Are you disappointed with how many sales or enquiries come via your website? Or maybe you’re just simply bored with the design? Then it could be time to consider updating your website. There’s lots of different factors to take into consideration for a website, but sometimes it’s the small things that have the greatest impact.
The design of your website will instantly give visitors an impression of your business, if they like what they see, then they are more likely to continue through the website and get in touch with you. Or they could be put off and move onto a competitor of yours.
Below are some tips on the important aspects of your websites design and handy tools which you can easily use yourself.
1. Font
It’s often overlooked when designing your new website, but the font can have a dramatic impact on the overall look and feel of your website. Practically, it needs to be large enough so that it can be read easily and in an appropriate colour so that it stands out clearly against any background colour or image. You should also consider your branding and other design elements of the website; are you going for a professional look? Or for a ‘fun and creative’ approach? Do you want the same font throughout, or will it vary depending upon the content?
You can use the free Google Fonts tool to search fonts and find some you like the look of. Visit Google Fonts
But be warned – not all fonts are ‘web friendly’
Common fonts such as Arial, Tahoma and Times New Roman are ‘standard’ and widely supported, but other fonts may not be supported by all internet browsers and therefore not always display correctly on your website. Your website developer should be able to advise you of whether your font choice will cause any problems.
2. Graphics
The written content of your website is extremely important, for both real-life users and search engines, but graphics are also a crucial part of creating a usable, well-presented website.
How many graphics are currently on your website? Big blocks of text will most likely be putting off visitors to your website, so try breaking this up with an image or two. But make sure that these are relevant to the content and appropriate for your target market. These should be good quality images, nothing looks more unprofessional than a blurry, distorted image which hasn’t been cropped and sized properly.
You don’t have to be a Photoshop-whizz or an expert photographer to get decent graphics for your website, there are plenty of tools available online. But this doesn’t include taking images from Google – you will not have correct permission to use these images and could end up with a hefty fine. If you are going to use someone else’s graphics, then purchase them via a trusted source such as iStock or Shutterstock. These sites both have an extensive library of photographs and illustrations you can use.
3. Colour Scheme
The colour scheme of your website should be inkeeping with your logo and branding. Clashing colours can ruin even the best of designs and make the website unappealing to visitors.
If you’re not sure what the exact colour code of your logo is, you can download an add-on for Firefox, Colourzilla. Use this to hover over a colour and it will tell you the colour reference so that you can get an exact match. You can then use a tool such as, Paletton, which will show you complimentary colours which can be used on your website