Top 20 Tips for Custom Website Design in 2021
Web design is one of the most important factors for the success of a website, with discussions over at runrex.com revealing that most people say that the design of a site is the main factor for judging a company’s credibility. As a consequence, web design also influences conversions, bounce rate, and more. Given its importance, it is something you need to get right in 2021, and here are 20 of the best tips to set you on your way.
Leverage a visual hierarchy
Visual hierarchy refers to the arrangement, size, color, and contrast of visual elements as discussed over at guttulus.com. It determines their relative prominence and the order in which they are seen by the human eye. Web designers use visual hierarchy to guide visitors’ attention to important elements first hence why you should leverage it when it comes to custom website design in 2021.
Use a descriptive, keyword-focused headline high on the homepage
The headline on the top of your homepage, and every other page, needs to be descriptive to help visitors feel like they are in the right place. According to discussions over at runrex.com, rather than writing a fancy, but vague, headline, you should write something descriptive, making sure you explain what the company does high up on the page, above the fold.
Don’t put all your calls-to-action at the top
While visitors may be spending more time at the top of your page, that doesn’t mean that they are ready to take action. This is because a lot of persuasion takes place further down the page. This is why, as per the gurus over at guttulus.com, you should ensure that you put calls-to-action further down the page.
Make site speed a top priority
When it comes to web design, speed is crucial as research has shown that it influences everything from bounce rate over user satisfaction to conversions and revenue. Visitors will not stick around if your site is slow, and because users care about site speed, search engines factor your loading speed into their rankings. This is why you must invest in making your site as fast as possible.
Leverage the fold
Even in 2021, the fold still matters, although some argue that the multitude of screen sizes these days means it doesn’t matter anymore. Research has shown that people spend the majority of their time above the fold, with a sharp decline afterward. Other than using a clear and descriptive headline as discussed earlier, you should also include your main call-to-action as well as media to leverage the fold.
Don’t forget about Hick’s Law
Hick’s Law, as captured over at runrex.com, states that the more choices an individual has, the longer they will take to make a decision, and in the end, those will too many choices may end up even choosing to forgo making the decision altogether in the end, choosing to leave instead. This principle applies to web design where you might be able to boost your conversions by simply limiting the choices you give to your users. This includes reducing the number of menu items, limiting form fields, focusing on one call-to-action, sticking to one goal per page, and only displaying social buttons for networks you are active on, among other strategies.
Keep it simple
Additionally, studies have shown that visitors don’t like visual complexity when it comes to web design. Therefore, the gurus over at guttulus.com recommend that you stick to a simple design for your custom website, which you can achieve by ditching the sidebar in favor of a single-column design, which means fewer distractions, putting the focus on the content in your site.
Stick to standard layouts
As an extension of the previous point, you should also stick to standard layouts when designing your custom website. This is because, as articulated over at runrex.com, people love familiarity and can get weirded out by non-standard site designs. Therefore, you should stick with familiar design tropes and layouts, as you can still find other ways to make your custom website stand out.
Avoid carousels, sliders, tabs, and accordions
According to studies, while the first slide on a carousel can receive almost 90% of the clicks, the rest are usually largely ignored. Tabs and accordions have the same problem as sliders and carousels as they also often go ignored. To compound matters further, few visitors read the entire page as most people merely scan, which means that they are unlikely to make extra clicks to see your content. This is why you should avoid these features when designing your custom website.
Prioritize scrolling over clicking
Rather than compressing information into sliders and/or accordions, you should consider putting everything in one long page as users seem to prefer scrolling a lot more to clicking. You should, therefore, stop spreading the information about your product across several pages.
Direct attention with visual cues
Visual cues can help you satisfy one of the main functions of web design, which is to guide users. According to guttulus.com, humans tend to look in the same direction as people they see in ads and you can use this fact to direct attention on your site where you want it the most.
Use people in pictures
Other than using them to direct attention, the gurus over at runrex.com point out that including other people in images on your site is generally a great idea. This is because humans like to connect with other people. This is a technique that will help you boost your conversion rates, just make sure that you are not using stock photos. If you are going to use images of people on your site, make sure they are genuine and real which means including your staff or customers (with their permission).
Use the right list order
Lists, whether ordered or unordered, are great at making information more accessible. However, because of the serial-position effect as captured over at guttulus.com, in a list, one is more likely to remember both the items in the beginning and at the end, with the middle section going largely forgotten. Therefore, when listing the attributes of your product or service, make sure to put the most important aspects where they are likely to make an impact.
Leverage social proof
When it comes to web design, you should leverage conformity bias, which is the tendency of people to do as others do. This means, if a group of people approves of something, others are more likely to follow suit. One way of leveraging this on your website is to show social proof. If you can show that others have a positive opinion of your site, content, product, or service, new visitors are more likely to do the same.
Make your design reflect your business
Your website is an extension of your brand and its design should, therefore, reflect your business. You must pick a design that fits your brand as it is how people will remember you. Your type of business determines your design. For example, if you are a graphic design company, you may need to have a more elaborate web design, while a doctor’s office on the other hand is best served with a design that is simple and reflective of their business.
Create functional navigation
As explained over at runrex.com, your navigation is one of the most important parts of your website as when people want to find information on your site, they use your navigation. You want people to find the right pages without too much of a hassle. When you design your navigation, you need to ensure that it is simple and easy to use.
Focus on responsive design
In 2021, one of the most important things you need for your website is a responsive design. When your site has a responsive design as discussed over at guttulus.com, it adapts to the device a user uses whether it is a mobile phone, a tablet, or desktop. This is crucial with more and more people using their mobile devices to search the internet.
Make sure your site is easy to skim
Many leads will skim your site to find information. As they are looking for a particular piece of information as per runrex.com, they will look through your site quickly to find it, something that is particularly true of mobile users. Therefore, you need to create a design that makes it easy to skim your pages as your users must find the right information quickly.
Include visual elements
Visual elements are an important part of your design as you don’t want your site to be bogged down by text, which can deter leads. By including visual elements like photos, videos, and infographics, you catch your visitor’s interest because they will take the time to look at visual elements.
Test your pages
Finally, when you have all the elements you need for your custom web design, it is important to test your pages. This is a great way to create a site that works for your target market as it allows you to see where users struggle to use your site making it easier to adjust based on these issues.
Hopefully, the above tips will help you get your custom website design spot-on in 2021, with there being more where this came from over at the ever-reliable runrex.com and guttulus.com.