Research-Based Web Design Tips: How To Design A Website That Works
SHARETotal visitors. It’s easy for anyone to see. It’s easy to see how much traffic a marketer is getting. What happens next needs to be clarified.
It’s easy to give advice on driving traffic, but it is difficult to provide web design tips. There are many factors. It’s hard to predict what will work best even after 1000+ web design projects.
This article contains 27 tips on web design to get more value from each visitor. Research supports most of these tips. These tips are intended for both beginners and professionals in UX design and can be used for small and large businesses.
This is where you will find our top tips, inspiration, and advice on how to create a website that delivers results. It’s a site that converts visitors, looks great, and brings more value to every visit.
The Website’s Structural Layout
Two things make up websites: content and containers. The container can be divided into two parts: style and structure. Let’s begin with the first. These tips concern the layout and structure of pages.
Use a visual hierarchy
Each page has a visual hierarchy. Here’s how we define it:
Visual hierarchy is the order, size, color, and contrast of visual elements. It determines the relative importance of each element and the order they are seen by the eye.
To direct visitors’ attention to the most important elements, web designers use visual hierarchy. Website layouts include the location (high or low on the webpage), the sizes (big and small), visuals, video, images, icons, and contrast (color or white space).
A headline that is descriptive and keyphrase-focused should be placed high on your homepage
The headline at the top of every page (and the homepage) can be descriptive or not. If it isn’t, visitors may not be able to answer their first question.
This is a great opportunity to use a target keyword and show relevance. Many marketers instead write something vague or clever. Clear is better than clever.
Instead of writing a long, vague headline, try to write something descriptive. You should make sure you describe the company’s activities high up on the page.
Avoid rotating sliders and carousels
They have been loved by clients for many years. The homepage slideshow has a problem: Visitors might not see the entire slide.
There have been many studies that reached the same conclusion. The messages on the next slides are less likely than those on the previous slides to be seen, and the call to action is unlikely to be clicked. Take a look at the click-through rates of slides on university websites.
They might be easy to approve, which may explain why they are so popular. Different departments get some pixels. These pixels are useful for internal politics and not for visitors.
Slideshows on homepages can be used to keep people from stabbing each other in conference rooms.
Avoid accordions and tabs
Another way to get rid of the hiding is to avoid expanding boxes and tabs.
Up to 76% of website visitors scan. You can make your content more noticeable by keeping it all visible, without the need to click to reveal anything.
Expandable accordions and tabs are effective. You’ll likely see them on Amazon.
Scrolling is quicker and easier than clicking. Visitors who have to click on a tab or aim to see something are less likely to do so.
Use people pictures
The most powerful imagery is found in faces. We look at faces more than any other from the moment we are born. Web design is greatly influenced by the magnetic power of pictures of people.
Faces not only draw attention but they also correlate with conversion. Basecamp’s famous case study showed that testimonials and faces were combined on a sales page to produce huge results.
Your website shouldn’t look like an abandoned spaceship without any soul aboard.
Over the years, I have spoken to thousands of companies about their marketing and noticed a pattern. Big companies always try to appear small, while small businesses are trying to look large. Strange, right?
Stock photos of people are best avoided
Stock photos are appropriate at times, but I wouldn’t recommend stock photos of people. They don’t feel authentic, so they don’t create trust.
Stock photos are tempting for companies because of their high production quality. Your visitors are more interested in reality. Visitors would rather see people actually working for the company.
This is supported by research. A study done by NN Group showed that people don’t look at stock photos of people or “filler” pictures, but instead view photographs of real people.
Be yourself and show your team by using photos of real people even if they’re perfectly polished.
Faces can be used as visual cues
People’s photos give you an opportunity to draw attention to the visitor. You look where they are.
Researcher James Breeze demonstrated the power and importance of well-placed faces when he showed designs to 106 people. They can direct visitors’ attention to other elements.
This is the famous baby face study. Visitors look at the baby when the baby is looking at the camera. Visitors look at the headline when the baby is looking at it.
Oli Gardner, my friend, is sick of this particular example with the baby. Please let me know if you have any other ideas or research!
As a directional cue, use a line in the face imagery to direct attention to benefits statements or calls for action.
As visual cues, use arrows
Although faces can help guide attention, they are not the only way to control your visitors’ eyes. You might be able to make even more impact with little hand-drawn arrows.
CXL conducted an eye-tracking study to determine if a simple arrow is more effective in getting people to view a page element.
The point at something with an arrow if you want people to pay attention. This tip may seem obvious, but it can be very insightful.
