

The first step in establishing trust is to educate your target audience.

People’s interest in your site will be piqued or waned during the first few seconds of their visit.

To establish trustworthiness and credibility, your website’s content must be well-written and informative. One effective strategy is to be forthright and honest about your company and the services it provides.

You should also focus on creating an informative blog that addresses the field in which your business works. People who read it will see you in a more authoritative light since it shows that you understand their requirements and have expertise in the field.

• Focus on Simplicity

As a business owner, your goal should be to make your website self-explanatory and leave no chance for the user to question anything. 

Users are more likely to interact with your website if the interface has a straightforward layout, modest visual cues, and an easy navigation system.

Having precise and easy-to-navigate information on the site helps users quickly comprehend the system’s purpose. Once this is done, you can explain the system’s value and the ways in which users will profit from it. Feel free to take reference from Kelowna web design company for more guidance. 

• Keep It Consistent

A well-executed web design in Kelowna, whether it’s local SEO or global SEO is all about consistency. Consistency in branding across platforms is an effective way to build recognition of a brand and provide an air of authority to one’s communications.

Maintaining visual coherence across all of your platforms is a great way to earn your audience’s trust and respect.

Your website’s visual design should be consistent with that of your printed and online advertisements.

Maintaining a consistent voice throughout all of your content will endear your brand to your audience and build confidence in what you have to offer.

• Identify Your User

Knowing your target audience is also essential to the success of your website. When you know who will be browsing your site, blog articles, goods, and/or portfolio, you can tailor the experience to their needs.

It’s not as difficult as you would believe to identify your target demographic. For example, a company selling home essentials won’t have teenagers as their target market. The same goes for your business. 

One recommendation is to create a fictional representation of your ideal customer, or persona.

If you’re just getting started in your industry, doing market research is your best option when developing these personas.

Examine comparable sites on the web. Find out more about your users (or potential users) by conducting an in-depth survey.

Share your thoughts about your site, as well as those of its rivals and the impressions they provide, with your loved ones. Tools like your payment gateway or Google Analytics will provide you access to this information.

With this knowledge, you can tailor your content to better serve your current readership or to attract a whole new one.

• Focus on the Pictures

A picture is worth a thousand words when it comes to conveying information quickly.

In a well-designed website, photos are arranged in such a way as to discreetly direct visitors to the pages you want them to see. They may serve as directional arrows leading customers to call or buy now buttons.

Remember that quality matters most when selecting pictures for your website. There should be no blurriness or pixelation in any of the photographs, and they should all complement the site’s aesthetic.

It’s also a good idea to include pictures of people, as we tend to focus on facial features while viewing a picture.

Avoid using stock photographs that seem excessively fake. This may come out as corny and dishonest.

Use infographics instead of text wherever you can on your website. They are a fantastic tool for getting across complex ideas while holding the interest of readers. When browsing a website, most people just scan the content instead of reading it thoroughly. Because of this, infographics can communicate information better than simple words.

• Ensure Fast Loading

Today’s rushed lifestyles leave no one with the luxury of time to wait. Nowadays, people want things quickly, so you want to make sure your website load faster. Customers are more likely to leave if your website takes too long to load. The efficiency of your website will plummet if it doesn’t load fast. This means that you should absolutely aim for a load time for your website of fewer than 5 seconds.

If a visitor comes to your site looking for information or to place an order, you don’t want them to waste time browsing. It’s important to make a good first impression. Most users will not return to your website if it is sluggish to load.

If you want your site to rank better in search engines, fast loading is what you should focus on the most. If you can’t seem to figure it out yourself, you can outsource the same with a web design in Kelowna.

• Use Clear and Concise Writing

Because reading online differs from reading printed material, it is vital to adapt the writing style to the tastes and browsing patterns of consumers. If you include something solely for promotion, users are not going to read it. Similarly, they will skip long blocks of text that do not include any pictures or keywords that are indicated in bold or italics. 

