When it comes to standing out on the World Wide Web, one of the best ways to do so is by having a well-designed website. First impressions are incredibly important, and you’ll want your website to be able to do just that. If not, then your website simply won’t rank high with search engines. In fact, the Internet population won’t even be able to notice your website or know it exists. In this article, we’ll explore five elements and principles of a good and successful website.
It’s therefore not enough to simply have a website up and running. Rather, you’ve also got to focus on ensuring your website stays well-designed and is placed on the best hosting providers. Doing so goes beyond the aesthetics per se. You’ve also got to factor in the content, usability, mobile interface, among others.
With that in mind, let’s dive right into the key elements and principles you need to abide by. To confidently say you’ve got a well-designed website.
1. Quality Content: Elements And Principles of a Good Website
Content should always be form as part of your website design process. Always aim for first-class quality content. Apart from it being well-written, your content should also be up-to-date and relevant in today’s time. If not, no readers are going to be attracted to go through your content.
‘Content is king’, and most rightfully so, as it plays a very important role in ranking your website well with search engines. To help you out, here are some of the most important tips to apply to ensure your website has quality content:
- NEVER plagiarize;
- Write short, simple sentences;
- Have an outline before writing the body;
- Stick to active voice;
- Use bullet points and headers, whenever possible.
2. Clean Layout
No one wants to go through a website that looks messy or having just too many design elements going on in the website. As much as possible, keep your layout clean. This means having minimal design elements that are only necessary or have those that contribute in making your website layout better.
The rule of thumb to follow is whatever your layout or design is, it shouldn’t ever get in the way of your content’s readability. Whenever there’s room for it, do incorporate white space strategically as well.
3. Navigation: Elements And Principles of a Website
A website that’s easy to navigate through is another very important facet of good website design. Otherwise, your website visitors will only find it difficult to find what they’re looking for on your website. This can turn off your potential website visitors, close your site, and look for other website which is in favor on your competition’s website that have easy to navigate site.
Once you’ve got a website visitor on your site, they should know exactly where they are and how to find certain topics or products they’re looking for.
Here’s how you can effectively improve your site’s navigation:
- Divide categories into multiple sections;
- Use proper navigation titles, in the simplest terms possible;
- Have a search feature, at the top part of your page.
4. Aesthetics
Of course, a website must have that perfect balance with aesthetics and functionality. But this isn’t to say your design has to have so many graphics and design elements. Keep it as simple as possible. The point here is to ensure your website has great aesthetics to make it pleasing to the eye and to stand out from competing websites.
When your website looks good, it shows you’ve put so much thought into making sure you’ve got a professional website, aimed at pleasing your target audience. Your design and aesthetics should never just be an after-thought.
Most importantly, you’ve also got to ensure your website aesthetics matches your business niche. For instance, if your target audience is female, as you’re selling female skincare products. Surely, you’ll also want the aesthetics to be in light and have feminine colors.
5. Elements And Principles of a Website: Mobile-Responsive
With the rise of smartphones that are also becoming more advanced than they may have been in the past, it’s not surprising to have so many Internet users browsing through their mobile phones than from a computer screen.
Your website then also has to reach that population of Internet users. Otherwise, you’re missing out on a potential audience.
Creating a mobile-responsive website simply means your website’s interface, usability, and navigation don’t change or get distorted after viewing through a mobile phone. Here’s how you can optimize your website design for mobile use:
- Consider the various phone sizes and holding positions (e.g., some mobile users prefer to view horizontally, while others prefer the usual, vertical phone layout);
- Simplify any forms you may have on your website;
- Eliminate pop-ups, as there just isn’t enough space for these on a mobile phone’s screen.
Conclusion
If you’re running a website, especially if it’s for eCommerce, you’ve got to ensure you’ve got a well-designed website. Don’t merely put up one, without thinking about the details and other specifications of your website. When your website meets the elements and design principles above, you can be certain your website is competitive enough to rank well in search engines. Take it one element at a time, and see them coming in of more traffic, all because you made sure your website is well-designed.
