Web Design

Web Design

Do you know a business that doesn’t have a website nowadays? 

There may be a few exceptions for very small businesses like your local hairdresser or butcher, but almost every SME business has a website. 

Businesses of all kinds need a website to survive in today’s competitive market.

But there’s a huge difference between good and bad websites (you know the ones... they look unprofessional, are hard to navigate and you give up 10 seconds in?)

Good web design is crucial.

What is web design?

Web design is the process of planning and designing web pages, user interfaces and content for the internet.

Web design has evolved a great deal over the years and has now become a holistic process that centralises functionality and user experience instead of focusing solely on how a website looks.

Why is web design important?

A website is often the first encounter a customer has with your business. 

Users will gain a first impression of your brand based on how your site looks and how easy it is to navigate and find what they’re looking for.

Good website design facilitates a positive user experience. It can also have an impact on SEO and affect how high your website ranks on Google. 

Investing your time, energy and resources in amping up your website design can boost your search rankings considerably, and in turn, increase traffic and sales.

What are the main types of web design?

There are various types of website design styles, but there are only really two you need to focus on in today’s mobile world: 

1. Adaptive websites
2. Responsive websites

 What is an adaptive website?

Adaptive website design uses two or more versions of a website that are tailored to suit different screen sizes, e.g. mobile and desktop. 

An adaptive website detects the size of the device and other features and provides the relevant web layout based on preset characteristics.

What is a responsive website?

Responsive design is flexible and will render well on any device such as desktops, laptops, mobile phones and tablets. 

Adaptive vs responsive web design: Which is best?

No matter the screen size or resolution, responsive web design will load beautifully on your device without broken links or missing content, allowing you to use it without error or glitch. 

What makes a good vs bad website design?

In addition to all of the obvious visual elements like unmatching fonts, inappropriate font size, low-resolution photos and lack of visual consistency, what distinguishes good versus bad web design is user experience (UX). 

A good website will carefully consider how each and every element is chosen for a web page will impact the user. How will it make them feel? How will it help them find what they’re looking for?

It’s important to consider things such as ease of use, efficiency, utility and what value your interface adds.

What web design mistakes should I avoid?

Many small business owners make their own websites to save money and to have control over the overall design. 

However, web design is a professional skillset and many people don’t fully understand the concept of good web design.

Here are eight common mistakes small businesses make:

• Too little or too much going on
• Irrelevant, stock photos or low-quality images
• Poor call to action (CTA)
• Poor quality or use of content 
• Tiny text or huge text
• Lack of visual coherence 
• A lack of contact information
• Poor use of whitespace

What are the elements of web design?

Website design elements are broken down into two categories: 

1. Visual elements
2. Functional element

It’s important to strike a balance between the two to maximise the overall performance of your site.

What are visual elements in website design?

Visual or aesthetic elements are what make your site look appealing to the naked eye. When used correctly, the look of the site will be coherent and on-brand.

Visual elements include:

• Layout
• Fonts
• Colours
• Written copy
• Images and icons
• Spacing
• Videos
• Shapes
• Videos

What are the functional elements of website design?

Functional elements refer to how your website supports the user experience (UX) and ease of use. 

Sure, you want your site to look good...

But if it’s hard to navigate, slow or easy to get lost, your efforts on the visual side will have gone to waste.

Functional elements include:

• Speed
• Navigation
• Site structure
• User interactions
• Device and browser compatibility

Image source: Paldesk

How do I design a website?

Designing a website can seem daunting, but it doesn’t have to be. Here are some top tips: 

• Define the purpose of your site: What are you looking to achieve? What is our unique selling point? Create a strategy around this as there are certain website builders that are better for different businesses. E.g. Shopify for e-commerce sites.
• See the latest web design trends: See what your competitors are doing and if your industry uses specific design elements. It will give you a better idea of what to stove for.
• Have content ready to upload: Make sure to have content to upload when the site is up and running. Write an about us page, employee profiles, blogs, compelling product descriptions, etc.
• Choose your platform: Carefully consider the features offered by different platforms and which platform will support your site the most.

What is the importance of SEO in web design? 

Web design and SEO go together like birds of a feather. Why? Because they both centralise the user and focus on making their experience of your website seamless, valuable and user-friendly.

You can do the best job optimising your website for search engines with keyword research, on-page optimisation and technical SEO. 

But if your website is complex and difficult to navigate around, your users will find it difficult to use and go to other sites instead.

This can create a negative impression of your website and brand, and as a result, it can have a negative impact on your search rankings.

How do I find web design ideas and inspiration?

There are several options if you need a bit of inspiration to get the creative juices flowing for your new website.

• Check out your competitors’ websites 
• Head over to Pinterest for all types of inspiration from layouts to illustration
• Template Monster is a great site to see how content can be laid out
• siteInspire is a good place to get inspiration for various different website platforms

How do I get started with web design for my business?

There are generally two ways to get started with website design for your business:

Create your own website using a website builder - more suited to small businesses on a budget

Hire a web designer - for businesses with a bigger budget or those who have a more complex site of a vision they want to achieve 

Learn more about website design companies and the services they offer.

Or check out our latest offers for website builders and design packages if you want to create your own site.