Inspirational Website Design
If you are looking for inspirational website design then don’t look here.
Or here…
If you want your website to appear professional and trustworthy then appearance, usability, good content and feature functionality are all things you should first consider.
They are extremely important aspects of any great website design and will make or break a visitor’s first impression of your site.
Website Design Tips
There is a lot of work that goes into the making of an award winning website. It has to be visually stunning, simple to navigate, have strong calls-to-action, be trustworthy and be filled with amazing content.
If you want to make an impact with your visitors and search engines, then read on for our website design tips.
1. Know Your Target Audience
The whole digital experience should be tailored to your niche so it’s important to keep this in mind when you are building the design elements.
Everything from colours to typography and images need to be carefully thought out and planned.
A website for new parents is going to have a completely different look and feel to that of a double glazing website.
2. Have A Clear Value Proposition
Every award winning website design has a very clear value proposition. Ask yourself what the purpose of the site is and ensure that every part of the design revolves around that answer.
Make sure that the message is clear and concise so that your audience knows exactly what your website is offering. You want the user to land on your site and stay there.
3. Blow Their Socks Off
Your website design must keep the user engaged and hooked almost immediately. You will be competing with lots of other websites so it is important you grab the attention of the user as soon as they land on your site.
This means you can get super creative and experiment with new graphic or video technology to lure in those visitors. Whether you use an interactive image, a fascinating statement or stunning typography.
Here is a great example of an interactive homepage:
This website immediately grabs your attention with impressive graphics and a super sleek design.
4. On Point Navigation
Clear navigation is key for a successfully website, how else will your user be able to explore the rest of your website?
Think of your navigation as the skeleton of your website. You don’t want those bones broken or in the wrong place.
Keep you navigation pattern clear and concise, without any fancy distractions or crazy design ideas where you hide the menu. Your menu has to be graspable.
Web Design & Usability
The user who visits your website will ultimately decide its fate, they have the power of the click-able mouse so you want to ensure they use it wisely.
This is why on point navigation is so important, especially for a profit-oriented web design.
If users can’t use your website then it serves no purpose.
For example, this design from Business Quotes is not user friendly. You can see how it would be confusing for the user.
5. Remember Less Is More
Hover effects can be really great and fun but you can’t have your website rely on special effects. Every other aspect of the design needs to be memorable too!
Your effects should complement the whole website experience, not distract the user from finding out more.
6. Use That White Space
A super sleek and sophisticated web design will attract many more audiences then an over-crowded page. You need to strategically utilize white space throughout your site to really make your content and images stand out.
A creative minimalist design is sometimes the best way to grow, especially if your intent is to display beautiful graphics. Avoid any cluttering so to not overwhelm your user.
7. Does It Have The X Factor?
What makes your website different from the many others and what makes it stand out from the crowd? Is your website memorable?
The more innovative your website the better. Create a website which will get people talking and sharing.
8. Good Hosting
Good hosting and fast loading times are essential if you want users to stay on your website. You want the user to have a good experience which means super speedy load time.
In this era of instant gratification, people are used to having things now…right now. No user is going to stick around to watch their page load.
9. Reach Out To Mobiles
With a large chunk of traffic now coming from mobiles and tablets, you want to ensure your website is mobile responsive. You will want your web design to create a wonderful experience across all types of devices.
10. Humour Converts
Did you know that humour makes us forget we’re being sold to? Shanelle Mullin writes a fantastic blog explaining the power of humour in website design.
According to a study from Radboud University Nijmegen, humour distracts the brain and lowers it’s resistance to influence.
In a nutshell, humour will put your visitor at ease, distracting them from the fact that they are being marketed to!
One of our favourite examples of this (and one of Mullin’s too) is: Eat24
Here is an example of some copy from the Homepage:
If you feel humour on the landing page is too risky (and it probably is) then there are plenty of other ways to tickle your user.
How About:
- 404 pages
- Contact Pages
- Checkout Pages
- Cart Pages
- Signup Forms
Here is an example of a 404 page we created for Double Glazing On The Web:
Find Out More
If you want to design a profitable website then you may want to also read our posts on SEO, branding and conversion optimisation for a greater insight.