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5 Things to Consider When Designing a Website

There are many things to consider when designing a website from functionality to performance, and navigation to coding. A lot of aspects go into a successful, appealing, and user-friendly website and in order to achieve this goal, web designers and developers need to work together. A website needs to engage customers, be found by search engines such as Google, and represent the brand in an accurate and professional manner which places a lot of pressure on top of the business owner and the website itself.

Throughout this article, we will highlight the things that need to be considered when designing a website and guide you through how to create an original experience for your customers which will inspire them to become loyal!

1. Branding

Branding applies to all businesses and is equally important whether the business is large or small. It is important to remember that little details will make a big impression on viewers such as the design placement of a logo. It is recommended that a business should have their logo professionally designed as experts know what customers are looking for and how to catch their eye. The location of the logo on a website needs to be readily visible to visitors, which is often the top left-hand corner as this is where the eye instinctively begins to scan the site. Another recommendation is to use the same logo throughout all advertisement, packaging, and branded apparel as this will aid customers in remembering your brand and will increase brand recognition.

2. Navigation

If a website is difficult to navigate around, potential customers could leave the site and never look back. One piece of advice is to conduct a review, which needs to be thorough, on the site as if the business owner is a visitor. This will indicate whether the website performs correctly and whether it is easy enough for anyone to use. One way to improve the ability to work through a site easily, for visitors, is to add a site map. Finally, streamlining navigation by removing unnecessary or underperforming pages could potentially decrease load time and improve the overall brand online presence.

3. Colour Scheme

It is very rarely known to customers how important a colour scheme is for a website. Different colours can evoke different feelings such as happiness, anger, upset etc. so it is important to be selective and careful which colours are selected to represent a brand. Ask the questions “are these colours overwhelming or pleasing to look at?” and “how will the target audience react to these colours?”. Regardless of what choice of colour is made, it is important to spend time researching different colour options which will give customers a good impression of the business.

4. Social Media Incorporation

It is now seen as a requirement to incorporate social media pages onto a website. It is clear that technology makes sharing information incredibly easy which means that businesses who do not have social media are failing to take advantage of what has been compared to word-of-mouth advertising. Social media is the ideal way to promote a brand as it acts as a venue and a perfect opportunity for customers to leave reviews, share a business to friends, and stay updated with a company’s latest news. Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter allow the use of images and text to be shared and these are easy distributed around these social media platforms. It is highly recommended to take advantage of this.

5. Customer Testimonials

As previously highlighted, customers like to leave reviews on social media platforms so why not feature these on the website? By including these on a site, this demonstrates a businesses skills, products, and dedication to its customers. One piece of advice, for companies that already have a loyal base of customers, is to reach out as ask for reviews. If this is a success, it is possible to take advantage of this and create a video. Ensure that the testimonials are detailed and legitimate as customers will see this is it will increase the chances of gaining more!

I hope this article has helped assist in what should be considered when designing a website. It is incredibly important to remember what customers want and what would appeal to them the most – as without customers the website will not be a success!