Whether your goal is to increase brand awareness or to sell a product/service, an effective website design can be the major difference between a new conversion and a lost prospect.
So, what defines a good website design? Besides considering key factors like a user-friendly interface and mobile responsiveness, here are 5 more tried-and-tested website design principles that are essential for creating a usable and well-structured website that’s sure to engage your audience.
1. The Golden Ratio
The Golden Ratio (or The Rule of Thirds) is a concept of grids that are related to balance. Grids are a series of horizontal and vertical rulers that help improve readability, making a website page easier to absorb while achieving aesthetically appeal. This aspect is further complemented with spacing and the use of The Golden Ratio to make the content and visual elements easier on the eye.
2. 3 Click Rule
According to this rule, if you aren’t able to find the information you need or access the website’s main features within 3 mouse clicks, the website is deemed as not having clear navigation. Hence, a well-designed website that boasts easy to locate drop-down menu, sidebar or sticky navigation and works well across all devices allows users to have a streamlined and relaxing experience.
3. Complementary Colour Palette
Whatever colour palette you go for, it’s important to make sure the colours you use work well together as a complementary colour combination (sometimes, this means sticking to similar shades but opposites can sometimes create an interesting partnership) attracts users while a poor combination can lead to distraction. Moreover, avoid using too many colours and remember to use white space so that your website can create a pleasing atmosphere, thus leaving a good impact on visitors.
4. Using Fitts’ Law
According to Fitts’s law, if your website’s Call-To-Action button is designed in a bigger size, it becomes closer to the user, increasing the chances of the user clicking it. However. this law applies only to make tiny objects bigger as a bigger Call-To-Action button when increased further will not become more clickable. Fitts’ Law can also be used in conjunction with other website design theories such as visual weight to give user interface items proper hierarchy and placement.
5. ‘F’ Pattern Rule
The ‘F’ pattern rule is an effective design principle that essentially translates to the fact that most website users see the top and left of a web page first before anything else. Thus, a good website design incorporates essential elements such as Call-To-Action buttons, the logo, or any key image will be placed at the top left side, and the lesser information finds a place at the bottom.
Following the aforementioned 5 principles of good website design, you can develop an aesthetic and functional website that’s sure to grab the attention of your website users and convert them.
But you don’t want to just have a good website design, do you? You want to be great, and this is where we come in! At I Concept, we specialise in website design services as well as user interface websites.
If you’re interested in creating a website that’s exceptional, it’s time to tell us about your project or have a chat about what we can do. Contact our sales representative for a quote today!