Focus on the business. A good rule of thumb is to steer clear of names that are charming or funny, names that are marketing-induced, company-specific names, and unusual technical names. For example, if you want individuals to register and you are describing a service, the phrase “sign up” is preferable to “start now!”

One of the most effective ways to improve your writing is to.

Make use of brief and clear language (get to the point as soon as you possibly can), use a skimmable structure (divide the content, use multiple headings, use visual elements and bulleted lists), use clear and unambiguous language (a promotion does not have to sound like an advertisement; provide your consumers with a reason that is both logical and objective for why they should use your service or remain on your website).

• Don’t Be Afraid to Be Conventional

People have developed a certain level of familiarity with certain stock website templates.

Being distinct from others is often seen as a positive trait; however, it can be a smarter move to capitalize on what people are already used to and familiar with!

When it comes to the layout of an efficient website, there is no need to create anything from scratch.

Some examples of good website design conventions that should be adhered to include the following:

Each page has a navigation bar at the top and information on how to get in touch with the site’s administrators on the page’s bottom.

A logo that, when clicked, takes the user to the homepage of the site may be found at the top of each page.

In addition, a search box should be located toward the top of the page, often to the right.

Any links should be shown in a distinct colour, and the colour of those links should change as the mouse hovers over them.

In addition, online ordering icons are a distinctive element that should accompany “add to cart” or “show cart” buttons on websites that sell products online.

People have been trained to seek certain keywords, such as “check out,” “add to basket,” “contact us,” and “register.”

It is possible that thinking outside the box and using alternative terminology may be intriguing, but it is also possible that doing so will discourage some individuals from switching since they were looking for a more traditional phrase.

Causing confusion among the people that visit your website is probably the last thing you want to do.

By avoiding too complicated jargon and keeping to language that people are familiar with, you leave less space for interpretation and make it simpler for users to browse your website.

This website makes excellent use of standard practices, which results in a web page that is very simple to comprehend.

• Add Colour Schemes

The design of your website can make use of any one of the countless millions of possible colour combinations. However, you don’t want to make it overly general or use an excessive number of colours.

It is recommended that you keep the colour palette clean and use no more than three to five colours in your design.

You should avoid using an excessive number of photos in your design as well.

Always be sure to choose photos that accurately depict your company’s products, services, and brand. However, you should avoid including any photos that are not pertinent to the story or that do not provide anything of value to the presentation.

When creating a website, it is important to give careful consideration to both the aesthetic style and the overall mood of the design.

In the same way, you should keep the design uncluttered and simple so that it is easy to explore.

It is not required that you use a complicated design for your website that has a lot of different photos, components, and features. All you need is a simple yet modern design that is easy to navigate.

• Make It Accessible to All

Did you know almost 50% of the websites accessible are now accessed on mobile devices? 

Therefore, it’s no doubt that there would be an increase in the number of people accessing your website from their mobile devices.

You need to make sure that the design of your mobile website is as optimal as the design of your desktop site.

You can either build a mobile-specific version of your site or use a responsive design that automatically resizes to fit a user’s device.

An efficient design for a website involves ensuring that the site can be seen without difficulty on a variety of computer operating systems, web browsers, and electronic devices. These adaptive, responsive designs are important to enhance your conversions.

Conclusion

So, what did we learn so far?

In essence, your website serves as your digital business card. It is the thing that everyone, including your clients, investors, friends and family considers when they think about doing business with you.

If your website is constantly updated to the relevant trends, you can ensure that every user who visits your site will see it as a professional, reliable and trustworthy business.

A powerful website also attracts visitors via Google, receives links from other websites that are authoritative in their field, and is shared more often. Also you can check your design with Local SEO Company.

We’re in 2023. A fantastic website is no more a “nice to have” in today’s digital age. It is an unquestionable need.

If you are starting out and need help from a professional, you can get any company for web design in Kelowna to assist you.