Web Design: 12 Do’s and Don’ts
You know that web designers must make their designs enjoyable and useful. It can be overwhelming to design websites even with the most advanced web designing software. To simplify this task, here are some things you should know.
The do’s
Your interface should be consistent
Good UX design principles include a consistent interface throughout the product. Your website’s overall design should be consistent across all pages. A consistent look and feel can make a difference in usability and UX.
A tip for designers: Make your design usable before anything else. Consistency can be a double-edged sword. Your website will look inconsistent if it isn’t properly designed from the beginning. Make the design accessible first and then make it consistent.
Easy-to-use navigation
Navigation is the foundation of usability. It is the most important interaction method on the Internet. It is essential to ensure that your visitors find the information they need on your website navigation.
Practical Tips
Use top-level navigation to access the most important navigation options. Limit top-level navigation to seven choices – The maximum number of objects an individual can store in their working memory is 7 + 2. Create sub-navigation that allows for clear categorization.
Clear labels are needed for navigation options. To make it easier for visitors to understand menu options, use familiar words.
Shorten the time it takes for users to reach the destination. Your navigation should be designed so that visitors can get to the destination they desire with as few clicks as possible. Remember the three-click rule when designing a website. This means that visitors should not be more than three clicks from the information they seek.
Add navigation options to your site’s footer The footer is where visitors will find contact information and navigation options.
You can change the color of your visited links
The navigation process is aided by links. Users could accidentally revisit the same pages multiple times if visited links don’t change their color. It is easier to choose where you want to go next by knowing your past and current locations.
It should be easy to scan pages
Users are more likely than not to read every page on your website when they visit it. Visitors may scan pages on a website to find the content they need or complete tasks. You, as a designer can help them by creating a visual hierarchy. Visual hierarchy is the arrangement of elements that indicates their importance. Where the eyes should be focused first, second, and so on.
Do not create walls of text. Break down your information into smaller chunks to make it more visual. Breaking down walls of text with bullet points or headers.
Give more visual weight to important elements. So that visitors can see important elements like login forms or call-to-action buttons, and make them focal points. Different sizes and colors can be used to emphasize elements.
Use natural scanning patterns. The majority of people in Western countries read from the top to the bottom and left to right. Your visitors will learn a lot if your design is not in line with this standard. Websites that are well-designed usually present their content in an “F” or “Z” reading format.
Use a grid layout. A grid layout makes it easy for users to understand and read the information on a page.
Do. Grid layout is a good option for designing web experiences.
Content is important
Your website’s design is as important as its copy. 95 % of the information found on the web comes in the form of written language. Your website can be beautiful, but it is nothing more than an empty frame with no good content. A great website must have both great designs as well as great content. Designers are responsible for ensuring that the design complements and enhances the content.
Practical Tips
Make sure that the website’s text is relevant. Inadequate text can confuse visitors. Try to write copy that will make each line of text valuable for your visitors.
Don’t use jargon. Your website information should be clear and concise for easy understanding. It is a good idea to write for everyone by choosing words that are easily understood by all readers.
Check your website for errors
An error can easily ruin a great piece of work. These are some common issues to be aware of:
Be aware of dead links. A frustrated user may click on a link and get a 404 error page.
Search for typos on your website.
Check that all media content loads correctly. No broken images or videos.
Reduce the number of options
People’s decisions are affected by how many choices they have. The more options they have, they will take fewer actions. If you give your user too many choices, it can make them think too hard. It’s better not to give too many options. This will reduce interaction chances.
Do. Facebook follows a step–by–step process for asking for personal information.
Encourage users to scroll
Scrolling takes users deeper into the page, makes them spend more time on it, and increases the likelihood that they will convert. Scrolling allows users to go deeper into the page and makes them more likely to buy, subscribe to a newsletter, or get in touch with you. Even though people scroll the page as soon as it loads, the content at the top is still important. Visitors expect high-quality content at the top of the page. Scrolling is a common practice, but only when the information above the fold is interesting enough.
The don’ts
Do not make users wait for the content to load
User experience is a key factor. Load time is critical. Technology advances rapidly, making us more impatient. Today, 47 percent of users expect web pages to load in 2 seconds or less. Visitors might leave if a page takes longer to load. When building a web app, speed should be your top priority.
Your site will be more responsive the faster it loads. Image by Google.
Practical Tips
Avoid empty pages when loading. If loading takes a while, you might consider showing a portion of the content along with visual feedback such as a loading indicator.
Optimize images Large background images can take a long time to load. Optimizing your images can dramatically reduce loading times.
You can measure the performance of your website right now. Google’s PageSpeed Insights tools and Think With Google tools will help you to identify problems with your website’s performance. They can also suggest solutions.
Do not open an internal link in new tabs
Users expect different behavior for external and internal links. All internal links should be opened in the same tab. This will allow users to use “back” buttons. You should warn users before opening external links in new windows or tabs. This could be in the form of text that is added to the link text. “Opens in a new browser”
