What are some best practices for web design?
I want to design websites for my business. Suggest some of the best practices for web design.
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Jan 24, 2018
Do not use templates. Our company started with designing template websites because that is what everyone was using at the time. However, templates have the tendency to break down.
How many websites do you need for one business? You don't need to create different websites for different departments. For example, our client Wayne Printing (http://www.waynewag.com/) has two different business sections. We combined them both in one website that we could optimize for search.
Jan 29, 2018
5 tips for improving your web design
Thanks to the prominence of DIY site builders and affordable web development teams, anyone can try their hand at building their own website. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that you should try and make your mark on the digital world.
There are a plethora of factors which distinguish good websites from the majority of poor, and even average ones.
If you answer ‘no’ to any of these questions, it’s time for you to take a look at your site. After all, your website is the first impression that online consumers get of your company: you wouldn’t have a physical storefront in tatters, so why would you have an inaccessible, subpar site?
Here are 5 tips to ensure that your web design is as good as it can be…
Solid Foundations
Many people are eager to get their own piece of ecommerce, but make sure you don’t rush into things. Map things out, and make sure you have a long-term plan for your site.
What are your customer’s needs, and why are they visiting your site? Don’t make your site specialise in one area, allow yourself room for growth and development in the future.
Keep it Simple
There’s nothing wrong with keeping your site concise. Short, sharp sentences keep attention spans much more than lengthy, descriptive paragraphs. Similarly, there’s nothing wrong with making your site accessible: rid your site of any stocky images, excessive animations, lengthy content and irrelevant elements of the site.
Equally, make sure your site’s navigation is simple. Streamline your content to avoid any bounce back; ensure that people have no reason to leave your site through excessive functionality, or an abundance of features.
Be Sociable
If you’re looking at making a website, chances are you have a pre-existing social media following. Make sure you don’t miss out on a sizeable portion of traffic by implementing social sharing buttons.
Follow Up with Site Maintenance
There are plenty of free tools available that can help you make the most of your site once it’s launched. Sharing tools like SumoMe and Shareaholic help you utilise your existing following.
SEO tools in content management systems are just as accessible, and can really help you expand your reach. But be careful – you may need help with the construction of a site, and you may also need a hand to best utilise social tools to maintain your site. If you’re uncertain, digital marketing experts always come in handy.
Never stop testing your site, too. Always check for broken links, easy design changes, working buttons, keywords, loading times, and site performance. By continually testing, you can identify popular content, and identify arras which require improvement. This is a best practice, and one which is often overlooked.
Mobile Optimisation.
It’s rumoured that over 60% of mobile users won’t return to site that isn’t optimised for mobile, and will go to a competitor’s site instead. Hence mobile optimisation isn’t an option, it’s a necessity. Depending on the nature of your site, this is something that you should implement and consider as early as possible.
Check out our wide range of services and offers to help your site make its mark.
We have lot's of experience with web design/development and digital marketing. With a team of 30 on hand at all times, please feel free to pop over to our blog page to see lots of other great content. www.jack-enterprises.com
Jan 25, 2018
Dear Awathi
We have been designing and hosting website since 2006, so we can say we have almost seen it all!
There 2 basic problems with web design projects.
Firstly, people start from aesthetics, then think about functionality, and then wake up to the fact “OMG, how are we going to get traffic, so better do some SEO!”. This process means people end up with beautifully designed websites, but virtually no traffic or conversion from their site. 90% of new websites projects we get involved with are replacing or redesigning an existing website, which in itself is evidential proof of our point. Most websites have gone through a back-to-front design process.
Here are a couple of articles to help you on this subject:
https://www.cognisant-hosting.com/how-to-avoid-website-design-disasters/
https://www.cognisant-hosting.com/3-mistakes-in-designing-a-new-website/
Secondly, everyone thinks they can design a website. What can be easier? Head to one of the Theme or Template sites, buy yourself a WordPress & Joomla theme for $60, and bingo, you have a website. Except that you won't!
The time and effort you need to learn CSS, PHP, JavaScripts, etc. to make any theme or template fit your business, means it will cost you more in time than if you went to someone who knows what they are doing. Most “Self Made” websites are so blatantly obvious to pros that it is almost embarrassing. I have lost count of the number of project that has landed on our desk with owners who have started a project and decided it was too much. Now we have to clean up the code, restart the design the sensible way (from SEO & Traffic to Function to Design), which will mean more cost and time than if the owner came to us to start with.
The problem here is this. These days in most cases the Internet is your primary source of attracting customers to your business and in some cases up to 100% of revenue comes from the website. Your website is now probably the most important sales and marketing asset.
So why would you cut corners?
If you were a car racing team or F1 team, would you enter the race with the cheapest home-made chassis, engine, and transmission? What would your chances of a win against the pro-teams? Surely almost zero.
So why would you skimp on your primary source of sales lead and income? It is just bad business.
You can save yourself a lot of time, effort, money, and heartache if you just create a fully documented website brief and gave it to a professional to do it for you. Here is how to do it:
https://www.cognisant-hosting.com/create-website-design-brief/
I hope this helps.
Jun 29, 2018
It depends a lot on the type of your business. The best way for you to decide is to create a list of competitors. Divide them into two parts. The first part would be the most branded and successful ones. Part two would be competitors with less "white" marketing practices but with good search engine rankings. Decide what you would want to work with. Obviously, those designs work well.
Continue watching your competitors.
