Web Development and Design, like almost everything, is constantly evolving as new programs and techniques come along. We’ve been building websites for decades, and have seen trends and styles come and go. When it comes to creating a professional website that leaves a lasting impression, you’ll need to keep everything up to date, but here are five tips we know will never go out of style.
Keep Things Clean and Simple
- – Clean websites have the advantage of being organized as well as functional. This doesn’t mean that your design has to be minimal, but avoid cluttered designs at all costs.
- – Remember, designs should enhance the user experience, not detract from it.
- – When designing a checkout page on an e-commerce website, leave out distractions. Single-page checkouts have the highest conversion rates. Simplifying this part of the customers experience helps ensure the sale is complete.
- – Use white space as much as you can to create relief zones and provide contrast for the content and design elements. It helps the user find exactly what it is they are looking for on the page and you don’t risk having a big bounce rate.
Do Your Research
- – Look at similar websites and decide what you do and don’t like about them. What would you like to emulate on your site? Would a long scrolling page work well with your site or would it be too much? Even the smallest things can make a big difference in the user experience.
- – It’s ok to find ideas on the web. It would be pretty impossible to come up with a design no one has seen before. Great ideas come from building on the ideas of others.
- – Have multiple fonts picked out that you know will work for your website. It’s always good to have a selection of reader-friendly fonts in mind to present to your designer.
- – Know your audience. This may sound obvious, but there can be some important differences in regard to how various demographics interact with web development properties.
Use Visual Hierarchy
- – Visual hierarchy influences the order in which the human eye perceives what it sees. It is created by visual contrast between forms in a field of perception. Eyes move top to bottom and left to right. So put your most precious content in the top left corner because it could mean more clicks.
- – If applicable, make sure the “shopping cart” is visible and that it stands out. Your “add-to-cart” button should be visible as well.
- – Make sure your text is easy to read. Use dummy tools like the Lorem Ipsum text generator to act as placeholder text for your page and see how things play out.
- – Colors need to work together. For example, the Mediaura website uses a dark gray font on a white background with a red font for bold accents. This combination is easy to follow and fits the branding of our business. It’s also worth noting that different genders prefer (and dislike) different colors.
- – Font size, of course, must be legible. Don’t make your font too tiny that readers have to squint to read it.
- – Maintain your font variety. Have a theme and stick to no more than three fonts. These fonts need to be reader-friendly.
- – NO COMIC SANS!
Get The Most Out Of Mobile 
- – Make sure your website is mobile friendly. This cannot be stressed enough More people use their smartphones for searching the web these days than actual desktop computers.
- – If your website isn’t professional looking on mobile devices, that is bad news.
- – Mediaura develops custom mobile applications for a multitude of devices and there’s no project too big or small.
We Can Help
At Mediaura we know that the value of effective web development. Our team of digital experts can help guide and show you the best platforms for your website and guide you through the branding process.
We know your brand is the best, so let us show you how you can make the rest of the world see that too.
If you would like to learn how Mediaura’s website development services will benefit your business, contact us or give us a call at 502-554-9649. A member of our team will be happy to assist you.
