“When a site takes too long to download I lose patience and move on to the next. I’m always in a rush, always racing against the clock and if I search for something, I want to find it fast!”
As a web designer you’ve heard that, haven’t you!
This article serves to present tips on how to make a web design eye catching and effective.
It’s best to start off in the shoes of the person who is sitting down and searching. Seeing it through his eyes will immediately assist the designer in navigating and creating a website that is professional and of supreme quality.
- Avoid clutter. Use the KISS principle. Keep it simple…. If it’s too busy, it’s too overwhelming.
- Remember that the user is here for a purpose – fulfil that. Provide the information that he’s searching for in a systematic methodical and easy to follow manner.
- Overbearing bright colours and busy content screams “move on!” Keep colours pleasant to the eye and make the lay out clear clean fresh and simple yet still inviting engaging and professional.
- Avoid too many downloads within the site. It becomes confusing and disorienting and the user may feel bombarded.
- Keep the language tone and general presentation appropriate for the content of the website. Follow the theme so that there is fluidity and a natural sense of bringing together the overall package.
- Research has shown that a website has only 8 seconds to capture the user’s attention. Thus the use of a bold tagline is important on the front page.
- A search box is essential and should be positioned on the top of the page.
- Make use of site maps. This is a structural presentation of the website and assists the user with easy navigation. Register a sitemap XML in search engines.
- The most important information should be on the top of the webpage.