10 Design Elements for a Great Website

The process of creating a website is called web design. It includes a few different aspects, such as web page layout, content production, and graphic design. It uses many of the same key visual elements as all types of design.

There are several elements of web design; each of these fundamentals contributes in its own way to the overall user experience. Here are 10 qualities that a great website will need:

1. Layout

Your site’s overall look is a crucial component of web design. First impressions are critical, so you want to wow your audience as soon as the page loads.

A user only takes 50 milliseconds to form an opinion about your website, and that will determine whether they stay or leave. First impressions are critical, so you want to wow your audience as soon as the page loads.

2. Color Scheme

Your color palette and fonts will directly inform your visitors opinions of your website. Choosing a color scheme requires careful attention to your brand's or industry's perspective. Color schemes and color usage are very important when it comes to modern web design. A strong color palette will help create cohesiveness between everything your business puts out.

The choice of colors depends on the purpose and clients; it could be a simple black-and-white to multi-colored design, conveying the personality of a person or the brand of an organization using web-safe colors.

3. User-Friendly

Keeping your website's design focused on simplicity and usability will help the first-time visitor navigate your website and hopefully find what they are looking for (contact information, product information, service offerings, etc.). A website should be user-friendly before a company should concern itself with ranking higher on a search engine results page.

4. Compatibility

A website should be able to perform equally well on different browsers and operating systems to increase its viewing.

To better serve visitors who access your site on a phone or tablet, Google is already introducing a mobile-first index to rank sites in search results. Mobile-friendly websites aren’t just a nice, hip feature anymore—tthey’re a necessity.

5. Graphics

Graphics such as logos, photos, clipart, or icons, all of which enhance the web design, For user friendliness, these need to be placed appropriately, working with the color and content of the web page while not making it too congested or slow to load.

6. Navigation

A website should be easy to navigate, and the menus should be easily accessible from any page. The user should always know exactly where they are on the website and have easy access to where they would like to be. A site map is a great idea and will be used if available. This sounds basic, but most websites could be improved in this area. Remember, there is a fine line between an interactive menu and an annoying one, so functionality should be the idea.

7. Fonts

The use of various fonts can enhance a website's design. Most web browsers can only read a select number of fonts, known as "web-safe fonts", so your designer will generally work within this widely accepted group.

Your text should be easily readable, which generally means the body copy should be at least 16 pixels wide. Using a complementary font is ideal for headings or accents, but don’t go beyond three typefaces or make unnecessary sizing adjustments. Of course, you’ll want to make sure there’s plenty of contrast between your text and the site’s background colors, which generally means a light color paired with a dark tone—aavoid that piercing red-font-on-green-background eyesore.

8. Content

There's no denying that content is King'. It plays a massive role in Search Engine optimization (SEO) and is one of the main reasons people visit your website.

You really need to focus a great deal of effort into creating first-class content for your website, which should include videos, relevant news and information, and high-resolution imagery to make your website ‘stickier’. This will ensure you keep your users on your website for longer.

9. Interaction

Your website must engage with your audience, hold their attention, direct them through the stages of your website, and finally encourage them to contact you.

Your website isn’t just there for show; it is there to help you generate leads, increase sales, and grow your business, so ensure your website engages with your visitors in the correct way.

Increase active user participation and involvement by adding comment boxes and opinion polls to the design. Convert users from visitors to clients with email forms and newsletter sign-ups.

10. Speed Optimization

Optimizing for speed is an imperative design element that should not be overlooked.

With technology today, people expect things to load fast, or they will probably throw in the towel three seconds later and never return.

Conclusion

As a business, you don’t want leads and prospects to think negatively about your brand just because your website is slow. Prioritize the user experience, and make sure that you optimize your website for not only its physical design but its functionality too. You also need to consider your mobile site's speed. Most people today look at websites on mobile devices, and slow mobile site speed will cause a higher bounce rate and more exits.

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