Thunderbolt Digital are specialists when it comes to web design Surrey, and after having designing many a website, know the sorts of things we should and shouldn’t see on a well-designed and properly developed webpage. Most people can look at a website and say what the do and don’t like, but only web design specialists are able to tell what’s helping or harming your site; business owners often don’t know where to begin when it comes to best practice and could use a few pointers for what they need to be thinking about when it comes to web design, which is why we’ve compiled this handy list to help you!
Communication
Your company has a message it wants to put across – but not all of this can or should be done with the written word, as this can be overwhelming and boring! You need good design in order to communicate certain ideals and concepts to your target market, and the use of colour, layout, symbols, pictures and more can all help visitors to your site learn more about your company without having this information directly spoon fed to them. Think about it – copy is obviously a vital part of your website and is is invaluable when it comes to on-page SEO but you often need to show instead of (or as well as) telling. Look at our website, for example: we tell you that we offer professional website design and development, but the actual design of our website itself shows just how well we’re able to work; similarly, companies with a relaxed or fun ethos can indulge in brighter colours, and more serious businesses might make use of more straight lines and angular shapes in their design.
Solving a Problem
With this in mind, remember what your business is about. You’re here to fill a gap in the market or solve a problem for a customer – make sure that what you do is clear to see, and not a fog of confusion. Too many websites focus on things like brand ethics and sport ‘about us’ pages that focus on the teams and not the work they do so that it’s impossible to tell what sort of industry they’re even in – don’t make this mistake! Confused customers will go elsewhere, even if your website is beautiful and your company sounds great!
User Journey
Knowing where your audience is likely to look or are actively clicking on can make all the difference with how you present your website. Something to keep in mind is that people often scan pages in an “F-formation” – ensuring that your pages contain what you want to be seen in these ‘scan hotspots’ increases the odds that they’ll be noticed and acted upon. For those wanting more accurate data about what actual visitors to your site are interacting with, then heat maps can help greatly; seeing exactly where people are look and clicking allows you to make any necessary tweaks and really kick start the ideal user journey, although this is something better suited to redesign than the building of an entire new website.