We’ve been telling that it is good to have a website. A good website should represent your brand. With all the content management systems (CMS) and page builders available, it is now easy to create simple websites even if you’re not a web designer.
Here are a few web design tips for those who can’t do web design:
Choose your color palette
Think of your brand’s image or character and pick up the colors you think that will show your brand’s character. Will you go for the warm colors or the earth colors? To make it easier, choose two main colors plus one that complements the two and another color that will act as your accent. Accent color is used for buttons and other call to action (CTA) links.
Be white space friendly
Don’t cram all elements in one page. Don’t be afraid of white spaces. White spaces help the eyes focus on the main message. Also, white spaces make buttons and other CTA links prominent.
Emphasize the importance of your content
The greater the importance, the more you make the content bigger. Keep the space around the important content clutter-free. Again, don’t be afraid of white spaces. Highlight the important content with complementary colors.
Use up to 3 fonts only
Experts say that 2 fonts are enough, but if you can’t help it, you may add just one more. Contrast it with Serif and Sans Serif families. So if your heading is a Serif font type, your text should be from the Sans Serif font types. Also, make sure that your fonts are supported by all browsers. You don’t want your fonts look different on each. And most importantly, don’t use Comic Sans unless you’re designing a kids’ website.
Learn how to use contrast
Contrasts help you establish mood, clarity, and it brings out your content. Use light fonts on dark backgrounds and vice-versa. Don’t be afraid to play with layering, filters, and color combinations.
Make use of grid lines
Grid lines will aid you in your design. It helps you see the alignment and balance or each web element. It’s like working with rulers and guides.
Use high quality images
Choose high quality images either in .jpg or .png format. Pixelated pictures don’t look good on webpages.
Optimize your website in favor of loading time
Since you’re using high quality images, you need to optimize your website. Make sure that the loading time is not compromised. Your website should load within 2 to 10 seconds. If it loads too long, check and see if you could fix it for better optimization. A good plugin could help.
Label your navigation icons
Don’t let your web visitors get confused. Aside from having a smooth, logical menu, make sure that your icons are easier to understand, too. Be consistent across all web pages. Make sure that the icons and the menu itself follow a logical eye flow of movement.
Approach your design in two ways
Over all, you may approach your web design in two ways. Either you start by putting in words first or start putting your own vision or visual design. Once you have them in place, design around those elements as you go along.
