Many online businesses lose valuable customers within seconds after visiting their websites. This is because visitors find a lot of issues when looking for information from the sites. This is why a user-friendly website is a crucial part of a successful business. So, when creating your website design, make sure it is free from any glitches. It means that when a user scans your web pages for information, they should have a pleasant experience. The more you keep them on your site reading content and looking at your offerings, the more likely they will do business with you.
The following are achievable website design tips to help make your site user-friendly, and in turn, a highly-profitable business:
Create an Uncomplicated Navigation System
Users should navigate through web pages hassle-free and get the information they need immediately. If they have to pause several times to look for links and buttons to find specific information, you need to redesign your navigational scheme.
Examine your website design for navigational mistakes. The menu bars should and the navigational features are easy to find at a glance. Remove old acronyms and multiple layers of sub-menus in the navigational menu, as these can contribute to an unpleasant user experience.
Also, an extremely useful navigational feature for your website is the search box. This feature makes it possible for the site visitors to type keywords and key phrases in the box without going to other web pages manually to obtain information. Other important navigation features are Contact, About, and Home. Make sure that people can see them in your header section instantly upon looking.
Pay Attention to Readability
You may have many useful pieces of information to share to your audience, but you may lose these valuable people if they cannot comprehend your content fast. Readable information also means your website is scannable. There have been studies discovering that online users scan web pages speedily. To capture the eye quickly, deliver your content in small paragraphs.
Use appropriate formatting techniques to help you provide readable information to your visitors. For example, use headlines, highlighting of words, bulleted lists, etc., to emphasize critical details.
There should also some contrast on the colours you use for your website design to help make reading words easier. It means your text colour is different from your background colour. Moreover, the fonts you use are another factor in readability. Opt for simple fonts and use only a few of them. Serif fonts are great for print design, whereas san serif is ideal for online reading.
Optimize Web Design for Mobile Users
In these modern times, people search for information on the internet anywhere they want using their mobile devices. For this, your website design should be responsive so that your pages can align their layout according to the screen orientation and size of the user.
Keep in mind that the navigational system for a desktop website is different for a mobile device. Your buttons on a small screen should be easy to tap by the fingers. A responsive design includes optimizing images to address issues with scaling and bandwidth. Consider using PNG-8, JPEG, and GIF formats.
Check Your Website on Various Browsers
After ensuring your website is doing great on Google, test it on other browsers if it is equally impressive. Your target market is likely using other browsers besides Google. So, check the functionality of your website on Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Internet Explorer, etc.
Also, check how your website works and looks on Android and Apple. During testing, you may discover some issues, for example, not loading properly when running Flash on mobile devices. If there are hurdles, you need to work on your website design to address mobile device access.
Opt for One Colour Scheme
It is better to use a single colour on your web pages than multiple ones. Using many colours can look chaotic and may send a confusing message to your site visitors. On the other hand, one colour scheme contributes to brand consistency. People can also identify with your brand as authentic.
When choosing a colour, it should represent and define your company well. For example, use the colours present in your marketing materials when creating your website design.
Establish a Quick Loading Site
Studies have shown that the attention span of users today is fast decreasing. Visitors will abandon a website if the loading takes more than 10 seconds. Therefore, your website should appear in an instant when a user clicks on your link. To ensure a fast loading website, take out all the elements that are not useful or effective anymore.
The use of certain multimedia content can slow down a website. Are you using too many videos on your site? If so, this could be the reason for your site to load slowly. One way to increase the load of your site is to compress the codes of the files you are using. This can help decrease the HTTP responses of your website design. Note that if there is a high amount of HTTP responses, the server will get more traffic; thus, slowing down a website.
Utilize White Space Well
The area between two elements on a website is the white space. Leaving white space between components provides relief to the eyes of the readers. By doing this, you can keep visitors on your site for a bit longer. Having lots of white space around your texts and titles can increase the attention of the user by up to 20%. A web page with enough space gives a sense of freshness and openness.
But when creating a website design, maintain a good balance of your use of white space. Too much of it can lead to inadequate information. Put the most vital pieces of information at the top of your website, and leave some white space around those images or texts you want to highlight.
These are the ultimate design tips that will help make your website user-friendly. As your business and website grow, you may encounter hurdles along the way. When it comes to having a great website design that offers easy navigation to your visitors, consider using the services of a digital marketing company to create and build it.