5 Ways to Make Your Web Design Live Longer.

When it comes to web design, a website can go in different directions and styles – from modern and sleek to vibrant and playful. And the trends of web design come and go with each passing year. Of course, you need to change and update your designs accordingly. But simply because the trends come and go does not mean that you change everything about your website. Some aspects of web design are meant to be forever. So, what are those ways to make your web design live long and strong? Here are some answers.

1. Make the homepage free of clutter and minimalistic

The demand for clean and minimal designs is constant, regardless of the trends that come and go. And yet, 84.6 percent of website designers believe that a cluttered design is one of the most common mistakes that small businesses make.

The homepage of the website has to instantly communicate the core message. After all, does anyone ever read each word on that page? The visitors would do a quick scan, pick out certain words and images, and that’s it. So, it’s smarter to appeal to their emotions instead of focusing on word count.

Keep in mind that you are designing for an era of decreasing attention spans. Thus, the less you give your visitors to read or remember, the more likely they will be to proceed. In fact, keep the scrolling and clicking to a minimum as well. Use whitespace between elements and high-quality images to deliver a balanced appearance.

2. Remember the visual hierarchy principle of designing

Hierarchy is the principle of design that is all about displaying web content in an effective and clear manner. If you use the principle right, you can get the visitors to focus on the exact page elements you want and, in the order, that you want.

Two major components are at play in this case:

• Weight and size: Highlight the top assets, like a unique business logo design and name, by putting them in larger fonts. Visitors will look at the bold and large titles first before moving on to smaller texts.
• Placement of the elements: Take the visitors’ eyes in your chosen direction through your website layout. For example, put the call-to-action button at the center or the logo at the header.

3. Evaluate the readability of the website content

Readability is all about how easily people can identify phrases, sentences, and words on your website. High readability makes scanning and understanding information easy and effortless. Here are some of the tried and tested rules of readability:

• Contrast is important: The contrast between the background color and text color should be such that your website feels easy to read and access. Of course, you can use your brand colors, but don’t ignore the importance of contrast.
• Larger letter sizes: Keeping the body text at 16 pt. is a good place to start. However, you can choose any number close to it based on the fonts you use.
• Apply text themes: Your website content has to be varied in weight and size, right from larger titles to smaller subheadings and even smaller body texts.

4. The website has to be easy to navigate

Breaking the mold might be in your nature, but web navigation isn’t something that needs an avant-garde approach. After all, web design involves a lot more than making beautiful websites – it’s about websites that are easy to navigate on all devices. 42 percent of people claim to leave a website simply because of poor navigability.

Also, good navigation helps Google to easily index your content and rank your website. So, it is not only about enhancing the user experience. Instead of pulling your visitors in every direction, try to:

• Limit your form fields
• Use one call to action
• Reduce the total menu items
• Have one goal set for each page
• Display only the buttons for the social networks you’re active on

5. Avoid carousels and accordions on the site

Carousels are one of the most loved features of website owners. But research has long established that they are pretty much useless. Webmasters have noted that only the first slide on the carousel gets most of the clicks, and the rest are largely ignored.

It’s the same thing with accordions and tabs – they are simply ignored by the visitors. Moreover, it has already been discussed that visitors usually do not go through the entire page. Many visitors only scan, and thus, they will not make additional clicks to see the content. A much better approach would be to place the information in such areas to grab the attention of the visitors.

Endnote

So, when it comes to web design, make sure you keep these aspects in mind that can help your site maintain a good rank with minimal changes. Go ahead and try these now!

Writer Bio

I love writing. If someone asks who Anthony Scott is my colleagues and friends will tell you that I’m a geek into gadgets, photography and software. I like to find out how things work, and if possible write about it. I’m new in this field of content writing, and I hope I can succeed in convincing readers with my writing.