Once you create a design prototype, go to review sites where people will tell what they think. It helps a looooot!
Ali from PersonalMoneyService.com
Jan 26, 2018
1. Take some ideas from templatemonster.com.
2. Google some "website user experience tips".
3. Make your website and content - useful, usable, valuable, desirable, accessible, credible, findable.
4. Use different types of content - text, images, video.
5. Make some A/B testing for websites. Test different designs.
Feb 15, 2018
I like Wordpress for creating some landing pages and websites. As for some templates, I recommend you just to browse some services with those, you will surely find something for you. But I personally like using the help of the service from https://weblium.com more. It allows me to build a really nice and unique website fro any purpose. I think you might like it too, take a look there ;)
Jan 25, 2018
There is some best Practice for Web Design, but Some of best are:
1. Learn Web design Technology and apply them. but it might take time.
2. You can Create websites on Wordpress, which is very easy to install and create web pages. There are many free themes are available according to the business you own.
Visit Orange County Web Design Company to Know More: https://www.1ezconsulting.com/
Feb 8, 2018
Hi Aswathi,
You may look into our official blog with very rich information...
http://www.vocso.com/blog/top-web-design-trends-for-2014/
Do not hesitate to reach out to me in case you want further information. And yes, I do not recommend going for templates. Afterall, your business must have some unique aspects, which templates can't reflect.
For more useful resources, read this...
http://www.vocso.com/blog/
Best Regards,
Deepak Chauhan
Jan 25, 2018
When it comes to web design, I can recommend you to pick a WP theme like those provided by TemplateMonster https://www.templatemonster.com/ and customize it according to your requirements. It will be a great starting point for you, I think.
Jun 18, 2018
If you want to do it alone, you have to do some tweaking on the HTML and CSS. But you must be sure what you will be doing and you should be capable of coding. But alternatively, you can hire a web design professional.
Mar 5, 2018
To some degree, it's hard to advise as you didn't say the market you're in...that being said, if you want your website to sell and help your business, there are rules that hold true for all niches and businesses.
Your website has a few jobs
1. Bring leads
2. Educate leads
3. Collect information, so, you can remarket and stay in touch
4. Turn those leads into interested customers
5. Close those leads
From a pure business stand point, that is the priority of any website. Get eyeballs, collect information of visitors, close sales.
So, with that in mind your website should be designed to prioritize those objectives. How to do that, well here's a list:
1. Have content that brings in traffic (content marketing)
The average user nowadays researchers, reads, and visits websites to learn about products. You should have content to help educate and bring in visitors.
2. Have boxes to collect emails
Once someone is on your site, statistically they won't spend more than 1 minute on your site. This means, they grab what they need, leave, and forget you ever existed. You'll do well to design your website so it can quickly gather data from your visitor.
Some ways to do that are:
Install google analytics
FB Pixel
Email pop-up
Email Optin box up top, at bottom, and throughout pages with content
Some good sites to look for examples are:
ThrivingLaunch
SteveOlsher
SocialTriggers
And there's many others, but these will do the trick.
A site isn't about looking sleek, and fancy - it's about attracting eyeballs, building trust, collecting data, and using that data to help increase sales. If your site is and sleek and fancy but can't do this stuff, it will never help your business online.
Apr 3, 2018
Much of my advice echoes Jordyn Shawhan (above). Also, template-based sites can be compromised (hacked, directory file corruption, etc.) so you better have a backup plan in the case of an emergency. Depending on the complexity of the site, basic HTML (in the right hands) can deliver a solid, inspired, and fast moving website. Remember that people like to see where they can go before they go, so try to have your navigation visible, not hidden. Start with initial SEO, and then CONTINUALLY improve it according to the results. Tweaks can make a big difference. Last, don't forget mobile, but only include content that people on the go may need to engage with you. The WHOLE site isn't required. Consider a separate small mobile component instead of a responsive solution. They're super easy to keep updated. These are just the mere tips of the iceberg. Consider hiring a professional Designer who is experienced in the biz (longer than 5 minutes) and specializes in working with small-businesses-of-one.
Apr 25, 2018
When it comes to web design, I can recommend you to pick a WP theme like those provided by SKT Themes, https://www.sktthemes.net/ and customize it according to your requirements. It will be a great starting point for you, I think.
Apr 25, 2018
Check this fresh post, https://www.forbes.com/sites/denispinsky/2018/02/12/website-design-standards/.
May 22, 2018
If you are interested in a new approach to web design, I recommend checking the latest projects like https://snowfox.tech. They might seem quite simple at the first sight, but can attract a large audience in case of a proper marketing. I'm sure such projects will become more popular in future, personally I've become interested in them. I shared this information in the hope it will be helpful for you!
Oct 3, 2018
It's better to define your business category or define what your niche is as web design trends change rapidly.
Dec 12, 2018
Here are the best web design practices for a successful business:
- Keep Branding Consistent
- Develop Strong CTAs
- SEO
- Social Media
- Fast Loading Time
- Easy Navigation
Sep 25, 2019
Below are web design best practices that you should implement for greater business success.
The first attempt to produce your business website is efficient and sparkling to draw users. User-friendly web design has informative content, graphics and proper color of the design. Do not offer the services as you do not have a skill-set. Do not use unnecessary graphic which really not show your services.
1. Keep Branding Consistent
2. Create Strong CTAs
3. Fast Loading Time
4. SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
5. Mobile-Friendly
6. Easy Navigation
7. Email Marketing
8. Social Media